Help with Parasite Identification (don't click if you are squeamish)

[JFunk]

Hi There

This is my first time posting to any forum ever. Apologies in advance if I mess it up

First off the standard info:

Problem:
Guppies who stop eating, become thin and sometimes eventually die. only 2/6 guppies are currently still eating. 4 guppies have died in the last 2 weeks. Pics of what is probably causing it are below.


Tank parameters:
15 Gallon Fluval Flex (planted tank, cycled since January) No carbon.
ammonia:0
nitrites:0
nitrates:0-2.5
temp: 78
pH: 7.2

Inhabitants:
4 male baby guppies
2 almost adult male guppies
1 otto cat

Tank care:
General:30% water changes are done about every two weeks. Light gravel vac done every time.
Recent: Tried treating with metroplex (in the water column). No change. Then I suspected Camallanus (dealt with is a while back and thought I saw some thing on the otto.) Treated with levamisole at the beginning of last week. No guppies have died since treatment but are still not eating. I pulled out a lot of the plants, the stones and driftwood. Everything received a bleach dip and was put back into the tank after the levamisole treatment was over. (Treatment also involved 2X50% water changes and a heavy gravel vac)

Diet:
Not much at the moment. Generally speaking they are fed a diet of flakes, various pellets, peas and frozen brine shrimp. I alternate what I feed every meal.

I recently got back into fish keeping after a 10 year break. I've made the mistake of buying sick fish right off the bat (several times) and I've been struggling to be disease free ever since. I finally went out and bought a microscope and caught some fresh fish poop. 2/3 tanks seem ok. Below is the white poo from the tank in question. It's kinda terrifying. I can't figure out what it is or how to treat it. Please help!

Thank you SO much,
Julianna

 

[mbkemp]

Pretty aquarium! That slide is a bit scary. Following to learn

 

[coralbandit]

You want " Handbook of Fish Disease"
https://r.search.aol.com/_ylt=A0geJaKSrspaYLYASIhpCWVH;_ylu=X3oDMTBybGY3bmpvBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1523261202/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.amazon.com%2fHandbook-Fish-Diseases-Dieter-Untergasser%2fdp%2f0866227032/RK=0/RS=LN5BLeEHBGjmoBy_RJdEuABW3Ag-
I believe it gets all into slides and diagnosis through that method .
IMO fish infected with camallanus are hard hit when meds are used and fall off eating for days easy.
Your symptoms sound like camallanus or wasting disease.
Flubendazole is med of choice for wasting disease.

 

[JFunk]

You want " Handbook of Fish Disease"
https://r.search.aol.com/_ylt=A0geJaKSrspaYLYASIhpCWVH;_ylu=X3oDMTBybGY3bmpvBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1523261202/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.amazon.com%2fHandbook-Fish-Diseases-Dieter-Untergasser%2fdp%2f0866227032/RK=0/RS=LN5BLeEHBGjmoBy_RJdEuABW3Ag-
I believe it gets all into slides and diagnosis through that method .
IMO fish infected with camallanus are hard hit when meds are used and fall off eating for days easy.
Your symptoms sound like camallanus or wasting disease.
Flubendazole is med of choice for wasting disease.

Hi,

Yes, I do want that book. It's actually one of the ones sitting on my amazon wish list. I thought I would get the microscope first and try my luck with the internet. However, I could not find pictures of those creatures anywhere. Then I found this forum and figured I'd ask you fine people.

I was under the impression wasting disease was a symptom and not an actual disease? I am by no means an expert though, so I will look into that further. Thank you for the suggestion.

The fish stopped eating before the meds. I am aware the meds are hard on them. That's why I bought the microscope. (I'm tired of guessing and throwing medicines at them.) I as well suspected camallanus, thus the levamisole. There are no visible red worms, so I'm not sure it's the correct diagnosis, but I am cautiously optimistic since they do seem a bit better (or at least, have stopped dying). I will continue with the next dose on Thursday unless I find something more solid to go on. I was just so caught off guard by what I found under the microscope, lol.

I will be ordering the books on Friday. In the meantime I thank you for your reply!

Julianna

 

[Autumnsky]

Good job going right for the poo! That is scary!

I now do a round of Praziquantel wormer for the new fish.

was looking how to spell Praziquantel and found this too
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co...ticles/2016/8/17/how-do-i-worm-my-fish-safely

 

[Coralocean]

I was considering buying a microscope myself but wouldn't know what I was looking at. The handbook is excellent, on my list. This forum is a gold mine of helpful information!

 

[JFunk]

Good job going right for the poo! That is scary!

I now do a round of Praziquantel wormer for the new fish.

was looking how to spell Praziquantel and found this too
https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co...ticles/2016/8/17/how-do-i-worm-my-fish-safely

Good Morning,

Thanks! It was sad how excited I was when I first caught some fish poo. What am I doing with my life? lol.

Setting up a permanent quarantine tank for deworming is first on my list after getting everyone healthy. I only just got back into fish keeping and in 7 months I went from 0 tanks to 3! I need to slow down, but it's just so hard!

All of the guppies I have are the babies of one of the original females I bought. None of the those adults are still around. I've only bought ottos since and have had bad luck with them too. I'm not buying anything else until I get a quarantine. Lessons learned the hard way usually stick the best.

Thanks for the link. Thats two votes for flubendazole. When I originally did my research I had an otto and a guppy with visible worms. I did use praziquantel but to no effect. I haven't tried it since, but I still do have some. Everyone (the internet) seemed to recommend levamisole, and it did seem to work for me. I see that flubendazole has the added bonus of killing the eggs. That would be very welcome. I will see if I can find it.


Thanks again!
Julianna

 

[JFunk]

I was considering buying a microscope myself but wouldn't know what I was looking at. The handbook is excellent, on my list. This forum is a gold mine of helpful information!

In truth, I've always wanted a microscope and it seemed like a good excuse. I also figured it would be a great thing for my 5 year old to have around. We are going to have some fun with it this summer!

I don't know anyone else with a fish tank, so I'm excited to have joined. I am appreciating this forum.

Julianna

 

[edevingo]

Do you have a picture of what the poop looks like not under a microscope?

 

[edevingo]

Hi There

This is my first time posting to any forum ever. Apologies in advance if I mess it up

First off the standard info:

Problem:
Guppies who stop eating, become thin and sometimes eventually die. only 2/6 guppies are currently still eating. 4 guppies have died in the last 2 weeks. Pics of what is probably causing it are below.


Tank parameters:
15 Gallon Fluval Flex (planted tank, cycled since January) No carbon.
ammonia:0
nitrites:0
nitrates:0-2.5
temp: 78
pH: 7.2

Inhabitants:
4 male baby guppies
2 almost adult male guppies
1 otto cat

Tank care:
General:30% water changes are done about every two weeks. Light gravel vac done every time.
Recent: Tried treating with metroplex (in the water column). No change. Then I suspected Camallanus (dealt with is a while back and thought I saw some thing on the otto.) Treated with levamisole at the beginning of last week. No guppies have died since treatment but are still not eating. I pulled out a lot of the plants, the stones and driftwood. Everything received a bleach dip and was put back into the tank after the levamisole treatment was over. (Treatment also involved 2X50% water changes and a heavy gravel vac)

Diet:
Not much at the moment. Generally speaking they are fed a diet of flakes, various pellets, peas and frozen brine shrimp. I alternate what I feed every meal.

I recently got back into fish keeping after a 10 year break. I've made the mistake of buying sick fish right off the bat (several times) and I've been struggling to be disease free ever since. I finally went out and bought a microscope and caught some fresh fish poop. 2/3 tanks seem ok. Below is the white poo from the tank in question. It's kinda terrifying. I can't figure out what it is or how to treat it. Please help!

Thank you SO much,
Julianna


View attachment 308319
View attachment 308321
View attachment 308322

Around the edges it looks hair like? is that correct? I'm not a Dr but by that and the shape, it looks like a flat worm to me. Which would explain why the Levamisole didn't seem to do much for your fish.
I had a parasite in my tank, drove myself crazy using my phone as a microscope, which wasn't the greatest. I should've went straight to buying a microscope. Nice!

 

[JFunk]

Hi there,

Here is a pic I just took of one of the fish in that tank. Not the exact poo from the slide, but same idea.



Sorry for the quality. They are pretty small still and the flex has curved sides (hard to photograph through).

I actually found something even scarier looking in one of my other tanks. It was still moving. I'm using my iphone to shoot the images through the microscope and so I took a video. My husband is less a fan of the tanks while my son likes them even more.

The good news is that some of the fish are eating again this evening. I remain cautiously optimistic.

Julianna

 

[edevingo]

Hi there,

Here is a pic I just took of one of the fish in that tank. Not the exact poo from the slide, but same idea.

View attachment 308335

Sorry for the quality. They are pretty small still and the flex has curved sides (hard to photograph through).

I actually found something even scarier looking in one of my other tanks. It was still moving. I'm using my iphone to shoot the images through the microscope and so I took a video. My husband is less a fan of the tanks while my son likes them even more.

The good news is that some of the fish are eating again this evening. I remain cautiously optimistic.

Julianna

They are so tiny. First pic, looks like a fluke or anchor worm. Which it would be almost in the shape of a Y. In the picture of you zoom in, is his or hers eye supposed to be half covered? If not that definitely could be a body fluke or anchor worm.
I feel yea, my BF doesn't like my tanks either. Doesn't stop me from constantly upgrading though.

 

[JFunk]

They are so tiny. First pic, looks like a fluke or anchor worm. Which it would be almost in the shape of a Y. In the picture of you zoom in, is his or hers eye supposed to be half covered? If not that definitely could be a body fluke or anchor worm.
I feel yea, my BF doesn't like my tanks either. Doesn't stop me from constantly upgrading though.

The slides DO look like one of the stages of anchor worm larvae. Or at least some kind of crustacean. Interesting that it would it be in their poo. I zoomed in on the fish. (I should have done that earlier.) There is nothing on him. I think it's just his colouring and the angle of light. I'm pretty sure anyway.



He is 2 months old but still really tiny. That batch is stunted or something... or maybe it's the parasites?

Still debating treatment. I found somewhere to order Flubendazole. Tomorrow I will do some research on anchor worms. Thanks for the suggestion!!

Julianna

 

[edevingo]

The slides DO look like one of the stages of anchor worm larvae. Or at least some kind of crustacean. Interesting that it would it be in their poo. I zoomed in on the fish. (I should have done that earlier.) There is nothing on him. I think it's just his colouring and the angle of light. I'm pretty sure anyway.

View attachment 308339

He is 2 months old but still really tiny. That batch is stunted or something... or maybe it's the parasites?

Still debating treatment. I found somewhere to order Flubendazole. Tomorrow I will do some research on anchor worms. Thanks for the suggestion!!

Julianna

Welcome. Hardest part about anchor worm is how many stages there are. I made the mistake of not treating for long enough. I'd have to imagine having decent size fish (Haps+Peacocks)helped with keeping everyone alive. I used Praxzi to empty my fish out then Clout. Also fed them Metro for any infection they might have had.
Good luck

 

[Matt68005]

This is the reason why im getting a UV stearilizer for my big aquariums

I have a miscroscope too, but its hard to know what to look for.

Just following along, no idea what that parasite is, just learning.

 

[edevingo]

This is the reason why im getting a UV stearilizer for my big aquariums

I have a miscroscope too, but its hard to know what to look for.

Just following along, no idea what that parasite is, just learning.

Anchor worms can be seen on fish opposed to most parasites not being visible to the naked eye. That being said, they also have many life cycles.
I have UV on my smaller tanks and have never had a fish get sick, knock on wood. Unfortunately I hadn't gotten around to buying one for my 110g and it was hit. Whether it was a coincidence or not, Uv sterilizer in my opinion are a must. Of course you just need to make sure that its strong enough to kill more than just algae.

 

[Mpwallace1]

Pretty aquarium! That slide is a bit scary. Following to learn

Me too, I’m in Toronto so if you are local you are welcome to borrow my hardcover book Colorguide of Tropical Fish Diseases, by Gerald Brassler. It’s just full of pics including microscopic poop and tissue.
Good luck

 

[JFunk]

[FONT=&quot]Hello Everyone, [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]First, thank you for all of your suggestions! Sorry if this posts twice, It disappeared the first time...
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Based on my research (after the anchor worm suggestion, thanks again!), the creatures from my slides are copepods. They are Crustaceans (Class: Maxillopoda, subclass: Copepoda).[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]My uneducated guess is they are of the order Cyclopoida (same as anchor worms) or Harpacticoida. There are so many different kinds! It seems they can either be food for the fish or parasites. Even if they turn out to not be anchor worms, I would rather they not be in my tank, so I plan to treat for them.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Fish update[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The fish are doing well. I have not done anything past that first levamisole treatment last week. Everyone is eating again and I’m starting to see normal poops.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Since the stool sample was taken after the first levamisole treatment, it’s possible there was something else besides the copepods causing problems. Therefore, based on that success, I am going to continue with the second treatment.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Next Steps [/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]Tonight I will do a water change (find and remove any dead) and give them their second dose of Levamisole HCL. This stays in the water for 48 hours. Then another water change with vacuum. [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]I will order “Hikari Pond Cyro-Pro Solution” for the crustacean Copepod things. This medicine is the only one I could find that was safe for otto’s and snails and while being aimed at anchor worms, lice and crustaceans. [/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]I may feed them metronidazole flakes for a week to cover my bases.[/FONT]
• [FONT=&quot]Then, hopefully, no medicine for a long while![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Other[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]I will order “Handbook of Fish Diseases” (Untergasser, G.) and “Fish Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment, 2nd Edition” (Noga Edward J.)[/FONT]

• [FONT=&quot]I will order a flubendazole based dewormer to have on hand in my ever-growing fish medicine cabinet. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I will update this thread with my results once I have them. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks again everyone!! You are all awesome. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Julianna[/FONT]