Parasite from Rio Huallaga

[Haavard Stoere]

Hi:)
In Rio Huallaga we found this parasite on a small galaxias. Later I have found the same one on the dorsal fin of an L204. I just removed it and put it in a glass of water with 4x dose of Flubenol 15. The parasite is still alive in the glass of medicated water after six days, so it is apparent that it is quite resistant to that medication.

If I find more on my fish should I just remove them manually or should I also medicate with something?

Are these parasites dangerous, and do they have a name?

[Birger]

Is this some kind of Cymothoidae...there was a post a few months back (couldn't find it) on something similar but it was inside the body cavity. There are various species of Cymothoa that have different ways of attaching, one of these little beasties is the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymothoa_exigua

Birger

[DJ-don]

oh this is the kind of parasite you find in fish mouths when you go fishing on the coast.
in australia all the fish have this parasite in the mouth.

[andywoolloo]

there was a post on here not too long ago with a picture of a very similar if not same parasite.

but I cannot locate it.

[Richard B]

Whatever it is it looks a nasty lil critter & should be removed as soon as you can - although i cannot recommend a removal method without knowing how it attaches itself - manual removal may not be ideal at all. If you can find something that makes them release of their own accord it would be far better.

[Shane]

If I find more on my fish should I just remove them manually or should I also medicate with something?

Harvaard,

I have found this to work very well:

1) Gently remove the parasite with tweezers or small forceps.
2) Dip a Q-tip (cotton swab) in Meth Blue
3) Dab the area where the parasite was attached with the swab
4) The area will actually turn blue, but do not worry. The small wound will heal quickly without infection if the animal is maintained in good conditions.

-Shane

[Haavard Stoere]

Thank you very much I will remove them and desinfect the small wound if I see any more of these critters.

[Richard B]

If I find more on my fish should I just remove them manually or should I also medicate with something?

Harvaard,

I have found this to work very well:

1) Gently remove the parasite with tweezers or small forceps.
2) Dip a Q-tip (cotton swab) in Meth Blue
3) Dab the area where the parasite was attached with the swab
4) The area will actually turn blue, but do not worry. The small wound will heal quickly without infection if the animal is maintained in good conditions.

-Shane

Good info shane - i therefore take it these animals are not likely to leave detatched mouthparts embedded in the fish when manually removed like say a sheep tick?

[Barbie]

While this is obviously not an argulus, it does seem to have chitin, so most of the medications for fish lice should be effective against it. I would definitely love to hear your results if you try it! That thing looks horrific!

Barbie

[Shane]

Good info shane - i therefore take it these animals are not likely to leave detatched mouthparts embedded in the fish when manually removed like say a sheep tick?

Not in my experience. However, I claim no expertise on the subject... just experience with wild caught fishes and similar (maybe the same) parasites.

-Shane

[zenyfish]

i therefore take it these animals are not likely to leave detatched mouthparts embedded in the fish when manually removed like say a sheep tick?

A parasite like that would have to have hooks of some sort.

Seems like no harm in treating it like a tick. That is, blowing out a lighted match and touching it to the back of the bug to get it to let go.

[Haavard Stoere]

I just tore the thing of (not from the pictured fish) from the dorsal fin of an XXL L204. Although I appreciate the concern I think he will be fine.

[whiteymoza]

Some kind of crustacean parasite, try a copper based treatment.

[Janne]

While this is obviously not an argulus, it does seem to have chitin, so most of the medications for fish lice should be effective against it. I would definitely love to hear your results if you try it! That thing looks horrific!

I think it's an Argulus species and it has chitin, this species is common here in Brazil special on stingrays but I have even seen them on small Apistogrammas. Copper is not recomended due to plecos sensitivity against copper sulfat, when they are few and large the best way is just to pick them like Shane sudgested. If they are small and many the best medication is Diflubenzuron that is the active substans in many medications for external parasites not harmful for fishes but very effective against fish lice and other parasites of chitin.

Janne

[Haavard Stoere]

I have not seen any small parasites of the species, and I am not overly concerned because they are so visible. If I find more of them I will just gently pull them out. Actually I have never heard of parasites of that size causing mayhem.

[Haavard Stoere]

While this is obviously not an argulus, it does seem to have chitin, so most of the medications for fish lice should be effective against it. I would definitely love to hear your results if you try it! That thing looks horrific!

Barbie

The problem is that I broke quarantine to early because I could not see anything on the fish. My freshly caught Huallaga fish were distributed around my fish rooms, thus infecting most of the tanks with ordinary white spots (this was a much more real problem than the large parasites pictured here). I am almost finished treating the fish with heat, and I am not to keen on medicating for anything else unless I have too.

My losses have been minimum (lost somectetras, guppys and lasiancistrus fry), and that is a good thing because my fish are of the rather expensive sort, and I am not rich.

[Acid John]

http://www.geocities.com/steevward/livoneca.html
This looks like the same parasite to me.

[Haavard Stoere]

http://www.geocities.com/steevward/livoneca.html
This looks like the same parasite to me.

Thats the one:) Nothing to worry about as I understand the text.

Thank you Acid

[Acid John]

You are very welcome. I love this site, somebody somewhere in the world has some knowledge that is useful to somebody!