Parasite Identification

Pet Respect

I've snapped a few pictures of a parasite that a customer had picked off of her fish. She brought them into the store for identification. I think it's anchorworm but I can't be sure. Does anyone know for sure what this parasite might be?



Kim @ Pet Respect

joeshmoe

looks like a anchorworm to me

girlofgod

eww..thats gross!

bri

Lupin

It doesn't look like anchorworm to me. I had a previous encounter with anchorworms before and their body is not red like the one in the pic. Not even the head's shape.

dprUsh83

joeshmoe

]mybe larvae with its lil hands. how big is this bugger?[/

bettababy

I agree, that does not look like an anchorworm, but I will pull down some text books and see if I can find anything. Anchorworms tend to be white to grey in color, and have a prominent head with "hooks" all around. I have spent hours picking them off of fancy Goldfish at the store, as they spread quickly through a tank.
Can you give us any further information? What kind of fish she was keeping? Were the worms on the fish or in the substrate, stuck to the glass or rocks... as anchorworms will stick to a fish and literally eat a hole through the poor fish. Did she remove all from a fish body? I've never known anchorworm to last more than about 20 minutes off of a host fish.
More info please, if possible?

joeshmoe

ive looked through 5 books didnt find anything

bettababy

Try taking a look at this info... I think I've found you're "parasite". It's not a parasite, it's a bloodworm, aka midge. You'll find a picture and info here:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...icial%26sa%3DN
Depending on what kind of fish she's keeping, these will probably become food for the fish. Most fish love bloodworms.

Lupin

That's what I've been thinking all along. But then I could be wrong.
Well done, Dawn.