Todd Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 i have noticed a worm getting around the substrate of my tank. it is about half a mill in diameter and around 15 mills long. its red. i can put photos up later. is this good or bad? it looks similar to a blood worm to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirecichlid Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 Mate, isolate that tank, dont use any nets used in that tank in any of your other tanks and try get hold of some Protazin. It sounds like Cammallanus worms and they will kill your fish from the inside out. They are little borers, so you will see them hanging out of the fishes anus. I had an outbreak in one of my tanks a couple of years ago that killed about 200 guppies, B'nose and bolivian rams. I will try and post the video of the infestation if i can find it cheers Trent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishinf Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 oh no i seen this in one of my tanks a few months back exaclly the same i better get some protazin to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRK-351 Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 if it is camallanus worms, i have seen an article on pleco planet that explains what to do. the basic gist of it is as follows: Try treating with avitrol plus which is an over the counter bird wormer that you should be able to find at most pet stores. Dosages are tablet form is 1 tablet per 10 litres of aquarium water and for the liquid form it is 1ml per 5 litres. to treat the fish i would remove the substrate if possible or move the fish to a hospital tank with no substrate. then add the required dosage. you should do this on a day when you will be home and able to keep watch of the fish. the medication will paralyse the worms and the fish will poo them out. this is the reason you dont want any substrate, so you can easily see the worms and syphon them out, otherwise they will be eaten and the process will continue. keep checking the tank from 3-24 hours after you add medication and syphon the worms as necessary. on the 3rd day perform a 30% water change and feed the fish as normal. repeat the treatment after 2 weeks to catch all remaining eggs. it is also possible to treat a 3rd time after another 2 weeks, the process is the same as the first treatment. also, if you move the fish to a hospital tank, dont forget to throroughly clean the main tank and all equipment that you have exposed to the infected water. you can do a google search for camallanus worms and you will see images of the reddish worms showing out of the anus of infected fish. good luck! mat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted September 5, 2011 Author Share Posted September 5, 2011 hmm, now I'm worried. So is ther any way to just kill them and be done with it? Cause its a 6ft tank and they could be anywhere... There would be little chance of fixing the problem entirely. From what I have read it isn't common for these worms to live in the substrate? How does this worm reproduce? I may have to begin quarantining new fish... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/CamellanusTreatment.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirecichlid Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 They do live in the substrate, I had white crushed coral sand and when i looked in there it was pink. I tapped the glass and it dissappeared instantly. Unfortunately removal of the substrate is the only 100% cure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted September 9, 2011 Author Share Posted September 9, 2011 hmm, well none of my fish have the worms hanging out of them? or is it just too early for this to happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquaholic Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 hmm, well none of my fish have the worms hanging out of them? or is it just too early for this to happen? Use avitrol plus asap. Once you see them hanging out its almost too late. It is harmless and wont hurt the fish or your bio media. I worm all new purchases with it as a precaution. Its cheap too. Try to get the tablets as they work better imo. If you don't worm them and it is cammalanus expect them all to die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted September 10, 2011 Author Share Posted September 10, 2011 ok. ill get onto that. would it be best to dose in a hospital tank or in the display? and would it be necessary to remove with carbon afterwards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted September 10, 2011 Author Share Posted September 10, 2011 here is a picture. its fairly blurry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattrox Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 That is a segmented worm. It is not a callumanus worm, which is a nematode (round worm). I would do a gravel vac to see if it could be removed and to check for others. Not sure which medications would kill that type of worm. It might even be some sort of insect larvae? But if you do manage a clearer pic, post it. Mind you that pic isn't bad and clear up a few questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Todd Posted September 10, 2011 Author Share Posted September 10, 2011 well thats good news. i have only seen one in the tank, and have already vacuumed the sand, so hopefully it shouldn't be a problem. would it be a good idea to worm the fish anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquaholic Posted September 10, 2011 Share Posted September 10, 2011 yes. Do the tank they are in. Avitrol works on round worm. http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/AVITTAB#AV...;utm_medium=cpc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirecichlid Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 try having a read through this thread cammallanus worms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.