Treating Anchor Worms

[bjbass]

I plucked the adults from my smallmouth two weeks ago and went through three treatments of Parasite Clear. I thought everything was good. About a week later I started to see lots of small white worms attached to the fins of all my other fish! They are definitely anchor worms. One day I took all the fish out and plucked what I could see, but they problem with these things is, especially when they are small, it is really hard to see the worms out of water. Even, when I know where they are. I had the fish laying on a wet towel and then I used another wet towel to gently swipe their fins hoping to get them off. I think this worked a little bit.

I finally found Jungle Labs Anchors Away at my local fish store. The active ingredient is diflubenzuron (Dimilin).

Why is it sold for pond use only? It is the only source of pure dimilin I could find for treating my anchor worms. I followed the directions for the gallonage that they recommend and treated.

Can you overdose diflubenzuron in a tank? I thought about adding a bit extra to ensure these things are exterminated.

Another problem I have is that I have found three leeches in the tank now too and killed them as well. Hopefully the Anchors Away kills them too.

 

[jsoong]

No, you don't want to overdose anything "just in case it will work better" .... dimilin is reasonably toxic so stick with the appropriate dosage. <Besides, overdosing won't work any better ....>

Dimilin inhibits the formation of chitin (the exoskeleton of insects). It is effective against insects (like anchor worms - which is an insect), but won't work against real worms like leeches.

 

[bjbass]

Ok. I only dosed what was necessary. Jungle Labs told me that I shouldn't overdose as well.

This is what they had to say.

"This is a highly effective product and quite strong so only suggested for ponds the dosage is for larger water containers but your aquarium is very large. You will want to keep a close eye on your fish and quickly put the carbon back in and do a 25% water change if you see them getting into trouble. Be mindful of the dosage which would really be only 5 teaspoons. It could take a week before you see anything happening with the anchor worms. Do a 25% water change and then add 5 more teaspoons every 6 days for three times. Do not use with snails or other crustaceans."

 

[BigJim]

API General Cure took care of the anchor worms in my tank. I tried Clout, but it only succeeded in turning the silicone in the tank blue. I looked at Dimilin, but, as you've found out, it was sold only in the pond section. I did the math and figured out I'd need something like one tablespoon out of the bottle to treat the tank.