Marine Anchor Worm?

[Au_ThatHurt]

Hey Guys. I recently found this small, worm-like looking parasite on my male clown (attached is a picture at its largest from what i've seen). It seems to be buried into the top of his head but tends to recede to a point where it is very tough to see it anymore. It seems that the small white spot it recedes into has gotten smaller, but I am not sure if this just is a sign it has buried itself deeper.

I picked up a small bottle of prazipro and I am unsure whether to remove this small, hitchhiking feather duster I have been taking care of and put it in a qt while I dose the display, or should I qt my fish and leave the tank alone (in turn leaving my water quality in check as well as keeping the 50% water changes to my 10g qt instead of my 40g display).

I performed a 72 day fallow period a few months ago as I thought my fish could have had ich and the only thing I have added to the tank since then was 3 shells for my hermit crab to choose from which were bought (dry/damp in some spots) from a bag at my lfs. I tried cleaning them with ro water but this parasite might have been leached from inside one of the shells maybe?

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[krullshards]

Hey Guys. I recently found this small, worm-like looking parasite on my male clown (attached is a picture at its largest from what i've seen). It seems to be buried into the top of his head but tends to recede to a point where it is very tough to see it anymore. It seems that the small white spot it recedes into has gotten smaller, but I am not sure if this just is a sign it has buried itself deeper.

I picked up a small bottle of prazipro and I am unsure whether to remove this small, hitchhiking feather duster I have been taking care of and put it in a qt while I dose the display, or should I qt my fish and leave the tank alone (in turn leaving my water quality in check as well as keeping the 50% water changes to my 10g qt instead of my 40g display).

I performed a 72 day fallow period a few months ago as I thought my fish could have had ich and the only thing I have added to the tank since then was 3 shells for my hermit crab to choose from which were bought (dry/damp in some spots) from a bag at my lfs. I tried cleaning them with ro water but this parasite might have been leached from inside one of the shells maybe?

Thanks for the help everyone!

That picture isn't super clear. If you are just concerned about the one clown, I don't see why you wouldn't take him out and treat him in the 10g QT. Like you said, easier to do large water changes on that and also easier to keep an eye on the clown to see if the treatment has been effective.

Any reason you want to keep him in the display?

 

[Au_ThatHurt]

That picture isn't super clear. If you are just concerned about the one clown, I don't see why you wouldn't take him out and treat him in the 10g QT. Like you said, easier to do large water changes on that and also easier to keep an eye on the clown to see if the treatment has been effective.

Any reason you want to keep him in the display?

I figure that if there is one worm or parasite (not sure what else that wormlike string on his head could be), then there might be more and treating the display would prevent further run-ins with the same parasite. I also noticed the female clown had a slightly white/very thin poop a few days ago and thought it couldn't hurt to treat at the same time in case she had internal worms (also providing less stress from pair separation.)

 

[ThRoewer]

If it's an isopod (most likely it is) you would need to use some pretty drastic toxins (Dylox) to kill them reliably. I would rather get rid of it in a QT.

It seems these kind of parasites getting a foothold at aqua culture facilities.
Recently a LFS here got a shipment of large tank raised seahorses from Florida and about half of them had Argulus (fish lice) on them.
They got lucky and caught it on time and removed them with tweezers before the seahorses went into their system. Had those isopods made it into their system it could have gotten ugly.

 

[Au_ThatHurt]

If it's an isopod (most likely it is) you would need to use some pretty drastic toxins (Dylox) to kill them reliably. I would rather get rid of it in a QT.

It seems these kind of parasites getting a foothold at aqua culture facilities.
Recently a LFS here got a shipment of large tank raised seahorses from Florida and about half of them had Argulus (fish lice) on them.
They got lucky and caught it on time and removed them with tweezers before the seahorses went into their system. Had those isopods made it into their system it could have gotten ugly.

Hey Roewer thats some really bad news.... So if it is in fact an isopod does that mean my fish will all get one eventually as it is such a small tank? Also I am not sure if you have seen a peanut worm release a thin,almost clear, string like substance but the parasite released a similar thread and I am not sure if an isopod would do this. It seems they carry eggs so I dont think it was releasing a string of eggs (just wondering if this string coming from the parasite could be a sign of an isopod/could rule out an isopod)

Also, I just looked at him and couldn't even see the white dot anymore where it seemed the parasite was retracting into. Could a clownfish's immune system naturally fight off an isopod?

Thanks for the insight Roewer, these things weren't even on my list of subjects before you brought them to my attention.

 

[ThRoewer]

As long as it is just this one you can likely remove it with tweezers and keep the fish under observation for a while.
Many of these parasitic isopods have a large female with a tiny male attached to it, so assume they can reproduce.
The good news is that many of these isopods need an intermediate host for their larva stage, and often its something they won't find in a tank.
But there are also quite a few with a direct lifecycle that can reproduce just fine in a tank environment.
So it is best not to take a chance.

As for immunity - a clear no! No fish is immune or can acquire immunity against these bloodsuckers.
Even cleaner wrasses are not overly effective once these guys have properly settled in.

 

[ThRoewer]

BTW: in the wild these parasites are much more of a plague to fish than ich, velvet and brook together.

 

[krullshards]

Good grief.. Just when I thought I'd heard it all. What's the prognosis for this sort of thing? Fish mortality rate? Is the treatment tweezers or dylox? Where does one get dylox? And any helpful reading on isopods?

Also, what the heck is a peanut worm?

 

[Au_ThatHurt]

As long as it is just this one you can likely remove it with tweezers and keep the fish under observation for a while.
Many of these parasitic isopods have a large female with a tiny male attached to it, so assume they can reproduce.
The good news is that many of these isopods need an intermediate host for their larva stage, and often its something they won't find in a tank.
But there are also quite a few with a direct lifecycle that can reproduce just fine in a tank environment.
So it is best not to take a chance.

As for immunity - a clear no! No fish is immune or can acquire immunity against these bloodsuckers.
Even cleaner wrasses are not overly effective once these guys have properly settled in.

I cannot see it anymore! where could it have gone!? I feel like my tank is about to take a turn for the worst, I just wish I tweezed the darn thing when I saw it :headwally:

Ok, so after briefly researching parasitic isopods, I could not find any familiar images or descriptions of the same thing that was/is on my clown. The isopod seems to have a hard segmented shell like most crustaceans that prevents it from swaying in the current and the parasite on my clown would sway in the water in all directions just like a worm so I am left to believe that it is some sort of anchor worm/fluke worm. Going to qt the fish with prazipro as a precautionary procedure.

Also @krullshards a peanut worm is just a harmless worm that feeds on random stuff it can find in the water column. I have a bunch in my tank and I have seen a very tiny ball of hair algae as well as a tiny piece of leftover squid in their mouths.

 

[krullshards]

I cannot see it anymore! where could it have gone!? I feel like my tank is about to take a turn for the worst, I just wish I tweezed the darn thing when I saw it :headwally:

Ok, so after briefly researching parasitic isopods, I could not find any familiar images or descriptions of the same thing that was/is on my clown. The isopod seems to have a hard segmented shell like most crustaceans that prevents it from swaying in the current and the parasite on my clown would sway in the water in all directions just like a worm so I am left to believe that it is some sort of anchor worm/fluke worm. Going to qt the fish with prazipro as a precautionary procedure.

Also @krullshards a peanut worm is just a harmless worm that feeds on random stuff it can find in the water column. I have a bunch in my tank and I have seen a very tiny ball of hair algae as well as a tiny piece of leftover squid in their mouths.

Wow. Man, just goes to show you all the living things that end up in our tanks.

 

[Deinonych]

Agreed, and you don't want to use Dylox unless it's your absolute last resort. It's an organophophate and it's nasty stuff.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blo...ally-kills-100-reef-fish-with-fluke-treatment

 

[Au_ThatHurt]

Wow. Man, just goes to show you all the living things that end up in our tanks.

I know right! With our small closed systems it seems to not take much for whatever found itself in the live rock to start breeding out the wazoo! (not to mention our goal is providing the best possible water quality for whatever it is haha :crazy1

 

[Au_ThatHurt]

Agreed, and you don't want to use Dylox unless it's your absolute last resort. It's an organophophate and it's nasty stuff.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blo...ally-kills-100-reef-fish-with-fluke-treatment

Neurotoxin?!...man I feel so bad for the main caretaker of that tank. He had to have so much love for those things having put hundreds of hours into keeping em healthy. will definitely be sticking to the prazipro!