HI, we have the new 30 gallon tank, its only about 3 weeks old, a few days ago one of the fish developed either a cut or sore out of the side of their bodies. Today there is a white string coming out of it, and we just saw that two others have the same string, no cut coming out of their sides, what is it? Is it anchorworm? WHat can we do, one of them still doesn't have it. HELP PLEASE!!!

Sounds like anchorworm, does it have a forked tail?
Have a look in the treatment section for how to deal with it.

Its pretty small, i can't see the tail end.

IF all the fish have one, I would say it is most likely anchorworm. Not so scary. You will have to remove them with tweezers, then dap a bit of neosporin on the wound. Make sure not to get any med by the gills or in the eyes.

Then there is a product called Dimilin or luferon (program for dogs) you can use this to treat them for the microscopic worms.

They just appeared today, is it fatal to them?

Alright, question... How do i pull it out, I mean how do i handle the fish, do i use gloves, or are the gloves bad for them. Should the fish be upside in the water, I've never done this before.

Anchor worm can be if not dealt with. But it is easy to get rid of.
I just 2 months back purschased a panda oranda with anchorworm. (i was hoping he'd turn into a lemonhead).
Anyway the whole tank had them so I came here and spoke with a couple people and read up on it and decided it is no big deal to deal with so I got him.

Like I said you have to pull the adult worms off and then treat for the babies you can't see and viola should be ok.
It really sounds worse to do it than to actually do it. Trust me.

Does your vet have the product called Program? If so you see if you can purchase 1 white program (they will know what I am talking about.....it is the biggest one they make). Then you 1/4 the pill and smash up that 1/4 put it in the tank (with no carbon in it) and it will kill the babies. I did my weekly water change and then redosed the tank for a second dose and then ran carbon to pull it out. I haven't seen any return worms.

An fyi though, the Program is deadly to crustacians, so don't use it with any snails or dump the water you change out anywhere where crustacians live. It will kill them off.

I actually don't know of any vets near me who treat fish, is this "program" for fish or for dogs, also, how do I catch the fish or hold them, and how should I hold them? Will rubber gloves be bad for them?

Burge the Program is a flea product for dogs. You area vet should have it.
If not you can use Parasite Clear by Jungle labs. It has the dimilin in it.

Yeah, just be gentle in holding them. If you have 2 people it is easier, just hold them out of the water for a few seconds while you grab with the tweezers. Just hold them over the water in case they squirm out of your hand.
I wouldn't use gloves, you can't really feel them if you have them on. Just wash your hands afterwards.

When I first saw the worm I called my local fish store if they had anything for it, they said that they had something called Prozepro, have u ever heard of it or know if it works, if not I will get the product.

Are you sure you spelled it right? I have heard of Prazipro. Don't know if that would help or not.
I only know of dimilin and luferon (program).

i'm not sure if i spelled it write, i just was told this by a fish store worker. He said it would work, but I think i'm gonna go with the luferon. Do they usually sell only one tablet? Or is this a special request?

Most vets will sell you one. Do you have a dog? Or a regular vet? If not it may be harder to get.
Explaining it is for a fish probably won't get you to far. I work in the vet field so I don't have a problem getting it.

Does your store carry parasite clear?

I'm not sure if my store has parasite clear, I think I may have seen it, but i'm not sure. And no unfortunately I don't have a dog, or a regular vet. Why would they need to see a dog to sell me one? Do any other stores carry it like a petco or something like that, or is it just something a vet can carry? Oh by the way what do you do in the vet field, I kinda figured you were in the vet field with how much you knew about fish and diagnosising and treating, and thank you again, you've been so incredibly helpful to me.

Rebecca, I am a vet tech. And didn't have a clue about fish until I came here. Up here in Mich the vet field doesn't do alot of fish, so I was helpless with my fishy friends. Can treat dogs, cats, ferrets and such but didn't know anything about fish. So I fixed that with knowledge here. It does pay to have knowledge of animals and such. But you will learn too.

Depending on the vets in your area, most need you to have an animal before they can dispense a med to you.........legalities and such. But I do know of some that don't ask. Call around, it isn't going to hurt.

Occasionally you may see it in a pet store, oooh I know Fosters and Smith carry it online. YOu can't buy just one, but a whole pack. If you have to go thru that. Let me know, and we can adjust the dosage you get. The larger ones cost more, if you get the "red" package it will be cheaper but still you will have way too much. But you could donate what you don't use to the humane soceity. Let me know and I will help you out with what to get.

Thanks so much for your help, I'll make some calls tomorrow, and try to track some down, and then I'll get back to you on what I get so i can put the correct dosage in. Thanks again laurie, your the best!!

You are welcome!!! Let me know what you find out.

Hey Laurie, no vets around us carry program, they all have another thing for heartworm/fleas, so we went to a few pet stores and we found the jungle parasite clear. It said one tablet for every 10 gallons, so we have a 30 gallon and we put three in. However, we did a water change today, are we supposed to put another 3 in today, or wait a day. The instructions say: "Add one tablet to each ten us gallons (40L) of aquarium water. Treatment may be repeated up to two times within 48 hours between treatment and a 25% water change." Did we just take out our treatment?

Well I think you probably removed at least 25% of it. But I am sure with PC that you can safely add a second dose to the first one. This is what I would do. Let it run a few days like that before doing another change if you can.

How did getting the adults off go?

Well, at first it was hard to catch the fish and hold them long enough to find the worm, but I did it one at a time. I would catch the fish, then hold them gently at the surface, and they were pretty good, and they didn't wriggle that much, and I got all three worms out, Thankfully. It was so traumatic though I think i watched them for like an hour afterwards to make sure they were ok. Otherwise, everyone seems ok! We are going to do the second treatment today, and hope for the best.

Rebecca that is great!! It was scary for me too but we got thru it. Now let's hope for the best. Keep me updated from time to time.