ARRRGGGHHH!! anchor worm!

[JurassicRIP]

Whats the best way to remove a very large anchor worm, that has appeared on the back of one of my orandas? I thought he was a bit off colour recently (his nicknames sullen), until i noticed the s***ing thing up near his dorsal fin. I understand i have to remove the adult manually 8O 'gulp' ,but is there a technique to it?. Also have to treat water as well, which product to use. I am in uk, so need brandnames obtainable over here.

 

[Chrismac]

Here is some info that i found in Google hope this helps I never had this problem sounds nasty
Good luck.
Chris.

"You should kill all visible worms by dabbing them with a cotton swab, dipped in Potassium Permanganate or an anti-parasitic medication. Then you should carefully remove them from the fish with tweezers. You should kill the parasites before removing them because if they have burrowed deeply, removing them alive could cause the fish pain and significant physical damage. Once you’ve removed the parasite, you should then dab the wounds with Methylene Blue to prevent secondary bacterial infections from occurring. It is highly recommended that you feed the fish with medicated food. The tank will also need to be treated to kill any unseen, free-swimming juvenile parasites. You can use Fluke Tabs, Clout, Paragon or Trifon for this."


"Adult worms can sometimes be physically removed individually but this is a very stressful process. Often the most effective treatment is a salt dip or commercial chemical remedy. To fully eradicate the anchor worm parasite one must remember to attack both the adult and the free swimming larvae to prevent reinfection."

 

[JurassicRIP]

Quick update:The initial problem is sorted, the original host fish has been checked over and disinfected against any secondary infection. It seems he'll be left with a scar for his troubles thou!!. However, the worm dropped off so i've had to medicate the tank, This has meant that i had to remove the filter and plants, as the treatments so strong it'll kill off the plants, and knock out the filter. The boys are far from happy too, and needless to say so am i!! I'm doing 25% daily water changes in order to stay on top of things, But the treatment seems to be affecting thier guts, as they're producing long fluffy white strands instead of the usual c**p! This does seem to improve as i dilute the medication thou. So onwards and upwards!!!

 

[jeffd902]

Is there a place on the net where I can see pictures of common malidies and paracites? I really dont know what to look for?

 

[JurassicRIP]

Parasite search

heres a few sites i've found by doing a simple search on google:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA041_a good site but from a scientific POV
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/disease.html_a nice site, with treatment tables and symptom guides, very few pics
http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/index.htm-very nice, has movie clips of some parasites in situ (thou no Lernea)

Hope this is useful. Personally i prefer a good book with clear illustrations. It's easier to pick it up and use it while standing by the tank!!