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Parasites in A. panduro pair

tjudy

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:(
Why do I think that this new forum will have a lot more threads that start with a frowning face?

I have a parasite issue with my Apisto. panduro. The female has had a growth on her upper lip for a while. Now there is a big hump/bump that is subcutaneous and very light colored on her face in between her eyes. It is a parasite, a zit, or this fish is actually a new species of yellow and black marked dwarf geophagus.

The male has a light-colored bump on the right side of his body that is also subcutaneous, and is just anterior of his vent. I have been wondering why they have not spawned (they did once 5 months ago), and the position of this internal growth may be interfering with his testes.. it is in about the right area.

Otherwise, they eat well and have great color. They are wild caught fish.. which is often a source of such maladies. I have two smaller females that show no signs of parasites.

Oh well..... :?
 

aspen

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toronto, canada
ted, there are parasites which occurr in discus, called 'intramucsular nematodes'. i believe that there are likely lots of things which MAY live within the flesh of fish which make their way to the outside of the fish and present as you have described.

there was a series of posts on the discus boards, simply and daah, when a nice lady from ontario named barb was going through these things in her discus. they proved to be incurable in here case, she even took fish to guelph university for autopsy. they told here that at the stage they were at, if she were able to extricate them from the fish with praziquantal, they would migrate to the gills and kill the fish.

although you have not identified the parasite, i believe the only way that you would know what it might be would be to autospy one fish. but, you also don't know if this is going to be fatal, or if they they pass naturally, you also don't know if they can reproduce inside the fish, or need an intermediate host, such as in the case of tapeworms.

i would ensure the fish are separated from your other fish, and either try to treat them or cull them.

rick
 

Randall

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New Jersey, USA
Bumpy Parasite

Dear Ted,

Welcome to our forum!

Given your description, I don't know exactly from what your fish are suffering. If the situation is getting worse, however, I'd recommend daily doses of Quick Cure (formaldehyde and malachite green) coupled with an overzealous water change regime, say, three times per week, until significant improvement is noted.

Several noted breeders with whom I have been in contact swear by the excessive water change technique. From my experience, Quick Cure is an effective anti-parasitic that, unlike some others, is gentle on nitrifying bacteria.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn
 

aspen

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toronto, canada
ted, i also like quick cure, for external parasites. but, are these ON the fish, or seem to be IN the fish? are they poking through the flesh as though they are burrowing through the flesh of the fish? if they are in the fish, praziquantal would be a better choice. this can be applied in the water, and will also work for internal parasites, and for external ones. for internal parasites, feeding the med is a much better option, imo. but, the fish may die, are the fish worth it to you?

an alternate to prazi, is panacur, or pipezine, both de-worming meds for horses and dogs. but i'm not sure how well pipezine would work. prazi is the best choice imo, if you can get some in a small dose. (it is expensive.)

rick
 

tjudy

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Stoughton, WI
I am not a big medicator... usually only if there is a tank-wide systemic problem. I will rarely treat for a single fish.

These fish seem healthy in every way except for these subcutaneous parasites. I have used needle forceps in the past to physically remove these parasites, but I was not able to catch the female when I tried yesterday.. did not feel like removing all the wood!
 

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