Flukes

[BangkokMatt]

Can you see the parasite with the naked eye. How big are they and how many would you expect to see on an infected fish. Thanks

 

[billsreef]

They can be very difficult to see. Often they will look like a small translucent or clear bump on the fish or a loose flap of clear skin, if you see them at all. Most often it's only the damage to the skin you see. Size ranges from pin head to around a quarter inch. I've seen fish with only a couple, ranging up to several hundred in severe cases on large fish like tangs or angels. A simple fresh water dip of 1 to 5 minutes works well to remove them and confirm their presence, as they swell up with water and turn opaque and then fall off making the dip container look like a snow globe.

 

[Myrddraal]

I was able to see the ones on my firefish. Here's a recent thread on them:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1260067&perpage=25&pagenumber=1