YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!! WORMS NOW?!?!

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USMCSS

USMCSS

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
May 3, 2005
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So as many have seen I have been dealing with an ich outbreak in my 55. Well I go to inspect the fish in my 125 and I see this on my locally caught channel cat. It's a worm that was a white worm going through his fin. I couldn't get a pic of it in the water so I caught the fish and took pics. While I had him out I took pics and then removed the worm with tweezers. I'm going to put him along with the flathead and yellow bass back into the wild tonight but I'm still left with my 14" ornate bichir I have to lookout for. I just can't seem to get a break.

boldtogether boldtogether , P predatorkeeper87

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Sometimes wild caught fish are plagued with parasites and can only be dealt with through quarantine. When I used to catch wild crayfish, sometimes they would be so covered I almost felt I had to deworm them before even thinking about putting them back. Such is life my friend.
If that is the only visible external parasite, and you just removed it, that fish is good to go....it's a good looking fish, healthy... (besides the hitchhiker)...maybe one tank at a time?
 
Hello; I have read that we should not put fish back into the wild, even local natives, once we remove them from a body of water. Might be worth checking out.

Some sort of parasite as the others have said.
 
USMCSS, didn't you quarantine the fish before you added it to your tank?
Also, better treat the entire tank for parasites. Removing the cat is likely too late now. May as well leave it in. Besides, you shouldn't release sick fish.
 
skjl47 said:
Hello; I have read that we should not put fish back into the wild, even local natives, once we remove them from a body of water. Might be worth checking out.

Some sort of parasite as the others have said.
Click to expand...
They say that because the fish get used to being fed as opposed to feeding itself and when put back in the wild, they aren't able to care for themselves. This fish has only been in captivity less than a month. It'll be fine.

boldtogether boldtogether , if you could really see the fish, you could see it's really gone downhill. I've already treated it for fin rot with no success. I feel it'd be better for it to head back home. I love creatures and want to save every last one of them but we're talking a fish, something that had it been bigger would have ended up seasoned, blacked, and served on a tortilla with some tartar sauce, cabbage, and salsa....
 
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USMCSS said:
They say that because the fish get used to being fed as opposed to feeding itself and when put back in the wild, they aren't able to care for themselves. This fish has only been in captivity less than a month. It'll be fine.

boldtogether boldtogether , if you could really see the fish, you could see it's really gone downhill. I've already treated it for fin rot with no success. I feel it'd be better for it to head back home. I love creatures and want to save every last one of them but we're talking a fish, something that had it been bigger would have ended up seasoned, blacked, and served on a tortilla with some tartar sauce, cabbage, and salsa....
Click to expand...

And added protien enhancements. ....lol
just kidding brother.
Thats why I don't eat large fish....
 
HarleyK said:
USMCSS, didn't you quarantine the fish before you added it to your tank?
Also, better treat the entire tank for parasites. Removing the cat is likely too late now. May as well leave it in. Besides, you shouldn't release sick fish.
Click to expand...
I did not and
HarleyK said:
USMCSS, didn't you quarantine the fish before you added it to your tank?
Also, better treat the entire tank for parasites. Removing the cat is likely too late now. May as well leave it in. Besides, you shouldn't release sick fish.
Click to expand...
It was caught sick so shouldn't be a problem releasing it sick
 
The concern isn't that fish will forget how to hunt/survive, even captive-bred fish can do that. The concern is the release of pathogens. If the fish in question has been around fish from other parts of the world, especially fish from the aquarium trade, it may be infected with pathogens that aren't native to the area. Most fish have at least some resistance to their native pathogens, but North American fish have no built-in resistance to pathogens carried by, say, African cichlids.
Do NOT put the fish back. Besides the above, in most places it is illegal to release fish from other areas. You have no way of proving that the fish originally came from where you intend to release it.
Your entire tank is probably infected, so you may as well treat for parasites. Any anti-parasite med should probably work, worms like that are exposed and easy to kill. Alternately, you can put anything with scales into a bath of saltwater for a few minutes, that'll kill any external nasties. Pretty sure it's a bad idea with catfish, though.
 
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