Worms on firefish gills?

[Mjrenz]

Apparently this is common in Firefish. I've seen several posts all over the internet about them, but without any real luck in what they are. I've heard they're anchor worms, possibly. One of my Firefish has the same thing, so I'm hoping not to lose him.

Welcome to the forum! Start a new thread in the fish disease and treatment forum along with some pics and we'll rally everyone to try and help you out

 

[Mjrenz]

picture

Go ahead and start the new thread, it will get much more attention than an older thread and avoid any confusion

 

[murphy357]

Just lost a purple fire fish to the same parasite. Pulled it off of him after finding him dead. Still unable to get a positive id on it.

 

[HotRocks]

Just lost a purple fire fish to the same parasite. Pulled it off of him after finding him dead. Still unable to get a positive id on it.

That is likely just a worm that lives in your tank that was having a little feast on the dead fish. Fish parasites are mostly microscopic in size. Worms like flukes are visible to the naked eye but are a flatworm and can be about as large as a sesame seed.

 

[murphy357]

That is likely just a worm that lives in your tank that was having a little feast on the dead fish. Fish parasites are mostly microscopic in size. Worms like flukes are visible to the naked eye but are a flatworm and can be about as large as a sesame seed.

If you look at the original posters pictures, my fire fish had the same style worm in the same place, the gills. My fire fish was alive, but having breathing issues an hour before I found him basically dead with the worm in his gills.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

If you look at the original posters pictures, my fire fish had the same style worm in the same place, the gills. My fire fish was alive, but having breathing issues an hour before I found him basically dead with the worm in his gills.

Those are actually egg strands from a parasitic copepod that specifically attacks fire fish. The animal itself is a crustacean buried in the fish’s body. Never try to remove them, it will only damage the fish. The eggs need a planktonic stage, so they won’t reinfect the fish. The trouble happens if the copepod gets into vital organs, then death can occur. I don’t know of any treatment for the adult copepods. Juveniles can be controlled with dimilin, because it stops the molting process. Adults don’t molt, so it won’t work on them,
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Like an anchor worm, I believe a freshwater dip would release it from fish .
@Jay Hemdal

 

[Aronsaquarium]

@Jay Hemdal & @vetteguy53081
I believe i have the same thing.
2 white strings attached to a firefish i just got.
It’s in quarantine, and I only noticed it a few days after I got it, so not sure if it’s growing out.

I can’t get a clear picture, but it’s a while string about a quarter of an inch long attached to the side of the body mid way all my fish.

Any treatments known?

Prazi, copper, fresh water etc..

 

[vetteguy53081]

@Jay Hemdal & @vetteguy53081
I believe i have the same thing.
2 white strings attached to a firefish i just got.
It’s in quarantine, and I only noticed it a few days after I got it, so not sure if it’s growing out.

I can’t get a clear picture, but it’s a while string about a quarter of an inch long attached to the side of the body mid way all my fish.

Any treatments known?

Prazi, copper, fresh water etc..

These fish susceptible to nematode worms
Often a freshwater dip followed with prazi May dislodge them

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

@Jay Hemdal & @vetteguy53081
I believe i have the same thing.
2 white strings attached to a firefish i just got.
It’s in quarantine, and I only noticed it a few days after I got it, so not sure if it’s growing out.

I can’t get a clear picture, but it’s a while string about a quarter of an inch long attached to the side of the body mid way all my fish.

Any treatments known?

Prazi, copper, fresh water etc..

Is it coiled? If so, that is an egg mass of a copepod. If it is not coiled, I'd need to see a picture to try and ID it.

Here is something I wrote up about the copepod:


The purple firefish, Nemateleotris magnifica has a copepod parasite specific to that species – Serpentisaccus magnificae. Described by George Blasiola in 1979, this parasite is seen on newly imported firefish. The body of the parasite is buried in the flank of the fish, behind the gills, either on one or both sides. When the female copepod develops its egg sacs, these emerge from the fish’s skin as tiny, coiled strands. Treatment should not be attempted for this parasite, as the adults are buried too deeply into the body of the fish for physical removal to be done safely, and no known chemotherapeutic will eliminate internal crustacean parasites without also harming the host fish. This copepod is thought to have indirect development with a series of planktonic larval stages, so there is no real concern of the eggs hatching and then fully developing and causing reinfection of the host. In some cases, the fish recovers, but it is fatal in other instances, It may be dependent on how deep the female copepod attaches, and if the fish’s vital organs are involved.


Jay

 

[Aronsaquarium]

Thank you so much @vetteguy53081 & @Jay Hemdal!

So it would seem that both of you are talking about different things it could be.
I’ll try get a pic but super hard to get a clear one.
It is a purple fire fish but I think the white string is not coiled I’ll take a look again soon.

So if it’s coiled I have to just hope for the best, and if not it’s most probably a worm which I can FW dip and prazi.

I’ll try get a picture so you can better diagnose

Thank you!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Thank you so much @vetteguy53081 & @Jay Hemdal!

So it would seem that both of you are talking about different things it could be.
I’ll try get a pic but super hard to get a clear one.
It is a purple fire fish but I think the white string is not coiled I’ll take a look again soon.

So if it’s coiled I have to just hope for the best, and if not it’s most probably a worm which I can FW dip and prazi.

I’ll try get a picture so you can better diagnose

Thank you!

That Will work
I’m at an airport boarding aircraft in a few minutes for a 6+ hour flight

 

[dartfrog298]

Hi, Thanks for accepting me to the forum. I came here with the same issue with my newly purchased firefish. I read through and thought I would try to manually remove it with my very fine knotting tweezers. I sucessfully removed it and was able to get a somewhat decent picture. So far my fis is fine and eating very well. It did leave what appears to be a tiny dark looking hole in his side.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi, Thanks for accepting me to the forum. I came here with the same issue with my newly purchased firefish. I read through and thought I would try to manually remove it with my very fine knotting tweezers. I sucessfully removed it and was able to get a somewhat decent picture. So far my fis is fine and eating very well. It did leave what appears to be a tiny dark looking hole in his side.

That looks like the egg mass. The female copepod would still be inside the fish.

Jay

 

[dartfrog298]

That looks like the egg mass. The female copepod would still be inside the fish.

Jay

The egg mass is back on the fish. The fish however is still doing fine and eating well. What do you suppose will be the outcome of this? Will the fish survive and live with this parasite in side of it? Or will the parasite eventually kill the fish? And what eventually happens to the egg mass? Do they hatch out or die off? Thanks for any info you may give me.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The egg mass is back on the fish. The fish however is still doing fine and eating well. What do you suppose will be the outcome of this? Will the fish survive and live with this parasite in side of it? Or will the parasite eventually kill the fish? And what eventually happens to the egg mass? Do they hatch out or die off? Thanks for any info you may give me.

The outcome varies. It can be fatal or the fish can recover. Fish with multiple parasites on them seem to do worse.

Reinfection doesn’t seem to be an issue, as the copepod larva seem to have a planktonic larval stage that doesn’t survive in aquariums.

You can’t see the parasites until they form a visible egg mass, so there could be more females buried under this fish’s skin.

 

[dartfrog298]

The outcome varies. It can be fatal or the fish can recover. Fish with multiple parasites on them seem to do worse.

Reinfection doesn’t seem to be an issue, as the copepod larva seem to have a planktonic larval stage that doesn’t survive in aquariums.

You can’t see the parasites until they form a visible egg mass, so there could be more females buried under this fish’s skin.

My firefish did die.