Fishy, but worms?

[Zezmo]

Er, I made the title phonetic so it would not get censored.

I have a couple fish who have small worms sticking out of their anus. These are small clear/red worms. Really they are clear but you can see their red blood or whatever inside of them. They are round and tapered/pointed at the end. I can usually see 2-5 of them sticking out. They definitely come out as far as 3mm or retract until they are barely visible.
The first fish I noticed them with, I put in the Q-tank and fed him food with a 1% Metronidazole (the product said it was recommended for parasites). He was real thin, and would not eat, and he died. I confirmed at least 2-3 other fish have these same worms, They are not looking thin yet, and are eating normally. I tried the food for one week, and no affect on the worms. I then bought 500mg Metronidazole pills. I am mixing 1/2 pill with a few drops of water to make a paste, and then I use this paste to coat the food. I have already finished a 3-day cycle of this food. I was going to feed normally for 3 days and then try another cycle.
After the first round, the meds have not even slightly affected the worms. I am here hooping someone has some experience with internal worms and fish, and maybe some better choice of treatments than what I am using.

 

[talloulou]

Do a search on Camallanus Worms in tropical fish. This sounds, to me, like what your fish have. Have you fed them any live food?

 

[talloulou]

Here is a good picture of the worm

http://inkmkr.com/Fish/CamallanusTreatment/

does it look like what you are seeing?

 

[Jchillin]

From what you are describing, they sound like nematodes. I have no first hand experience but I've heard about them often enough on this forum.

Here is a link with some info on them.

http://www.micrographia.com/specbiol/helmint/nematod/nema0100.htm

and this treatment chart (as good as I can find).

http://www.pets-warehouse.com/Fishmed2.htm

HTH

 

[talloulou]

Here's another link that might be helpful.

http://members.optushome.com.au/chelmon/Worms.htm

"Camallanus infection will initially be noticed as red-coloured worms protruding from the anus of the fish, most noticeable after feeding. They attach to the wall of the fish's intestines with their tiny jaws and suck its blood. This can cause considerably damage to the intestinal lining, and a reduced capacity of the fish's ability to readily absorb nutrients, not to mention anaemia from all the blood that the worms are consuming.

Most Camallanus species reproduce by means of an intermediate host, which can be small crustaceans such as copepods or various insect larvae. However, they may multiply within the confines of an aquarium, even in the absence of their intermediate host, passing from fish to fish directly. Juvenile worms are vented with the fish's faeces and ingested by other fish. This can result in heavy infestations in some situations. The most common species found in aquarium fish are Camallanus cotti and Camallanus lacustris, both of which produce live larvae. Female specimens can attain a length of up to 10 mm, while males usually only grow about 3 mm long.

Treatment
The simplest solution is to never get them in the first place by eliminating all possible sources of infection. Stop feeding your fishes wild-collected live food, sterilise anything that you put in your aquaria (if possible), and be very careful from where and whom you obtain your fish. Also, make sure you quarantine any new fishes for 4 weeks before you put them in your regular aquaria. If they are infected, you should eventually see the red worms protruding from the fish's anus.

There are numerous recommended chemical treatments. Among them are Piperazine, Levamisole, Fenbendazole, and some specific aquarium medication for treatment of internal worms. However, mixed results have been reported using these drug treatments and it is sometimes difficult to remove camallanus from infected aquaria. Some success has been reported using the following treatment regimes:

Flubendazole 5%: Mix 100 milligrams into 100 grams food. Give it every second day for 5 days. On those days feed only once with the regular diet. It is suggested to enhance the food with cod-liver oil and bind it with gelatine or agar, since fish are quick to refuse food, which has been medicated. Withholding food for a few days prior to feeding medicated food may aid in acceptance. As a bath, it can be used at 2 mg/L of water once a week for three weeks.

Concurat L (10% Levamisole): Mix 1 gram Concurat into 100 grams food. Give once daily over 5 days. If the fish are already weakened and refuse to eat then you can try 30 mg/L of water dissolved in a little water beforehand. After 3 days do a 50% water change and dose again. After another 3 days repeat the waterchange."

 

[Zezmo]

Those are them, thanks for the info.
For one, the meds I was using are totally ineffective versus these guys. But is seems that a course of Levamisol will do it.
Has anyone used this stuff? I have no inverts in there now, and I removed the Apple snail before I started the other treatment. Plants? Loaches? Cories? can they take it?

Thank again folks

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

Everything I have read says they will be just fine. I've had trouble finding it around here.

 

[Zezmo]

I could not find it either. I did find it as an ingredient in "Discomed" so I am trying that in Food.

 

[fishyrican]

When my Serpae Tetras had camallanus worms, I used Mardel's CopperSafe and that took care of it. Of course, it is not safe for your inverts.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

The only place that I could find it was at farm/veterinary supply store (it also kills worms in pigs and cattle) but it was more than I could ever use.