Eeeek! Fish Louse!

[Tigerlily]

My new birthday present (cute little pearl scale goldfish) has a fish louse right on top of her head! I confirmed the parasite in my book of fish diseases. According to the same book, salt is an effective treatment for these parasites...but I want some first-hand experiences to back that up!

Has anyone treated for these before? Did you use salt? Are there chemicals or medications that would work better? She is all alone in a fully cycled 12 gallon eclipse tank, so I don't have to worry about any other fish - and the louse doesn't seem to be bothering her at all yet, but I want to prevent a fish louse plague! I've had her for about one month, and she could have brought un-noticed parasites with her, or I supposed they could have come in on some new plants I added about 2 weeks ago.

Of course, whatever I do, I'd like to prevent any damage to the biological filter. (Cycling with goldfish is such a pain! I used bio-spira and I transfered an established in-tank filter to the tank, and I still had a mini-cycle!)

I appreciate any experiences or tips you can share! Thanks!

 

[Fruitbat]

Tigerlily...

I've had pretty good success using Jungle's Parasite Clear against external parasites like anchor 'worms' and it should be equally effective against fish 'lice' (Argulus). It doesn't seem to have any radical effect on the bacterial population of the tank...though I'm sure it does some damage because of the ingredients it contains.