# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Can Gill Flukes Live On Snails?



## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

This question may be more appropriate for the fish section of this forum, but I thought I would post it in "El Natural" because everyone here will understand my reluctance to pour medication into my tank unless absolutely necessary.

I have two unwell Golden Medakas, which I suspect have Fish TB. When I first got them they were also infested with Gill Flukes and Tapeworms, which I managed to kill off finally after repeated treatment with medication. The Medakas have been Gill Fluke- and Tapeworm-free for the past six months and at the moment seem quite well overall. They have been living in a hospital tank, but now that they seem a bit better I would like to take the opportunity to transfer them to my 54 litre low-tech tank.

The 54 litre tank has had no direct contact with fish since it was set up, but I did transfer some snails and plants to it from the hospital tank. I am worried that some Gill Flukes may have been transferred on the snails and survived in the tank. I have looked at many fish disease books and websites but I keep finding conflicting information - some say Gill Flukes cannot survive without a fish host, while others say they can also live on snails. I could treat the tank with medication prior to introducing the Medakas but I would really rather not, especially since the medication requires 50% water changes after each application.

In the thread called "worm update", javalee posted this:

"I use this general way of thinking about parasites with my tank, which is why I don't collect plants or mosquito larvae from places outside where fish live, because you can assume that fishy parasites could be present in that fishy environment. However, I don't worry about fish parasites living in our birdbaths since no fish are there, and no birds that eat fish drink there."

I hope this means I am worrying unnecessarily about Gill Flukes being able to live on snails as well as fish. What does everyone think?

From Alex.


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## javalee (May 8, 2006)

Miss Fishy, for questions like this, I usually only refer to scientific articles since there is so much, even if well-intended, mis-information on the internet regarding fish disease. We are in luck on this topic since these infestations affect aquaculture. I found several papers regarding the _Dactylogyrus_ or gill flukes and all emphasized that this genera is extremely host-specific, usually each species parasitizes only one type of fish species. While some are generalist, parasitizing several species of fish, this reknown for host-specificty would still lead me to believe that these flatworms do NOT infect anything BUT fish. In fact, I'll post an excellent link with all-you-ever-wanted-know-about-gill-flukes







! There is never any mention in any of these articles or papers about gill flukes straying beyond fish hosts. They do not require intermediary hosts either. So they just go from egg to fish.

http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/doc.../v9551e/V9551E22.htm (Click on the linked document title at the top of the page: "Parasites, infections, ..."

This same site had info on tapeworms which I was interested in reading after you mentioned them. I was wondering how you diagnose these problems. It stated that several copepods serve as required intermediary hosts for tapeworms. I know you've mentioned copepods so I thought you might be interested.

Just curious, though, in case I ever need to make such a diagnosis, how did you identify the tapeworms and gill flukes in your fish. Your mention of them was timely since I'm a paranoid fish mother with an angel that gasps a lot (gill flukes?), and a stunted betta with a distended abdomen (tapeworms? yuck!)







! Sounds like I need to look for eggs in the betta poop







.


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

Flukes are supposed to be common in goldfish. To get a definitive diagnosis, we take a scraping of mucus and look at it under the microscope. Praziquantel is the treatment of choice for flukes and typically dosed at day 1, then again at day 4 with a partial water change before the first dose and at day 7. This makes sure it's in the water when any eggs hatch out. Prazi usually doesn't have any side effects, tho it may be toxic to some inverts. I have my two new baby goldies in QT ubin prazi at the moment. I don't think either gill or body flukes have an intermediate host.


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## javalee (May 8, 2006)

Sorry, I just realized that my link didn't work. I can't link to the article, but if you click my link, and then click on the blue document title at the top of the page, a new window will open and scroll down to pages of scientific info on fish parasites!


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Thanks for the replies, javalee and Betty. That link is very, very useful, javalee! It finally put my mind at rest about the Gill Flukes. Sorry it has taken me so long to update this thread - I've been too busy to even log on to the computer these past two weeks.

Well, the two remaining Medakas moved into the tank on the 19th December, and there have been no signs of the dreaded Gill Flukes. Sadly, one died three days ago. I'll post the full story of their move in my thread "My Newest Low-tech Tank".

javalee, I assumed the Medakas had Tapeworms because when I got them they had very bloated stomachs, poor appetites and frequently passed dead worms.

From Alex.


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

I think prazi kills tapeworms too cuz it's used as a dog and cat dewormer.


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## javalee (May 8, 2006)

Miss Fishy, thanks for the update and info. I like to learn as much as possible about fish disease. So you can actually see the dead worms!? That's helpful. I've been watching my betta and he hasn't passed anything resembling worms or eggs, but I didn't know if they could be seen without a scope. Sorry about your loss







.

Betty, this prazi stuff sounds like a miracle worker for parasite infestation. I think my 29g has a running low-grade fluke infestation that gets worse every time there's a stresser like frequent water changes. If it's just like an annoying "athlete's foot" of the aquarium, I may not treat it. It does stress the importance of keeping fishes' environment low-stress; there's always some "bug" waiting to take advantage of a stressed fish.


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