Ok, I've had nematode worms in my tanks before... this is not the same as I had in the past.

I noticed today that my baby fantail has what looks like "FUZZ" on his lip, and all over his body. It's even on the eyeball. They look like small flecks of white.. almost micro size and I wouldn't have noticed unless I really stared at the fish.

I would say that they aren't round.. that they are about the size of the bottom of this letter --> "i". It's not ICK as I've seen ICK before and it looks more like grains of salt rather than this.

I noticed him flashing today which made me look at him closer.

I can't take a picture as it's barely visible.

All specs in the tank are completely normal.

ick is generally described as looking like tiny grains of salt. I know you said it wasn't ick, but it really sounds like it to me, given the salt description.

however, it could be Lernae, assuming it looks like this:


though I must say, there is a decidedly different look to a grain of salt than the bottom of an "i"... if you could clarify, it'd help people out around here to help you better

I really don't know...you will be asked to answer the questions in the red box at the top of the page in order to help figure out what the problem could be.

hmmm.

might be a mutant size strain of flukes. i say this because your seeing flashing going on. if your params are normal and you see flashing, its gotta be a parasite.

are his fins clamped at all, ever?

does he gasp for air at the surface or sit on the bottom for long periods of time?

when was the last addition to to tank (fish or plants)?

i really hope that it isnt flukes. those little buggers are soooo hard to get rid of.

post back soon.

paul

Defintely is a tiny elongated white thing rather than a dot like a grain of salt (ICK). I can't really describe how it looks other than it's probably the size of the bottom of an "i" and white in colour. I don't know how else to desribe it, other than it's the same size as the bottom of the "i" and same shape. Covering the entire body sparsly, including the eyeballs and lips.

All my measurements in the tank are normal.. ph is fine, the tank is cycled etc. This is my 2nd tank so I've made sure it was well cycled before the addition of fish. I have been testing the water daily to make sure and it's fine.

I did just recently stock this tank with these 2 fish so they probably brought the problem with them.

The fish was just hanging around at the bottom of the tank and his fins were tight to his body... like he's in distress or upset etc.... He is not gasping for air either.

I gave the little guy a quick salt bath and these things have all 'fallen' off. Hopefully this releives him enough until I can medicate the tank tomorrow. (all the stores are closed today due to the holiday). He appears to be more comfortable at this time. (after the salt bath). His fins are no longer tight to his body and he's swimming around. None of these white things are present. He's no longer flashing either. I also added some CYCLE, and Stress coat and a touch of aquarium salt.

Cross my fingers... however I'm expecting this problem to re-show and this salt bath was a temporary relief.

At this point I'm assuming it's flukes of some sort. Or that lernea. Definitely not ICK as my black moor had this before.

How would I treat the tank for flukes? (if this sounds like it's that)

I don't know anything about flukes........but I'm glad the salt bath seemed to work, it is great that he isn't clamped and the things fell off! Post back and let us know how it goes!!

Not and Expert .
But this sounds like anchor worms they are white stringy type thing that attaches to your fish and will fall off when given a salt dip. If it is You will have to treat your tank as they will get into the rocks .

what do I use?

honestly, i dont think that this is anchor worm. generally, anchor worm is much larger than what your describing: ( anchor worm link ) and on the end of each anchor worm is a very well defined fork (or vee). if you dont see this telltale fork on their tails, im thinking that its definitely flukes. most probably skin flukes (egglayers). i suppose that there are strains of flukes that are very visible. however, the majority are less than 1mm long.

because youve had great success with the salt dip so far, i think the dips and a bucket to bucket treatment can rid these things from your fish for good. youll have to give every fish in your tank a series of salt dips for up to three days in a row, break for 2/3 days, then a few more days of dips, etc, etc. all the while, transferring the fish from fresh clean bucket of water to fresh clean bucket of water (daily). doing this for up to 3-4 weeks could very concievably rid them all. remember, persistance is key when treating these "fish fleas".

if you dont want to get quite that intensive (and you can afford it), you could always try praziquantel (along with a salt dip before each addition of prazi). prazi is non-toxic to humans and animals and will not harm your bio-filter. however, i would dismiss the recommendations on the bottle and dose the tank every 3-4 days for up to 3-4 weeks. youll need to do a 25-50% water change/gravel vac before each fresh addition. a ten gram bottle should get you through a month pretty easily. for more on that, read this: flukes treatments

in the long run, if you find that this particular strain of flukes (if it is indeed flukes) is very persistant, there are other ways to go about it. its just that prazi and salt dips will not harm your bio-filter .

post back and let us know what you think.

paul

Sounds good and I'll give it a try. Thanks Toothless. And after seeing that picture of the anchor worm... nope it's definitely not that.

Now when I do the bucket to bucket treatment.... does this mean I have to 100% clean the tank and gravel etc as well? Or will the absence of the fish kill of the flukes? Hopefully this works. It's a problem just noticed yesterday... so hopefully I've noticed it before it get's toooo bad.

Only one fish is affected out of the 3.

barb

yes, the flukes in the main tank will starve out by the time you go to add your fish back to it. however, in the absence of your fish, youll need to add some ammonia (100% pure with no sudsing action) to the tank every couple days to keep your bio-filter viable. ill need to know the gallonage of your main tank to surmise how many drops youll need to add each time. you wont need to worry about any waterchanges in the tank until a day or two before you add the fish back. however, if you dont want to have to battle algae blooms, you can do weekly water changes if you like. and you might just want to test the water in the tubs on a daily basis to make well and sure that ammonia isnt building up. if you find that it does, either use a larger tub or do an extra 100% water change each day (i told you it was intensive, huh? )

good luck and keep us posted.

paul

I have 2 tanks in my home. A 32 Gal and a 10 Gal.

It's the 10 Gal that's been affected by these flukes.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your assistance toothless!

I assume its a major NO NO to temporarily add these guys to my good tank after a salt treatment huh? I wouldn't dream of it unless it was ok?

Barb

definitely dont add any of the fish or ornaments(etc) from the infected tank to the healthy one. if this is indeed flukes, all it takes is one to start an infestation. i would also be very very careful that you dont cross contaminate by way of nets, buckets, gravel vacs or anything. i know it sounds harsh, but youll need to treat the ten gallon like it harbors the plague...........

as for adding ammonia to an emty tank, 2-3 drops per ten gallons each day or two should suffice. i cant seem to find my link to a very informative fishless cycling page. in it, it describes pure ammonia as coming in several different concentrations. the numbers that i gave you should be good enough for even the lowest concentrations though.

keep us updated on your progress!

paul