What are these hairlike white worms attached to fish?

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bjbass

Candiru
MFK Member
Apr 10, 2010
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I have had anchor worms in the past few weeks, but only in my smallmouth bass. I treated the whole tank three times with parasite clear and that was about two weeks of treatments that ended about a week ago. So far, I haven't seen any traces of that parasite. However, today I am noticing a few of my fish have these tiny white worms attached to their fins. They are almost entirely only located on the fins with maybe one or two on the body. When I look at them up close they don't look like anchor worms as they don't have a forked tail. They are just a straight worm. I tried to take pictures.

What are they?

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Thanks in advance!

I also treated the whole tank today with aquarium salt. 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons.
 
They don't look like anchor worms to me, but they are only really on the fins, not at the base or on the body. I treated the tank three times with parasite clear. Wouldn't this have killed anchor worms? I don't know how they could have come back. I need to get rid of these things.
 
You can treat them with a potassium permanganate dip at 100mg per 2.5 gallons of water, try using Clout.
 
Aquanero;4519126; said:
You can treat them with a potassium permanganate dip at 100mg per 2.5 gallons of water, try using Clout.
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Do you think they are fluke worms or anchor worms?
 
Also, I have a catfish and that is why I used parasite clear because it is safe for scaleless fish.
 
OMG, don't try clout unless everything else has failed and they're about to drop the A-Bomb! :nilly:

There are many worms that act like that by attaching to fish. Whether or not those exact worms will be able to complete their entire life cycle and reproduce in your tank will determine your course of action.
Step 1: Gently remove all visible worms from the fish. If you know you have gentle fingers (aka, origami master) have a quick, slight peek into his gills and make sure there aren't any there. If there are, leave them. You could kill him if they tear his gills.
Step 2: Watch and wait. If the worms you pulled off (and there were none in the gills) were unable to complete their life cycle, you've already cured your fish. If they come back, then you'll want to find a treatment. Find a good photographer and get pics for better ID or use good resources to compare different worms. As suggested, a good dose of pure sodium chloride may well do the trick but it also may be unnecessary.

BTW, like the fish. Those natural, mineral-like hues are amazing.
 
I agree with the clout being strong stuff but it can be used safely if you don't go over board with it. Not my first choise either but sounded like the OP had a tough infestation. Don't use it on the catfish.
 
I dosed again with parasite clear since I still had enough left. The support from Jungle Labs told me that I could try parasite guard as it is more effective for external parasites. Any thoughts on this?
 
I stand on my advice to remove the worms. As of now, you might be swatting flies with a baseball bat.
 
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