# Horsehair worm? infecting fish.



## T-Bone (Nov 23, 2005)

I posted a while earlier about a worm in the eye of a silver tip tetra. It consequently died but I since saw no other signs until now. Now I have 4 other fish infected. I was not able to identify it earlier. It also does not look like any other common fish parasite or fluke. But I got to thinking. I previously thought nothing of a prior event I thought until now unrelated.

I noticed very small worms swimming in my paludarium they were ver small and whip-like. So I googled untill I identified it as a horsehair worm. They live mostly in crickets and grasshoppers http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/inhsreports/mar-apr95/page4.html they invade the cricket untill they reach maturity and when the host reaches water they emerge from the host usually involving its death. They do not effect humans or higher life forms. So I thought nothing of it.

Now coming back to the main story and how I think it may be related. I was thinking back to how it looked similar to the horsehair worm. Then I got to thinking even farther. I remembered netting the corpse of a cricket from the bottom of my 90G. I though nothing of it then but now that I think back the timeline fits. There were no fish, or even plants introduced for months, so I'm pretty sure its not a case of cross contamination. There hasn't been a case recorded that has infected fish but since this organism is thought as beneficial (most people _want_ crickets dead) so no real conclusive studies have been done.

Has anyone sucessfully treated worm or parasites. I guess I should treat it as such. I can't think of anything else. Someone on here had a de-lousing formula, anyone remember? unfortunatly the infected fish are in amongst a 90G so I'll have to treat the whole tank. I still brought out the infected fish to a qt tank So ill try it on them as well. It will be easier to tell if they are getting better or not.

Anyone have suggestions, steps I can take? know a worm expert?


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Well, here's a good recipe for internal parasites Fish de-worming but you're probably looking for more of an external remedy?


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## T-Bone (Nov 23, 2005)

I'm not even sure what they are. From the pictures of the common fish parasites, it does not resemble any of them. 

The parasites are worm like, long uniform in diameter, stark white about the diameter of common sewing thread, and approx half an inch long. From what I can tell they are around the mouths, eyes and gills; but not all in the same fish, only one fish has multiple parasites. With 4 out of 12 slilver tips infected, also it seems that no other fish species are infected at this point. 

I tried to get pics but I cant get the camera to focus that close even with macro. I'm only taking a wild guess that they could be horsehair worms. As I have not introduced new fish for several months. I even have a UV running

I have QT'd the infected fish in a seperate tank. But without knowing what else to do I went ahead and treated with "clout" as I want to nip this in the bud as fast as possible. Even if it stains my silicone. I also treated both the Qt and the main tanks, just in case some fish are infected and just not showing yet.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

The photo in the link you provided looks a lot like some leeches I've come across that came in on some wild Anubias. Any chance that may be where they came from?

I'll attach a pic of what mine looked like. They sure were gross the way they whipped around. :shock:


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## T-Bone (Nov 23, 2005)

That could be it. That looks pretty similar but, mine are completely white.It has been quite some time since I added anything to the tank though, even plants. I suppose they could have just taken a while to become visible. Were you successful in getting rid of them?


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Isolate one fish and treat with salt water. Start at 3 teaspoons per gal. Gradually bump to a concentration of 6 teaspoons per gal by the 4th day. Make sure you replace 50% of the water each day while maintaining the salt concentration.

I would also add CopperSafe and Maracyn Two to the water for at least 10 days.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

it's hard to say what you saw was a parasite.. Many worms are not. So, you'd have to look for symptoms of lathergy & wasting in your fish.

people have used this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levamisole_hydrochloride to treat internal worms.. It was used to treat livestock parasites. I don't think they use them anymore.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

T-Bone said:


> That could be it. That looks pretty similar but, mine are completely white.It has been quite some time since I added anything to the tank though, even plants. I suppose they could have just taken a while to become visible. Were you successful in getting rid of them?


Yes, if they came in as eggs, it could take a while. I think it took a couple of months before the ones in my tank showed up. Mine were really white too, but the photo probably didn't convey that properly after all of the transfers.

I did finally get rid of them just from vacuuming them out of the gravel, but it took about a year.
I certainly wouldn't use meds or salt (as previously suggested) without knowing exactly what is wrong, since that could stress the fish even more.

Keep us posted.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

mistergreen said:


> people have used this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levamisole_hydrochloride to treat internal worms.. It was used to treat livestock parasites. I don't think they use them anymore.


Yup, that is an ingredient in the recipe I provided above, and it works well.


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## sprwoman1 (Jun 18, 2007)

So where can we get Levamisole? I don't have a vet as I only have fish, and most think of them as a waste of time.


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## TPIRman (Apr 28, 2004)

Search for item #16576 at ValleyVet.com. This is "Levasole," the powder form of Levamisole HCL. That's the form you want. Make sure to give them a valid daytime phone number, as ValleyVet will call you shortly after you place your order to confirm. The ValleyVet folks are very nice, and their service is great. They really saved me when I needed Levamisole HCL to treat a camallanus infection and my local vet would not give me the medication. (Like your nearby vets, mine did not want anything to do with fish, or as she put it, "exotics"!)

You might also want to read this comprehensive article on the medication. It details how Levamisole HCL works and gives you solid guidance regarding treatment and dosage, so you really know what you're putting in your tank / fish food.

Best of luck combating this unwelcome intruder!


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