Parasites!!!

[gasguzzler]

I have come home last night from being in Cornville, Me. for a week unexpectedly for a funeral. I thought my rays and sharks were in good hands. Unfortunately, the caretaker did not top off my sump, so the siphon broke and the water went stagnant for an unknown amount of time. Inspecting them last night, I found small 1/16- 1/8" long white worm-like creatures attatched to the outer disc margin and pectoral fins. They move by themselves, and seem to bother the rays non-stop. I do not see any attatched to the sharks. There is no redness or sores at the site of attatchment. I put in two cleaner wrasses yesterday, but I dont know what else to do. A friend has my Sharks and Rays book by our favorite author, so I am at a loss for remedies. Please Help!!!

 

[tony detroit]

Is it a roundworm? Does it look like a copepod or an isopod? If it is a nematode(worm like) you can treat with cambendazole, 3 doses, 29mg/kg of body weight, every seven days, or you can use mebendazole, 3 treatments, 20mg/kg of body weight, every seven days, put right in the animals food, if the rays are still eating. Contact your vet and take them pictures, sometimes they are reluctant to hand out medicine. I had to inject my boa constrictor when it got an infection. You can also add panacur(fenbendazole), administered at 100mg/kg body weight.
That is the from the book description for treating for nematodes, which, if they look like worms, is probably what it is. Remember the sooner the better. good luck

 

[irenicus]

Post on the disease board. Some of those people are amazing.

 

[cincyreefer]

Good luck! Hope all goes well. You may find that your only solution is to pick them off by hand. Frustrating isn't it? You leave for a bad thing and come home to a bad thing. Hopefully they can pull through.

 

[gasguzzler]

Well, the rays are doing better. They still have very good appetite, they are flashing less and the nuber of the worms has decreased. Apparently, the one wrasse that escaped the Lion before I could catch him is doing its job, though Ive never seen it. Ill give it till the end fo the week, then on Monday if not imroved, I will look into medication.