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Metazoan Parasites: Black ich, flukes, and lice in slatwater aqu

© Winston Vaughan Schoenfeld

Many different problems can lead to the degraded health of fish. The past few articles have described some of the more common diseases and sicknesses that are found in aquariums. This article will address a slightly less common category of sicknesses, metazoan parasites.

There are three major types of metazoan parasites that I will discuss: tubellarian worms (black ich), fish flukes, and lice. The first of these, tubellarian worms, is quite similar to that which causes fresh and saltwater ich. The main similarity is its ability to complete its entire life cycle within an enclosed system such as an aquarium. As a result it can multiply rapidly, and overcome a fish quickly. Symptoms include small black spots, generally just below the gills, and occasionally on the fins. Often an infected fish will not eat much, and can be seen to rub against objects in an effort to remove the parasites. The best treatment for tubellarian worms is a formalin bath. This helps remove attached worms, as well as those in the aquarium.

The second metazoan parasite is fish flukes. These tiny parasited attach near the gill area, and are much larger in size that most other parasites, reaching lengths of up to 1/2". They are transparent, and as a result are much more difficult to detect. Symptoms are very similar to those for fish infected with ich. Often the fish will scrape its sides on objects, and the bottom of the aquarium, in an effort to remove the flukes. Treatment of the flukes is slightly easier than that for ich due to its longer life cycle in the aquarium (about 2 weeks). A freshwater bath should remove most flukes within a two minute period, and can be repeated for several days to ensure removal of the parasites. In addition, formalin treatments have also been proven to be effective, especially when used in conjunction with freshwater baths.

The final parasite is fish lice. These are very similar in nature to flukes, but they often attack the exterior sides of the fish rather than its gill area. In addition, the lice can be rather small and hard to detect due to their transparent appearance. Symptoms are similar to that for other parasites, often involving the rubbing of the fish's sides on the aquarium bottom and other objects. Treatment is best done using a freshwater bath and a formalin treatment. The lice can sometimes bore into the host fish, in which case they should be removed using a set of tweezers.

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