sicky koi swordtail

[fishykisses]

it looks like there are worms on her :confused:
It's actually really grossing me out but moreso - she looks really uncomfortable.
She's in the 55g quarantine with all the rest, one lyretail also looks like she has a small spot of fungus on her tail.
here's a pic of her...problem is, i don't have anymore quarantine tanks. They all came from the same place and some still look a bit clampy so i suppose treating the lot shouldn't hurt...no?
anyway - i don't know what to treat with, i already lost the other koi. I'm not sure what to do with her.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b245/fishykisses/2007_03312weekbetta0002.jpg

[Shelley]

I cant tell from the picture but it sounds like anchor worms. From what I can find it seems to be a problem mostly in pond raised fish, such as Koi (goldfish kind). I bet ya that all these Koi swords coming into BC lately are pond raised in Taiwan. Heres a little info I found on treating anchor worms.

Anchor worms can be tough to kill.
Clout is very effective for Anchor Worms but some of the ingredients in
Clout can present a problem (Trichlorfon). Removing the fish can also break the cycle, as without a host, the female Anchor Worms cannot reproduce.
Metronidazole combined with Furazone and even methylene blue can be an
effective alternative, but methylene blue is hard on plants and aerobic
bacteria for ammonia removal.
I just looked in my med box, and Clout says it will work on leeches, lice,flukes,anchor worms.and protazoan parasites.
I also have fluke tabs, that treats anchor worms,flukes,lice, and tapeworms. They are both Aquarium Products, website for ingrediants and instructions i s
www.aq-products.com (http://www.aq-products.com) HTH Shelley

[fishykisses]

yikes - do you think i should euthanize?

[Shelley]

I wouldnt do that without some searching and making sure just whats going on woth her. Do some googling and see ehat you can find. I see that in Koi (goldfish) you can use tweezers and pull them out carefully.. but a Koi goldfish is much much bigger.I think it would stress the poor girl too much even trying manual removal.

[fishykisses]

what i'm most concerned about is the chance of it spreading to the others...there are quite a few fish in there.

[Melody]

Agreed, probably Anchor Worms. Make sure you isolate her & don't try to remove them. It stresses the fish and the wound can get infected.:wideeyed:

Good luck!

[Shelley]

Did you get all your fish from the same source? You said one Koi had already died. Did it also have these worms? I have never dealt with anchor worms, so I am just going from what I have read. I read that they spread very easily. I think I would be leaning toward treating the whole batch of them. 55 gallons is a lot of water to treat tho. You could take all the fish out and treat them in a smaller tank, or even say a 5 gallon salt bucket with an airstone and a heater. You will need to read how long your 55 will have to remain empty to break the cycle. You wouldnt want to treat the fish and them put them back into a contaminated tank.:no:

[traco1]

Depending on your filtration and what is in the tank, you can also lower the water level, then that means less meds to treat with.

[fishykisses]

they're all from the same place but different tanks. it's just the one that had the worms - the other didn't appear sick at all before it died.
i've isolated the fish in a 1/2g tank. The rest of the fish, besides the one with the bit of fungus appear well, even the clampy ones are unclamping with adding salt to the water. I've had them for 4 days i believe and i'm going to do a 50% wc tomorrow. Hopefully everyone will come around. I don't have high hopes for the koi though. She looks horrible.

[Melody]

How's things in the tanks today, Connie?:wideeyed: I've been thinking about you & yours. Nothing more disappointing than getting new fish and then having them get sick. :no:

[fishykisses]

miss wormy sword is still hanging in but barely...she doesn't appear to be as uncomfortable. I lost a platy for an unknown reason ...i'm just soooo glad i quarantined this group. I wouldn't be surprised if i lose another lyre, it's acting funny today. UGH stupid pet stores.

[Melody]

I hope things settle down for you soon. I hope you give the store manager a piece of your mind!

[WaterPond]

uggh, im sorry to hear about this,

I have had a similar experience with a pet store in my area, except instead on anchor worms, it was internal parasites. It all came from a gold severum that i "rescued" from a tank that had a kenyii cichlid in it. Turned out that fish had fin rot, internal parasites, and some type of body fungus. My fish only caught the internal parasites (probably the worst of the bunch) I lost around 9 fish from that.

I really hope things get better, and if not, i hope you teach that pet store a lesson.

[fishykisses]

the sword died and the tank isn't looking good. I'm going do do more wc's tonight.
I know the store isn't good, but honestly i've never had this problem with them. When i told the store manager when i went to get a couple more to replace the ones that died he gave them to me free. This is pretty rediculous though, i've lost more, healthy ones are looking sick. My $100+ are slowing being flushed down the toilett...literally.

[CACAdmin]

Sorry to hear things are going so badly. :( Good luck with the rest of them. I sure hope things turn around for you.

[Melody]

Very frustrating - been there. I hope the new ones do better!

[Shelley]

Aww Im sorry to hear you are having so many problems with them.

[CACAdmin]

How are your fish doing now?

[fishykisses]

all but one of the lyretails died, the [pineapple swordtails are doing great...one female is really pregnant but one male jumped and died, and the little speckled platy is great but the dark one looks clamped still.
Over all - i GIANT waste of money that whole endeavour.
i'm really sad about the lyretails - the one i have left is a male so i can't even make make up for all the loses with fry.

[CACAdmin]

That really sad. I had hoped that the majority would recover for you. :hugs:

[jordonsmum]

I'm soooo sorry to hear about your loss. Is there anyway that antibiotics could help in partnership with meds???

Are you on the island or the mainland? If you are passing through Victoria anytime, come and see me. I have quite a few fry on their way. I know it will take some time to grow them out, but it's a start. :;):

[fishykisses]

thanks so much - i'm on the mainland. Very nice of you to offer - thanks again.

[Katalyst]

I'm a goldfish/snail person so take this info for what its worth. Dimilin will kill anchor worms but being I'm not familiar with the type of fish you keep you may want to research it more. I've never used dimilin personally but I have friends who have. Praziquantel is also helpful in killing many different parasites. Hope you are able to save some of them. :(

Good luck!