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Slenderhead Darter(?) Parasite

Started by Guest_fuzzyletters_* , Jun 23 2007 02:32 AM

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18 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_fuzzyletters_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 02:32 AM

First of all, before I take anything for granted, I need to confirm that this is a Slenderhead Darter. Secondly, I need to find out what's on its tail. I tried putting the fish in a bucket of saltwater earlier and the things are still there, so I was hoping someone could tell me what to do with them. I can't get very good pictures though, the darter is not cooperative at all. Any guesses or anything would be appreciated.

EDIT: This is a Fantail. I am a failure at identification. :roll:

Thanks Skipjack for correcting me. :oops:

Here are the parasites.

DSCN1973.JPG 301.07KB 0 downloads

DSCN1979.JPG 365.77KB 0 downloads

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#2 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 08:13 AM

Picture of the parasites is too blurry. But the darter is a fantail. Etheostoma flabellare
Try for a better photo. Try putting the fish in one of those "critter tanks" from the LFS.

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#3 Guest_fuzzyletters_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 02:32 PM

Edited... thanks

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#4 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 02:55 PM

I would say that your fantail is infested with a parasitic copepod known as an anchor, Lernaea cyprinacea. This is a widespread parasite in temperate water with no host specificity and has been recorded in darters. It's often fatal in various cyprinids, I'm not sure how nasty it is in darters. Adults burrow into host tissue and have specialized dorsal "anchors" to hold (very) fast. It has a five-stage life cycle and the immature larvae can hang around a long time if they don't find a host. The drug Dimiliin at very low concentrations kills larval stages.

I hope other fish aren't in this tank, it sounds like you'll need a pretty serious tank breakdown and cleaning to break the larval cycle.

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#5 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 03:46 PM

The ironic thing is that the first fantail I ever collected, I Id'ed as a slenderhead also. I was using that godforsaken Audubon fish book. Once you see a slenderhead in life you will see how different they are.

I am not positive that this is anchorworm. I rarely see them attached to fins themselves. At the base of the fin yes, but I have never seen them attached to the membranes between the rays. Though this is a common place for leeches to attach. Fluke tabs will knock out leeches pretty quick. Dimilin will work on lernaea.

http://home.infostat...nchor_worm2.jpg

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#6 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 04:16 PM

Well yeah, we know elephants aren't found in trees but if you see an elephant in a tree, it's in a tree. Even in a blurry photo the shape is right for anchor.

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#7 Guest_fuzzyletters_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 04:45 PM

There are 3 other fish in the tank and a handful of snails.

What should I do, just hope that it's leeches and use the fluke tab stuff? I tried putting the fish in a bucket with salt water and nothing happened. Where can I get dimilin? Figures this would happen on my first tank in something like 5 years. :/

Does it mean anything that their bodies don't fork on the ends? :/

Btw thanks for sharing Skipjack... makes me feel a bit better.

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#8 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 04:57 PM

Here's one more test for whether or not it's anchor. Much of what is seen in an anchor infestation is egg sacs hanging off the rear end of the body. These sacs are green. Fuzzyletters, if these "worms" look green on their tips it's anchor, if not it's some kind of leech, so we'll leave it to you to look and report back.

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#9 Guest_fuzzyletters_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 05:38 PM

Here's one more test for whether or not it's anchor. Much of what is seen in an anchor infestation is egg sacs hanging off the rear end of the body. These sacs are green. Fuzzyletters, if these "worms" look green on their tips it's anchor, if not it's some kind of leech, so we'll leave it to you to look and report back.

There appears to be no difference in color on the tips. However, one visual aspect of these worms that cannot be seen in the pictures is a set of body-length lines, one darker surrounded by two lighter, in the middle of each. I think I'm just going to get an anti-parasite medication that covers both anchor worms and leeches (if one exists).

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#10 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 06:51 PM

I've always manually removed the hitchhiker and determined the identity at that time. On the few occasions when the little tiny soft bodied critters (I've always assumed to be leeches) have made it in to my tanks, salt seems to have done the trick. We also find anchor worms which are harder bodied than leeches.

Couple of poor slenderhead photos below.

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#11 Guest_fuzzyletters_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 10:47 PM

Wow... I definitely see the difference. Thanks a lot. Also, I dosed the tank with one of those Jungle Labs fizzy tab things and the parasites seemed to start wriggling a bit, so it seems that they're softer bodied and I think leeches. Hopefully they'll be gone soon. :S

Out of curiosity, what kind of technique do you employ to manually remove leeches from darters?

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#12 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 10:56 PM

Out of curiosity, what kind of technique do you employ to manually remove leeches from darters?

Don't tell my wife but.....I use her eyebrow tweezers.

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#13 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 23 June 2007 - 11:01 PM

If they can move, wriggle, anything, they are leeches. Anchors do not move.
Grab the fish, and pluck them off. If they are anchor worm, and you treat them with dimilin, they will still persist (dead) for a few months. So go ahead and pull them. I am fairly sure they are leeches from the photo.

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#14 Guest_fuzzyletters_*

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Posted 24 June 2007 - 01:01 PM

If they can move, wriggle, anything, they are leeches. Anchors do not move.
Grab the fish, and pluck them off. If they are anchor worm, and you treat them with dimilin, they will still persist (dead) for a few months. So go ahead and pull them. I am fairly sure they are leeches from the photo.

I tried to pull them off and they definitely wriggled... they wouldn't let me get a good grip on them with tweezers. Should I try to cut them in half or pour salt on them or something? :S

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#15 Guest_Irate Mormon_*

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Posted 24 June 2007 - 04:46 PM

they wouldn't let me get a good grip on them with tweezers

Are you going to let those little worms beat you? Are they smarter than you? Stronger? Meaner?? Get the tweezers back out and take control of the little buggers!

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#16 Guest_fuzzyletters_*

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Posted 24 June 2007 - 10:00 PM

Are you going to let those little worms beat you? Are they smarter than you? Stronger? Meaner?? Get the tweezers back out and take control of the little buggers!

Haha... thanks for the encouragement. I'm more worried about the fish though. I dropped it on the carpet when I tried to get them last time. :/ I guess I'll give it another go.

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#17 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 24 June 2007 - 10:57 PM

Haha... thanks for the encouragement. I'm more worried about the fish though. I dropped it on the carpet when I tried to get them last time. :/ I guess I'll give it another go.

I yanked a couple of leeches off today. I use a soft net and grasp the fish firmly within the net. This prevents most fish from encountering dust bunnies.

I wouldn't worry about your fantail darters though. They're tough as nails.