What is THIS?!?!?

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I have a "waterfall pond" on my hillside that stays full because of aggressive sprinklers and so it propagates mosquitoes unless I keep fish in it. I've made it into a very natural pond (i.e. no filter,etc.) and seem to very successfully keep mosquito fish in it. Periodically I add a pond lily, or some plants with limited success. But this summer I added a fantail goldfish and an apple snail to the ecosystem. I thought everything was just great until I noticed my goldfish seemed to be growing extra fins??? I've pulled the goldfish out of the pond only to see something DISGUSTING! Worms? Leeches? And to make matters worse, I'm wondering if the whole pond is now infected with these parasites?

Right now I have the goldfish in about one quart of water (small goldfish bowl) with some Stresscoat (to dechlorinate the water) and 1 gram of salt. (Why salt? I don't know. The internet seems to tell me that's a good thing in small quantities for goldfish with parasites ?)

I have 3 questions:
1. What the heck is this?
2. What do I do for the fish? (and let's just say, "NO" I'm NOT going to pick these things off with my tweezers!)
3. What do I do for the pond and all the mosquito fish, the apple snail and plants?

PLEASE HELP! I really like my little pond and my fish - usually - but right now I'm horrified and would like to take a flame thrower to the whole hillside!
 

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caroncaldwell said:
I have 3 questions:
1. What the heck is this?
Anchor worm.

caroncaldwell said:
2. What do I do for the fish? (and let's just say, "NO" I'm NOT going to pick these things off with my tweezers!)
Have someone else pick them off with tweezers.

Or "Anchors Away", or any product with diflubenzuron.

Or a product with formalin.

Or potassium permanganate. Best option if you know what you're doing.

Salt isn't very effective at the dose of 1 gram /quart. You'd need 4-8 times more salt. It's common for people to say to use salt to cure everything, but they rarely know what they're talking about.

My very best advice is to research cures, and get a good understanding before starting any kind of treatment. There are a line of people around the block just waiting to tell you all kinds of stuff and 99% don't know the first thing about anything. Only do stuff you understand.

More fish die from people doing stuff they don't really understand than are cured imo.

caroncaldwell said:
3. What do I do for the pond and all the mosquito fish, the apple snail and plants?
There are many options. Really far too many for me to list with enough detail to help you. It would take pages and pages. I personally think the best option is to Google "Anchor Worm" treatment but forum rules don't allow me to say that, so I won't. Forums rules are set up to get you to stay here and post a lot.

caroncaldwell said:
PLEASE HELP! I really like my little pond and my fish - usually - but right now I'm horrified and would like to take a flame thrower to the whole hillside!
That wouldn't affect anchor worm. They'd be safe in the water.
 
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I agree with wb on this you have a anchor worm infestation which you'll need to irradicate from your pond to stop them in their juvinile stage as well as the adults which you should physically remove by hand using sterile tweezers ,afrer sedating your fish.
For this you can use oil of cloves at around a dose of 10ml per 2 gallons , allow the fish to go over on its side then permove from the oil of cloves/water mixture making sure that the fish is sedated
Then you should treat the ara where you have removed the adult anchor worm with either malachite green or the multipurpose propolis which you can buy in both liquid and spray form from your local health store
This is to take care of secondary bacterial infections
I would check out all your fish for the adult stages of this parasite removing and treating any fish you see that is infected treating as above.
Do you have a QT system as it would be an idea to place each goldfish treated in there.( all it would take for a couple of missed adults to reinfest your pond again)
Next we come to the juvenile stages of achor worm there are anchor worm treatments on the market you can buy that will do the job of erradicating all the juvenile stages from you pond, you'll have to do this a few times to be sure you have them all because in their egg stage you will miss them and in that stage any treatment would be non effective against them.
If you feel unsure about treating them do you have any more knowledgable fish keepers near you ?
Best of luck in treating them

rgrds

Dave
 

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Waterbug said:
Anchor worm.

Have someone else pick them off with tweezers.

Or "Anchors Away", or any product with diflubenzuron.

Or a product with formalin.

Or potassium permanganate. Best option if you know what you're doing.

Salt isn't very effective at the dose of 1 gram /quart. You'd need 4-8 times more salt. It's common for people to say to use salt to cure everything, but they rarely know what they're talking about.

My very best advice is to research cures, and get a good understanding before starting any kind of treatment. There are a line of people around the block just waiting to tell you all kinds of stuff and 99% don't know the first thing about anything. Only do stuff you understand.

More fish die from people doing stuff they don't really understand than are cured imo.

There are many options. Really far too many for me to list with enough detail to help you. It would take pages and pages. I personally think the best option is to Google "Anchor Worm" treatment but forum rules don't allow me to say that, so I won't. Forums rules are set up to get you to stay here and post a lot.

That wouldn't affect anchor worm. They'd be safe in the water.
WB, I have not heard where you can't post a link or document to give help. The way I read and understood is others felt you were abrupt in how you posted and just telling someone with little or no experience to google a subject isn't helpful to the forum as a whole. I've never had a issue one with anyone that is giving helpful information out to others that are in need. Please continue to be helpful. You have a lot of good info in that brain of yours that may or may not be fully appreciated by all, it may irritate some, and it may be to in depth to others. In the end all I ask is try and keep giving the most honest and beneficial post you can while keeping things peaceful and enjoyable to all.
 
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caroncaldwell said:
I have a "waterfall pond" on my hillside that stays full because of aggressive sprinklers and so it propagates mosquitoes unless I keep fish in it. I've made it into a very natural pond (i.e. no filter,etc.) and seem to very successfully keep mosquito fish in it. Periodically I add a pond lily, or some plants with limited success. But this summer I added a fantail goldfish and an apple snail to the ecosystem. I thought everything was just great until I noticed my goldfish seemed to be growing extra fins??? I've pulled the goldfish out of the pond only to see something DISGUSTING! Worms? Leeches? And to make matters worse, I'm wondering if the whole pond is now infected with these parasites?

Right now I have the goldfish in about one quart of water (small goldfish bowl) with some Stresscoat (to dechlorinate the water) and 1 gram of salt. (Why salt? I don't know. The internet seems to tell me that's a good thing in small quantities for goldfish with parasites ?)

I have 3 questions:
1. What the heck is this?
2. What do I do for the fish? (and let's just say, "NO" I'm NOT going to pick these things off with my tweezers!)
3. What do I do for the pond and all the mosquito fish, the apple snail and plants?

PLEASE HELP! I really like my little pond and my fish - usually - but right now I'm horrified and would like to take a flame thrower to the whole hillside!
Anchor worms ... treat with this (or I should say I had good luck with it) ... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dimilin-X-K...408?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac17640b8 please note. IT IS NOT SAFE FOR SNAILS
 
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Thank you for all the responses!

I'm still seriously disturbed by the idea of pulling these worms out with my tweezers... but I am looking into having someone else do it for me - and then throwing away the tweezers somewhere far from my home! (YUCK!!!)

I thought I'd have an easy time finding one of the many medicines suggested above, and was surprised to go to two fish stores that knew nothing about anchor worms, or any of those medicines mentioned. I was sold a bottle of CyroPro because it was the only thing that had "Anchor Worm" on the label, but now that I look at it, it says "treats diseases and conditions caused by anchor worms" and aids wound healing - not anything about killing the anchor worms themselves.

I guess I'll try the eBay suggestion above and expedite the shipping... and hope the fish is still alive by the time I'm ready to treat it.

If there is anyone out there who will indulge me a little bit longer, I have a few more questions...

1. I read that putting the goldfish into a liter of water with 30 grams of salt for 10 minutes will kill the worms and make them drop off. (I measured 30 grams of salt and that's a LOT of salt!) I'm worried it might kill the fish too. But if it worked, I could get these things off my goldfish right away (without having to pull them off myself) and then treat the whole pond in general in a few days when medicine arrives. Any thoughts on whether this concentration of salt would be safe for the fish for 10 minutes? And whether it will make the worms fall off?
2. If I order the Dimilin X, which is NOT safe for snails, should I remove my apple snail? For how long? And if I return the snail at a later time, is it possible that she could be carrying the anchor worms (eggs or whatever) and re-infest the pond?
3. I don't see any worms at all on any of my 30-or-so mosquito fish. Any thoughts on why my one-and-only goldfish has a dozen anchor worms yet all the mosquito fish seem to be fine? I'm hoping maybe they don't get anchor worms? It would be really hard to catch or treat the mosquito fish individually!
 
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It would be safer if you posted a link to the various sources you're using so the specific instructions can be read. The answer to your questions is "depends on all the other instructions". I don't like to assume a lot of things when suggesting treatments that can kill a person's fish.

I don't know the specific instructions but I would not consider a salt dip effective. Salt in the entire pond can kill them in their free swimming stage.

If you do kill them with anything, you still have to pull them off. They have barbs into the fish's flesh. When dead the barbs still hold on. Leaving them in increases the risk of infection a lot imo.

Hopefully you've been reading and found out that the worms on the fish are only one stage? They live throughout the pond. It's best to study the different treatments to decide which would work best for your pond.

So it's kind of a whole big picture type thing. Yes, pulling them off is the preferred method of removing the big visible female worms...but that's just one step. The fish no doubt has other smaller stage worms. If you don't treatment those stages you'd be right back in the same boat shortly.

And you know the biggest risk to the fish is after the treatment? Based on the pictures these worms are deep into tissue. The wounds created by killing/removing the worms can get infected so it's best to treat the wounds immediately. If you wait a couple of days and there's an infection, which is very likely, there is no realistic treatment choices at that stage and the fish is a goner.
 
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Your snail needs to be rehomed for the time being. Unlike salt baths that can be done in a bucket or tote, you MUST treat the pond where the fish was living, and more than once. We were lucky that our affected fish were still in QT, I treated 3x there, and then after moving them to another area (a pond that they are the only inhabitants), I treated again with another 3 rounds a month later to be sure.

I also have to agree with Waterbug in that you should research them yourself, so you understand the different stages of the anchor worms life cycle. Once you get them OFF of this fish, it does not mean that they are gone. This isnt like most parasites, say a tick, where you pick it off and it is gone. What you are seeing on your fish are females who mature quickly and are laying eggs,,,

When you (or your friend) picks off what can be seem, it is unlikely that you are going to get the embedded barb, so you will need to research what to do there as a topical treatment,

EDITED TO ADD: I had just over 100 babies (1-6") in the QT, and a few weeks to a month after the water warmed, spotted one each, or two different fish. The two affected fish are alive and well, and never spotted any more.
 
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I've mentioned the three stages and why you have to retreat the pond as the eggs are impervious to any treatment and will hatch out again spreading juvinille worms throughout the pond .
Normlally they appear in mud or clay ponds , where did you buy them from ?
A rule of thumb is this if you see anything wrong in a vat ful of fish simply dont buy , even if the fish only has a split fin many folks learn this the hard way and either end up with infestations like you have (of any parasite) or dead fish through not understanding how to treat them again I have menttioned this .
It is not the time to be sqemish you have to get down and get your hands dirty so to speak.
There are many fish health books out there so why not go on Amazon US and buy one, spen time reading it to understand both the life cycle of parasites from the host to the pond and onto your fish , how to go about treating them and be forwarned about other parasites their life cycles and how to irradicate them from your pond .
Your snails will have to either come out of the pond or take their chances with the treatment , you can always buy more , the goldfish is the one you should be worrying aboutit being a higher life form in the pond.

common koi deseases.jpg

anchor2.jpg

I know its hard but you can do this then at least you will be safe in the knowledge they have gone Ive attached two images one of common koi diseases the other which my friend Robyn posted on her own site which she dosent mind me using to illustrate the area around th anchor worms head end which are often infected with bacteria hence you having to treat the wounds on your goldfish ater the anchor worms are removed .

rgrds

Dave
 
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Quick update for anyone following this post... I now know more about anchor worms than I EVER wanted to know!!! Everyone's help online has been a great little support group for me too - pretty cool! (What did we ever do before the internet?)

I found an article I really liked - not only does it NOT recommend tweezing-off the worms (YES SIR!!!), but it also reports on the pros and cons for all the different treatment methods:

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Treat-Anchor-Worms-on-Goldfish&id=1533174

Based on that information, I decided to try ProForm LA because it requires NO water change, will NOT hurt my snail, and is SAFE to humans - as well as apparently very effective against anchor worms (I'll report back later on whether I agree with that last detail). Just 3 simple applications one week apart and I'm done! Done! DONE!

Oddly, I can't find ProFrom LA of any anchor worm treatments at any of my local fish stores in the Los Angeles area, so I had to look online. Here's what I found:

http://www.columbiawatergardens.com/ProForm_LA_Lice_and_Anchor_Worm_Treatment_By_Koi_p/proformla.htm

I was worried about how long it would take to get the bottle so I called them directly instead of placing the order online. Wow! Knowledgeable and friendly is always nice, but I expressed my concern about the goldfish having had these worms for many days now without any treatment and the guy promised to hand carry my shipment to UPS tonight (if my order missed the regular pickup) so one way or another I'd have the product by tomorrow. (I didn't pay for overnight shipping, but UPS delivers anywhere to and from California in one day.) And then he called me later to let me know he'd shipped it - that's customer service! By the way, he also recommended, like everyone else, that I remove the attached worms - BUT - said that ProForm LA will kill the adult worms on the fish too "if there were fish in the pond I could not catch". (I'm going to slip that little goldfish back into the pond and pretend I couldn't catch him!) :p

A few notes:
1. Dave: God bless you for all your dedication to your fish and this forum. I'm sorry I don't have the fortitude to follow your very clear and useful guidance. If you weren't roughly 5360 miles away, I'd have begged you to come help me! By the way, to answer your question, I buy all my fish and plants from the same local fish store. They have indoor and outdoor tanks - all of them are glass - no mud bottoms, except they sell a huge variety of outdoor water plants, so maybe there's a little mud related to the plants? (And this is the same shop that knew nothing about anchor worms when I went to them for help!)
2. Waterbug: Great answers. Great sense of humor - and thank you for pointing out the futility of torching my hillside. (I somehow think I'd enjoy reading whatever responses have gotten you into trouble in the past too. Keep your edge!) ;)
3. I found some "FishLady" on the internet that swears mosquito fish will prevent anchor worms because they clean them right off other fish. For the record I have 30+ mosquito fish, apparently without anchor worms - true, but they did nothing to prevent or help my goldfish from this worm attack. I'm going to unofficially say the FishLady is wrong.
4. Water changes? Most medicines suggest changing some of the water before treatment - up to 90% of it, but here's my question... What do you do with all this worm-infested water? Pour it in the dirt where the worm eggs probably survive 20 years until they find water again - maybe into my own pond again? Down a storm drain to infect natural water supplies? Into my septic system? (This was one of the reasons why I picked the ProForm LA - no water change needed, so I hope I can eradicate this nasty mess right where it stands.)

Thanks again everyone!
 
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Not a problem you too have learbed a valuable lesson or two here , by the way you might want to inform your fish dealer about the problem you have encountered with the anchor worm then at least you have saved others of getting this problem.

rgrds

Dave
 

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