BikBok Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 I have had this male Guppy just under 3 weeks. I got him form a petstore and the staff member dropped him but still sold him to me. Anyway , he bloated up the first night and the next day looked normal again. He has been fine,. eating well, swimming , playing etc. But today he looks bloated again and a bit more subdued than normal. Has not been fed today as they had a good feed last night and I didn't want to feed him again today till knew what was wrong. I've attached some photos for you to look at.. note the boxy pointy part on the front of his big belly. Approx under where his pelvic side fins are. Does he have worms? if so how should I treat him? It's hard to see in the photo but I'm pretty sure he is not prickly like the dropsy photos I looked at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 picture 2 best shows the pointy bit I was talking about. Should I be worried? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrenB Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 I dont have any idea sorry, but in the future if a shop keeper drops a fish don't buy it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 in the future if a shop keeper drops a fish don't buy it! yeah, normally I wouldn't .. but my daughter really wanted this one ! Anybody got any ideas? I just noticed him flash on the gravel a couple of times ... like he was trying to scrape a poop off or something. But I've been watching him for a few hrs and it's the first time he did this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 ok... I'm trying to look really closely at my guppys anus and I can't be sure but i might be able to see a tiny bit of red .. so now I'm worried that he might have worms. I rang two petshops and they don't have anything for it! What do I do ? please help! Will a salt treatment work.. I'm worried about that as I also have kuhli loaches and no hospital tank. What do i need to do next for my guppy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 If he has little red worms hanging out his bum then it is most likely Camallanus, there are a few ways to treat it but Lavamisole HCL is the easier to source. An article for you http://www.loaches.com/disease-treatmen ... chloride-1 It has all the dosage rates (2mg per L) and treatment plan in it.. You can buy Lavamisole HCL in a product called Aviverm it is used for worming birds and can be purchased at your vet or on some online pet supply stores (google it). Even though the treatment is in the article I will summarise it for you.. day 1, large water change and treat with aviverm, aviverm is 230mg lavamisole per ml so 1ml does 115L. day 2, 24 hours after treatment do another large water change vacuum the gravel as well as you can to remove any worms as they will only be paralysed.. Wait 5-7 days and do the above again. Lavamisole will only paralyse the worms which you must remove, it wont kill any eggs so they will hatch in 5-7 days hense the re treatment to break the cycle. The article also suggests a 3rd treatment a week later to really ensure you get them all.. Good luck I HTHs it is a particularly nasty worm to have but my friend who had a heavy infection got rid of it using the above and due to how nasty it is I did my whole fishroom and do all new comers for it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 thanks I have dosed my tank with some AVIVERM I had in my cupboard for my bird. But I'll buy some new stuff just in case it was out of date. day 1, large water change and treat with aviverm, aviverm is 230mg lavamisole per ml so 1ml does 115L. The only thing I'm unsure about is the dosage. There was an older thread that said aviverm can be used 1ml per 22L . My tank is 34L so I used just over 1.25ml (1/4 teaspoon) I couldn't find the little ramshorn snail to take out... poor thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Well my guppy is still doing ok, and eating etc. I'm pretty sure now he does have worms so will they just get pooped out after treatment and how long will this take? I'm doing waterchanges daily at the moment to keep on top of things and all the other fish are fine. Are Callumanus eggs visible to the eye? Now to a slightly unrelated but relevant question... I am starting a NEW tank this Friday... and had planned to use some noodles I placed in my existing tank for the purpose of getting a bacteria colony ready for the new tank.. but now with the probable worms .. i need to ask if I should just start with complete new media and cycle afresh. ... or are the noodles OK? They sit under the black sponge and charcoal cartridge and wool.. (an Aqua one setup) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Well my guppy is still doing ok, and eating etc. I'm pretty sure now he does have worms so will they just get pooped out after treatment and how long will this take? I'm doing waterchanges daily at the moment to keep on top of things and all the other fish are fine. Are Callumanus eggs visible to the eye? Now to a slightly unrelated but relevant question... I am starting a NEW tank this Friday... and had planned to use some noodles I placed in my existing tank for the purpose of getting a bacteria colony ready for the new tank.. but now with the probable worms .. i need to ask if I should just start with complete new media and cycle afresh. ... or are the noodles OK? They sit under the black sponge and charcoal cartridge and wool.. (an Aqua one setup) I believe the worms are paralysed and pooped or fall out within the 24 hours which is why you have to suck them all up, before they (presumably) wake up and reinfect the fish? I doubt that callumanus eggs will be visable to the eye, maybe do a google search and you might find some more specific information. I would wait until you have fully treated (3 doses) the affected tank before moving anything from it otherwise you will just spread the problem. REgarding dosing, did you read the article that I posted? It states at the bottom that dosage rates suggested have been between 2 and 25mg/L, it seems to be harmless to the fish but has no additional effect to the worms after 2mg/L. Using 1.25mls you used about 288mg so around 12mg/L the fish should be fine but you wasted some meds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2009 well I managed to put together an small 10L isolation tank for my poor boy guppy. He got some white pimply spots which I suppose are bacteria? I'm adding salt to the water slowly and then will leave him for a few days and observe. There are now visible worms hanging out his butt so another treatment of AVIverm... it might be out of date but I've got another bottle on order just in case and will treat both tanks. The other fish seem fine int he original tank but I know this doesn't necessarily mean they aren't infected. If the female pregnant guppy has worms... what will become of her babies? if they get eaten by any healthy fish.. could they become infected from the fry? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 it's been over 24 hrs since I dosed the water and he only pooped a very tiny red thread (unless it's thin red poo) .. the rest are still hanging out his but. So i am to presume they are still alive and the aviverm has lost it's efficacy. The new lot won't arrive till mid next week. Hope my guppy can hang on till then! I think the white pimply things are either gone or reduced greatly because I can't see them anymore. How long can fish survive with these worms at the hanging out stage if no treatment available? Should I cull any fry that my female guppy has or is there little risk her babies will be carriers? Thanks for any advise. I'm having to learn hard and fast with fish keeping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 All fish that have been in the same tank or been in contact with any shared gear (nets hoses filters etc) are potential carriers and should be treated, remember to do the full 3 treatments. I think fish can generally last a while if they are eating and relatively happy but the longer it is infected the higher the risk of the worms doing more internal damage or secondary infections kicking in from the fish being run down. I haven't seen any worms but apparently they do fall out pretty much straight away after aviverm has been used so yours must have expired. There is no reason to cull the fry just treat them bearing in mind if they have been infected it may do more damage to them, stunt them etc but only time will tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 Pointy thing? Do you mean his gonopodium? It's how most livebearers reproduce. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted May 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 Pointy thing? Do you mean his gonopodium? It's how most livebearers reproduce. no I don't mean the gonopodium lol. it's the front "chest" area , it sort of looks pointy/sharp instead of nicely rounded. Anyway he was in a separate tank for a while that i also slowly added salt to, but sadly he didn't make it. It's been very stressful ! But my guppys in the main tank are doing great , and I came home to 5 fry today :-) So that has taken the edge off for my daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbunting Posted June 20, 2009 Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 It's fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted June 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 It's fine what's fine sherbert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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