Re: [RML] Gutworm

Bruce Hansen (bhansen at ozemail.com.au)
Mon, 7 Apr 1997 07:39:04 +1000

Tracie,

In my opinion youare correct to treat every tank you have. While many of
your fish may not be showing signs they may be carrying worms that
eventually wear down the resistance of your fish by sucking blood from
their intestinal walls and gradually building up parasite load in each fish
until the infestation is obvious.

Cheers

Bruce

Bruce Hansen, ANGFA
Check out our web site a http://www.angfa.org
Remember, "When in doubt, leave it out!"

----------
> From: T. Alfieri <Talfie at ix.netcom.com>
> To: rainbowfish at pcug.org.au
> Subject: Re: [RML] Gutworm
> Date: Sunday, 6 April 1997 11:35
>
> Bruce Hansen wrote:
> >
> > > From: Gary Lange <gwlange at stlnet.com>
> > > To: rainbowfish at pcug.org.au
> > > Subject: Re: [RML] Gutworm
> > > Date: Sunday, 6 April 1997 6:59
> > >
> > > Thank goodness I haven't had to deal with this parasite yet. I was
> > > wondering if any of the fish disease books tell you to use ivermectin
> >
> > Unfortunately Gary there are no book references to this treatment that
I
> > lknow of - it is too recent for that.
> >
> >
> > > So Roy, how did you come to get your infestations, were
> > > they from wild caught fish, or from the ponds in the Darwin area
> > > (?John D.) Raising fish outside you do run the risk of picking up
> > > the parasites.
> >
> > Unless you feed a lot of introduced livefood (especially copepods) I
think
> > the main risk is from recently acquired fish. According to the
wholesalers
> > here, livebearers of SE Asian origin are the main culprits. Personally
> > almost all the outbreaks I have heard of have been inside so the old
rules
> > apply - know your sources and quarantine any new fish and be very
careful
> > with all live food.
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Bruce Hansen
>
>
> FWIW, I was told the main culprits are wholesalers from Singapore. I
> think that came from someone (again) on the apisto list, I'm not totally
> sure what their backup was for the statement. From what I can tell from
> my tanks, it doesn't seem to spread very quickly, or it only preys on
> certain types of fish. The only fish I have had problems with it are
> cichlids. (and then, only a few.) I was unable to located dosing levels,
> so decided not to risk treating (and killing) all of my fish. Now, maybe
> I'll give it a shot. I'm assuming that I have to treat all of the tanks
> to completely obliterate the pests, not just isolate and treat the
> infested fish. Is this correct?
>
> Thanks bunches,
>
> Tracie