Post by jocie1976 on Apr 22, 2015 1:17:35 GMT -5
These worms usually aren't noticed until you see them on the body of your fish, although they are there long before. The anchor worm can be removed with tweezers from the infected fish, the bloody spot dipped once with iodine or hydrogen peroxide on a cotton swab, and then daily application of neosporin creme. If the anchor worm is on a newly aquired fish in quarantine, thats mostly all thats needed. If the whole tank is infected, additional measures are asked for. Medications like Dimillin or Program as well as other readily available remedies are neccessary in that case. Salt is great as well.
Precautions:Even though the visible anchor worm might be removed, there is still a good chance that there are larvae in the tank, especially if the tank is heavily infested. Before the anchor worm can be seen,damage could already be done to the gills and skin of the fish. Secondary infections from the open wound are also possible, so a round of medicated food is a good idea.The Anchor Worm is not always noticeable as pictured here, often it starts out as a small red sore. These red sores then multiply followed by small thread like protrusions that are the anchor worm.
Other common symptoms include frequent rubbing/flashing, inflammation on the body of the fish, and generally lethargy of the fish such as sitting on the bottom or floating on the surface of the water. If the Anchor Worm cannot be removed, this is especially true with very small anchor worms, a direct swab of 50% water Potium Permanganate & water on the sore with the worm should be performed.
With either procedure, a bath should also follow that consists of Methylene Blue, Salt, Nitrofurazone, & possibly Metronidazole.
(Google pictures used)
