Parasite help

[Wyvern]

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hate to say if it is leeches you are........ Personally I would dose pp and if they started to die I would be thankful. If not then good luck. I would always go with the simplest safest course first. And not jump to the rare, if it 8s leeches then watch out, this hobby will get another dark blow. Because it won't be long before it's not rare anymore. My money still on an anchor worm.

Prazi will have little to no effect on them
FW dip May help but they’re that resilient

 

[Uzidaisies]

I might consider a trap? Pull out as many adults as you can, as often as you can. Maybe it would have a meaningful impact on the population.

 

[Tamberav]

Would a cleaner shrimp remove these suckers?


I would pull all fish and do dips probably and QT and idk hopefully some sort of fallow can rid any left in the tank (if they would even be in the tank? and not just directly on the fish?)

 

[lion king]

Prazi will have little to no effect on them
FW dip May help but they’re that resilient

For hobbyist like me, the formalin route will likely surely end in death and destruction, with very little chance of success. If it were me I would take the chance that it isn't leeches, and roll with pp. At least then there is a 50/50 chance, vs 0 or 1% at best. Most formalin remedies end badly anyway, either right away or a very shortened lifespan. And there's still the eggs to deal with

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks jay! I’m not sure if you also checked out the video but I got a couple clearer picture for you as well if this gives a a guaranteed answer, although from what you have said I think you nailed it which makes thing way more complicated for me.

Yes - those are segmented, so they are annelid worms, not trematodes/flukes.
Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hate to say if it is leeches you are........ Personally I would dose pp and if they started to die I would be thankful. If not then good luck. I would always go with the simplest safest course first. And not jump to the rare, if it 8s leeches then watch out, this hobby will get another dark blow. Because it won't be long before it's not rare anymore. My money still on an anchor worm.

“Anchor worms” are Lernaeid copepods. These are segmented worms, and the only annelid fish parasite I know of are leeches. There are trematodes that have two suckers, but they aren’t segmented.
Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

For hobbyist like me, the formalin route will likely surely end in death and destruction, with very little chance of success. If it were me I would take the chance that it isn't leeches, and roll with pp. At least then there is a 50/50 chance, vs 0 or 1% at best. Most formalin remedies end badly anyway, either right away or a very shortened lifespan. And there's still the eggs to deal with

Formalin dips are effective if done correctly. People sometimes mistakenly use 10% NBF and that is bad. 37% formaldehyde with methanol as a stabilizer, dosed accurately under good aeration will work. I’ve done thousands of formalin dips over the past 40 years. The cases where the fish has an extreme parasite load, and essentially bleeds out after a treatment is a very real issue - but not treating is also an issue, and I’ve had this happen with flukes and prazi.

Freshwater dips may or may not knock the leeches off, but it is something that could be tried first.

Praziquantel is effective against cestodes, monogeneans and digeneans. I have never tried it on leeches because it isn’t listed as a treatment in any of my formularies.

Triclorfon is given as the most effective treatment but I won’t use it due to human health concerns and toxicity to some fish species.

Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

For hobbyist like me, the formalin route will likely surely end in death and destruction, with very little chance of success. If it were me I would take the chance that it isn't leeches, and roll with pp. At least then there is a 50/50 chance, vs 0 or 1% at best. Most formalin remedies end badly anyway, either right away or a very shortened lifespan. And there's still the eggs to deal with

I found two interesting references: turns out ivermectin is effective against leeches, but Noga gives no bath dose given, only oral. He also says the margin of safety is low.

I also found a study (in poor English) that indicates praziquantel does not kill leeches - https://www.idosi.org/mejsr/mejsr12(2)12/17.pdf


Jay

 

[Uzidaisies]

I found two interesting references: turns out ivermectin is effective against leeches, but Noga gives no bath dose given, only oral. He also says the margin of safety is low.

I also found a study (in poor English) that indicates praziquantel does not kill leeches - https://www.idosi.org/mejsr/mejsr12(2)12/17.pdf


Jay

Lol I was reading some of that a little while ago.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Would a cleaner shrimp remove these suckers?


I would pull all fish and do dips probably and QT and idk hopefully some sort of fallow can rid any left in the tank (if they would even be in the tank? and not just directly on the fish?)

Cleaner shrimp might work since eels are so sedentary. The shrimp may also feed on leech eggs at night (they evidently have been shown to feed on Neobenedenia eggs).

Jay

 

[Wyvern]

Maybe Melecuca oil (mela fix) it may not kill them, but it may prevent infection.

Possibly Hydrogen peroxide but that is a risk if there are open wounds.

 

[Tamberav]

Can’t imagine trying to buy ivermectin right now lol

 

[Wyvern]

Can’t imagine trying to buy ivermectin right now lol

Dog heartworm tablets?

 

[hawkie]

Cleaner shrimp might work since eels are so sedentary. The shrimp may also feed on leech eggs at night (they evidently have been shown to feed on Neobenedenia eggs).

Jay

So how safe is formalin on scaleless fish?

 

[hawkie]

Dog heartworm tablets?

Seriously? Never heard of that before

 

[fishguy242]

Seriously? Never heard of that before

interceptor,but wait on experts.

 

[Wyvern]

Seriously? Never heard of that before

I am very familiar since my German Shepherd mix is sensitive to it.

He now gets topical selemectin.

Invermectin is tricky stuff, it is by nature a neurotoxin and while it is a silver bullet for many things, it can have very adverse effects.

I used it topically to treat my Tegu with a bad mite infestation, it cured him, but he was off of food for a while.

 

[hawkie]

I have an update. I am also noticing isopods all over the place too. Tank went to **** so quick after adding this eel

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So how safe is formalin on scaleless fish?

No special issues for eels - most of what people hear about are issues with FW fish are from formalin/malachite green treatments and those need to be used at lower doses.

Jay