Anchor Worm

[Donny]

I think i might have anchor worm on one or two of my loaches, what can i treat my tank with.
Its 1,2 x 45 x 45, temp is on 28.
And new fish was only introduced last month (spotted dollars).
Cant get pics cause they contantly moving.

[Sean J]

Ooohh... That is not nice and it's going to be a toughy to get rid of on your Loaches. Loaches generally don't respond well to quite a few medications, but perhaps azurekoi or the Prof could help out some more...

[Donny]

Thanks Sean J ,,, Will try and get pics tonight

[azurekoi]

Dude,stumped on this one... Have always used Dimilin or Dipterex to treat anchor worm on koi or Goldfish.... Problem is that it is quite a hectic organophosphate and although I have never used it on Botadine loaches(@Donny (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/member.php?u=357) - -what loaches are we talking bout here mate?),sure that it will kill them faster than the Anchor worm though....Also the dosages... we dose 1gram per 1000 liters - way difficult to get this right in a small aquarium...

What you see on the loaches(Brown threadlike thingy bout 1cm long? - photo would REALLY help here) is actually the adult female.... she releases hundreds of eggs per day,so maybe catch the loaches out for now and remove the parasite with a pair of tweezers....
As for how to get rid of the free swimming larval stages (they take about a week to mature).... maybe hook up a pond UV to your tank and pass water through it REAL slow - long exposure time to the UV rays should curb the larval stage....

This is unless Dirk Bellstedt knows of something thay is loach safe...

[Donny]

Ow man this is not sounding good will get a pic.

[azurekoi]

BTW @Donny (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/member.php?u=357)....what loaches we talking about here mate?

[Donny]

clown loaches

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Donny get us a pic so that we can diagnose this properly. However, I strongly doubt that this is anchor worm. Azure, if you treat clown loaches with Dipterex they will be stone dead in minuets because of their sensitive skins.

So Donny we need pics..... but don't panic mechanic, I don't think this is actually so serious.

Kind regards,

Dirk

[azurekoi]

Have always used Dimilin or Dipterex to treat anchor worm on koi or Goldfish.... Problem is that it is quite a hectic organophosphate and although I have never used it on Botadine loaches,sure that it will kill them faster than the Anchor worm though....

Dirk Bellstedt - that is exactly what I said... Was asking Donny for a pic so I could confirm it is Lernea,and asking you if you knew of any other chemical treatment that would work on them....

[Dirk Bellstedt]

Hi Azure,

Sorry, about the misunderstanding, I did not read your post properly before and you did of course indicate that the loaches would not survive the Dipterex.

The medication that I would use would be flubendazole, but the flubendazole that is sold in SA is for pigs and its percentage of active ingredient is too low. I would therefore use mebendazole which is sold by vets in various medications for pets and is also sold for use in humans. I would have to check on dosage. This is a much milder medication in general, but there are strains of worms that are resistant to it.

Let us wait for Donny to show us a pic. Donny where are you boet?

Kind regards,

Dirk

[Donny]

Sorry for late reply have visitors from up country staying by us at the moment will get pics tonight. Thanks for all the info so far. Panic Mechanic has calmed down.

[Donny]

Happy to say nothing stuck to any of my loaches. Checked everyone out and can see nothing.
Mods you can close. Thanks again to everyone for there input.