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Hi all,
I just received a shipment of seven wild caught fish, all of which are in a new 30-gallon setup with no other fish. One of the seven didn't ship very well and looked to be in pretty bad shape. The fins were shredded and patches of slime coat had separated from the fish exposing the flesh. After about 36 hours in the tank, it died. I was out for the day and didn't remove the fish until after I got home, so it was probably dead in the tank for a good five hours or so.
The reason for this post is after removing the dead fish, I noticed some red nematodes protruding from the fish's anus. They looked to be Camallanus or, perhaps, Eustrongylides, the treatment for which is trichlorfon.
I've never experienced this situation before, so I've never needed to treat with trichlorfon. The remaining six fish are all dwarf cichlids, and I am reluctant to treat with such a harsh chemical, unless it is absolutely necessary.
Do those here in the Forum think I should medicate the tank? My concern is that the infected fish was dead in the tank for about five hours before I could remove it, and I am concerned about contagion.
Thanks all very much.
Randall Kohn
I just received a shipment of seven wild caught fish, all of which are in a new 30-gallon setup with no other fish. One of the seven didn't ship very well and looked to be in pretty bad shape. The fins were shredded and patches of slime coat had separated from the fish exposing the flesh. After about 36 hours in the tank, it died. I was out for the day and didn't remove the fish until after I got home, so it was probably dead in the tank for a good five hours or so.
The reason for this post is after removing the dead fish, I noticed some red nematodes protruding from the fish's anus. They looked to be Camallanus or, perhaps, Eustrongylides, the treatment for which is trichlorfon.
I've never experienced this situation before, so I've never needed to treat with trichlorfon. The remaining six fish are all dwarf cichlids, and I am reluctant to treat with such a harsh chemical, unless it is absolutely necessary.
Do those here in the Forum think I should medicate the tank? My concern is that the infected fish was dead in the tank for about five hours before I could remove it, and I am concerned about contagion.
Thanks all very much.
Randall Kohn