parasite problem or not?

[albionpo]

Well, everything I've read seems to imply that a bacterial infection is usually associated with a parasitic problem. I was just wondering how likely it is that my fish have come down with a bacterial infection all by itself? with no help from a parasite problem? All my fish were showing signs of infection - hiding, not eating well, redness on fins & bodies, some ragged fins - some more than others, but anyway, I put them all in a HT & started Maracyn treatment. After one day, they already look better - swimming around, eating a bit. I'm going to continue treatment for 5 days, but the thing I'm concerned about is whether I should worry about a parasitic problem that would just come back after I returned them to the main tank...They never showed signs of scratching, no spots, nothing on bodies so I'm hoping this was just a bacterial infection all by itself. Does this happen often? The water quality was and is perfect, even though pretty new ( just finished cycle ) The only things I've added recently were some LR and two tank bred perculas. So, my questions are:
Could they have an internal parasite?
If so, how would you recommend treatment?
Does anyone know what the little black
worm that causes black ick looks like?
( I have lots of itsy bitsy worms in the
main tank, can't figure out if they're
good or bad )
Anyway, thanks for any help on this...I'm not putting my fish back in there till I figure out these little worms...I've posted on them before but haven't figured it out yet...They're not blood worms, they're tiny, round, seem lighter on either end and about this big --. All over surfaces of my tank. But no sign of them or anything on the fish.

 

[beth]

Where did the little black worm question come from? Have you seen this? You said you didn't see any parasite.
Black spot disease, also referred to as black ich, is caused by a flatworm that lives in aquarium substrate. The adult worm attaches to a host fish for about six days, falls off into the substrate, then in about five days the adult body ruptures releasing a new population of young worms and the cycle begins again. It normally doesn’t show up in larger numbers as with other forms of ich and is not nearly as dangerous. It is a disease that is fairly common with yellow tangs and angelfishes, but can effect other fish species as well. I should say, it is more common with solid, light colored fish, because you can see the black worms on these fish better than on other types of fish.
Black spot disease appears on the fins and body of fish as tiny black dots—about the size of pinheads. Like regular ick, the fish will scratch up against objects in the aquarium and the fish might also have reddened skin, lethargy, color loss and rapid breathing. It is easily seen on light colored fish as I said, but is less obvious and sometimes overlooked on dark colored fish. This is why it is associated more with yellow tangs.
Bacterial infections can be a secondary disease process resulting from a parasite infestation. Obviously, parasites feeds on the fluids and tissues of fish, causing potential infection at the wound sites. However, bacterial infections are not exclusive to parasites problems, meaning that fish can certainly have a bacterial infection having no other problem. Additionally, water quality can not be measured alone by standard hobby test kits.
I would suggest a large water change in your tank. If, indeed, your fish have no other symptoms than bacterial then you can continue treatment with antibiotics only. However, most marine bacterial infections are gram negative. Therefore, require gram negative responsive antibiotics. I would suggest that you use Maracyn2. I know the Maracyn looks to be working, but both of these meds also have a very effective vit B complex additive. This alone may be improving your fish health but not necessarily treating the overall disease process you are experiencing.
Bacterial infections are usually caused by environmental problems in your tank, or perhaps nutritional or other stresses on your fish. I would suggest that you read TerryB's threads in our Fish Forum which covers all the bases in terms of fish health and maintaining it.
Good luck!

 

[albionpo]

Hi Beth, Thanks for responding...I did try to find Maracyn2 for saltwater but couldn't get it at ANY fish store on the island! Anyway, I figured I could get it online but couldn't wait that long so started the Maracyn. I'll get the 2 as soon as I can. Anyway, I guess I wasn't clear about the worms...what I meant was that I didn't see any parasites ON THE FISH themselves. Nothing. No worms. No spots. Worms are IN the tank but not ON the fish...So I'm confused as to whether these worms are actually parasites or not... Do you think you could elaborate on exactly what these "black ick" worms would look like? I've done a search already & gotten the same info you just gave me but I can't get a description of the worms...any help? Thanks again!