Uh oh ... Camallanus?

[nlifs]

Another day, another (potential) issue ...

Just walked by the tank and took a quick look and saw what seems to be something red/brown protruding from one of the fish. Doesn't look like normal poop to me ... apologies for the quality of the pictures.

Could this be Camallanus??

I don't know where this could have come from ... the LFS said that they quarantine all of the fish for 1-2 weeks before offering them for sale ... Seems to be behaving normally (eating, swimming, etc.).

Or perhaps it is just poop and I'm being overly paranoid given my past experiences?

If it is a parasite, what, if anything, can/should I do? I don't have ready access to any medications here in Canada. All I have in the house is aquarium salt or epsom salt ...

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Andy Sager]

If the fish isn't bloated and still is eating, it's probably not Camallanus worms but if you can net the fish and place it in a clean container or bucket so that the fish expels what's hanging out, you'll be better able to see if the thing is moving or just a healthy Poo. If it is worms, they would have come in the fish. You can check out the lifecycle of this worm here: https://be.chewy.com/how-to-treat-and-prevent-camallanus-worms-in-aquarium-fish/ ( it's about half way down the page in the "Lifecycle of the worm " section. )

Your store should be carrying meds for deworming. Anything with the ingredient Praziquantel or fenbendazole, or levamisole will treat the worms. Salt will not.

 

[nlifs]

Hi Andy,

Whatever it was expelled shortly thereafter, and fish still seems to be healthy, so I'm going to assume it was regular poop for now - thanks again!