freshwater parasites

[kbrown08]

i just came home from camping over the weekend, turned on the light in the plant tank and what to my wondering eyes appear? hundreds and hundreds of anchor worms all over the glass in one of my fresh tanks... thought i had the things licked with all the treatments ive been doing [jungle parasite clear along with numerous water changes]... apparently not.

had a terrible outbreak of the things in all four of my fresh tanks due to the live plants mass reproducing, ended up completely dumping two tanks and tearing down my frog tank. the barbs tank and danio tank both seem well, although the worms claimed one of my danios...
the frogs and giant pleco are now happily suited in another tank, but the problem keeps getting worse in the one with the plants... treatment really isnt doing anything any more and i've already dumped and flushed that entire system twice.

does anyone have some ideas on how to get rid of this lovely infestation? i've done research and havent really come up with any good options for live plants in a 10 gallon quarantine tank yet so any input would be excellent.
thanks.

 

[michaeltx]

what food do you feed the tank?
BTW welcome to the board its mainly a SW board but many of us have FW tanks aswell.
Mike

 

[kbrown08]

tetra flakes, bloodworms, tubifex, peas
i've tried so many different treatments to get rid of them, but they wont go away in the barb tank. i've completely dumped it numerous times and left the tank with nothing but a filter and fish for weeks, but they always come back.

 

[tizzo]

Best I got was a google answer...

Name of disease: Anchor Worm
Other names::Lernea Elegans
Type of disease: Parasite.
Occurrence:Very common, and unless most other parasites, Anchor worm is not stress related. It is highly contagious as well, so the whole tank needs to be treated.
Symptoms include:include: A very visible parasite, so no microscope is needed. A anchor worm will attach to the body of the fish.Unlike fish lice, the anchor worm doesn't move around on the body of the fish once its attached. Flashing and scratching when the anchor worm is still in the larvae stage, since the larvae will attach to the fishes body with the same menace then the adult.
Caused by:
Like mentioned above, anchor worms are not caused by stress of the fish. They can be brought in on a newly arriving fish, that hasn't been quarantined, or even as an egg on plant.
Treatment:The anchor worm can be removed with tweezers from the infected fish, the bloody spot dipped once with iodine or hydrogen peroxide on a cotton swab, and then daily application of neosporin creme. If the anchor worm is on a newly aquired fish in quarantine, thats mostly all thats needed. If the whole tank is infected, additional measures are asked for. Medications like Dimillin or Program as well as other readily available remedies are neccessary in that case. Anchors Away can be used, and has (Dimillin)Diflubenzuron as main ingredient. Salt is great as well.
Precautions:Even though the visible anchor worm might be removed, there is still a good chance that there are larvae in the tank, especially if the tank is heavily infested. Before the anchor worm can be seen,damage could already be done to the gills and skin of the fish. Secondary infections from the open wound are also possible, so a round of medicated food is a good idea.
Medications that can help: Life Bearer, Anchors Away, Dimilin, and Parasite Clear