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Found two parasites on my Darters

Started by Guest_Seedy_* , Dec 07 2007 06:03 PM

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9 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Seedy_*

Guests

Posted 07 December 2007 - 06:03 PM

Ok,

This is going to be a little rough until I'm able to borrow a good Macro lens and get some pictures...but...

I've found (at least) two macro parasites on my Darters (Etheostoma spectibile "Orangethroat" and E. flabellare "Fantail" )collected from Spring Creek Oklahoma.

The 1st parasite is an external one on the caudal fin of a decent sized female "Orangethroat". I have been watching it slowly grow since I brought them home. It started out around 3-4mm long and I have watched it gain size until it is now about 5-6mm long. It is has an elongated tubular body, while I can not see segmentation for sure I suspect it is there. It is attached to the caudal peduncle of the fish by what I gather is it's "head". It is slightly fatter at the "head" end and has no visible structure that it is attached by. It has at least one dark line running the length of its body. I believe it is a little itty bitty leach of some kind.

The second parasite is internal and is located under the skin/scales about 3/4 of the way down the side of a smaller "Fantail" Darter. It appears as a 2-3mm round whitish cyst like structure. At first I mistook it for part of the fish's markings, however is best viewed when light passes through the body of the Darter..I suspect this is an encapsulated nematode or other parasitic worm.

My goal for this tank is to have as much bio-diversity as possible, so if these things are not going to cause my fish excessive stress or kill them, I see no reason to "treat" for these critters.

So, anybody have any ideas as to what exactly these parasites are and how their life cycles work and if they are going to be dangerous to my Darters or other fish/inverts?

Extra info: Tank is a 3ft, 45 gallon "tall" with 1-2 watts per gallon lighting. Everything (gravel,wood,plants,etc) in the tank was collected legally from Spring Creek Oklahoma with dip nets or by hand. The tank mimics the stream bed in an eddy of riffle section with some large river gravel (multiple rock types -limestone, flint, shale etc) a few larger rocks some "drift wood", leaf litter and plants that resemble "java moss", camboda and other "aquarium plants" (Sorry, my wife is the one who's into the aquatic plants...I'm still learning). Filtration and flow is accomplished by an Emperor 400 filter and a 4 foot bendable "bubble wall" underneath the river gravel running along the back and sides of the tank. I try to keep the tank temp at 75F or below, but my fish room can get a little warm as my tropical tanks try to keep the room's temp at 80F

.

Other Fish:
3 Gambusia affinis (I may "destroy" these)
1 Gambusia species that almost looks like a "clear creek" type, but is probably just affinis or a hybrid...I apologize for not having a positive ID on this one.<--I'll split off a topic when I get a good picture...
5 Notropis boops "Big Eye Shiner"

Known Macro Inverts:
5 Orconectes neglectus neglectus Crayfish
At least 2 species of snails

Thoughts, opinions, and feedback on the set-up are welcome.

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#2 Guest_BTDarters_*

Guests

Posted 09 December 2007 - 04:20 AM

Seedy,

Might I suggest that if you decide to get rid of the parasites that you use "Parasite Clear" by Jungle Labs. I always use this to proactively treat my fish and it always works, i.e. parasitized fish are always "clear" of parasites after treatment. Be sure to treat the infected fish in a quarantine tank as I've found the medication detrimental to "wanted" invertebrates like your crayfish. Hope this helps.

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#3 Guest_Mysteryman_*

Guests

Posted 09 December 2007 - 11:18 AM

"Clout" is another product which really packs a punch.

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#4 Guest_fundulus_*

Guests

Posted 09 December 2007 - 11:39 AM

Wild fishes have way more parasites, especially endoparasites (internal), than you want to know about. I can guarantee that your fish probably have some species of Dactylogyrus gill filament parasite, a trematode with a direct life cycle. We found some interesting concentrations of Coccidia in black darters, Etheostoma duryi, through making histological slides of gut tissue. In our limited samples, males seemed to have more than females, and there was some difference between two different creek systems. Coccidia infestations can be a major health hazard in domestic animals like cats, dogs, rabbits and birds. So I wouldn't sweat the parasites too much; there's an ongoing arms race between parasites and hosts, with most hosts able to tolerate more than you'd think. Now, the nematodes that Centrarchid was pulling out of the eye of his sunfish are another story.... that's nasty!

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#5 Guest_Seedy_*

Guests

Posted 09 December 2007 - 04:11 PM

So I wouldn't sweat the parasites too much; there's an ongoing arms race between parasites and hosts, with most hosts able to tolerate more than you'd think.

That's my attitude about them as well. Unless I start losing fish or seeing visible signs of stress, I'm not going to worry.

One of the most amazing things I saw in my parasitology class at UCSB was when we dissected horn sharks, besides the usual flukes, copepods and ecto-parasites, the gut of the fishes were completely filled with tape worms! It looked like spaghetti! We surveyed them and it was extremely interesting to see how the different tapeworm species lived in different parts of the gut and how they were not only host specific (these specific tapeworms only live in this species of shark) but site specific in the gut where certain species lived further up or down the GI of the fish.

Now, If I do lose any fish, I may vary well perform a necropsy and make some slides to look at with my Son on his $20 microscope...Besides a gut squish and gill rakers any other good places to look for "cool" stuff?

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#6 Guest_Seedy_*

Guests

Posted 09 December 2007 - 09:23 PM

Huh...The leach had been there for like a week...I get my camera out to take a pic, and it is gone. I think another fish got hungry and "cleaned"

the other fish...

I've got some pics of the "cyst like" thing, I didn't have a good lens and proper lighting, but you should be able to get the idea.

Posted Image

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#7 Guest_Skipjack_*

Guests

Posted 10 December 2007 - 09:56 PM

That is odd. I have never seen white grub in darters, and this is an odd location, but I bet that is what it is.

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#8 PBK

NANFA Guest

Ohio

Posted 03 January 2020 - 03:31 PM

That whitish spot might be a lymphocystis, a virus common to certain fish species. It’s not always fatal depending on the severity of the infection. Look up in Wikipedia on possible treatments. I would isolate the fish or euthanize it to prevent other fish from getting it.

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#9 littlen

NANFA Member

Washington, D.C.

Posted 04 January 2020 - 02:20 PM

Im sure that fish is long dead by now

Look at the date of the original post. Good information though.

Nick L.

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#10 PBK

NANFA Guest

Ohio

Posted 31 January 2020 - 11:47 AM

Regarding the whitish nodules again, these might be micro or myxo- sporidian parasites according to the excellent Manual of Fish Health by Drs Chris Andrews, Neville Carrington, and Adrian Exell. Each nodule or cyst contains 1000s of spores which are released if they are broken which will spread to other fish. There is no reliable treatment other than isolation or euthanasia. Note that I am quoting from the manual and take no credit for the info I’m conveying. I recommend this book to all serious aquarists.