External parasite

[cwolff]

Hi All,
I seem to have some external parasites in my tank. Freshwater, 60 gal, set up fro about a year. I have noticed white strings attached to some of my fish. A young black sail fin molly had a "worm" attached to it's gill area. It is now gone...There seems to be one attached to a guppy's back, right in front of the dorsal fin, in a way that makes it look like the fin is split.
I also have a 25 gal gold fish tank, and my lion head had what seemed to be a worm attached to it's head. I yanked it off and flushed it(the worm). The gold fish seem to be just fine, but I'm concerned about my fresh water tank. I have three glass tetras in there, and one of them had white spots (not ich) in it's muscle tissue. (I had those fish for over a year) These spots are now gone, but I'm seeing these white strings attached to my fish....
Any suggestions?

 

[jsoong]

What is the worm like? pic?

If the worm is segmented & branched, it is an anchor worm - pretty common in goldfish & certainly can get from there into your other tank.
See this pic & some info:
Aquarium FD - Anchor Worms - Disease Identification, Diagnosis & Treatment

Anchor worm is a crustacean, and the usual anti-parasitic meds for fish don't work. Salt is said to prevent reattachment of new worm (the tank is full of worm eggs) after you physically remove it. Other treatment include KMnO4, Demlin.

Another possibility may be body flukes. The treatment is totally different (you can use quick cure for that).