Attn: Oddball

[mike C]

Hi,

I was told to ask you this question. My Payara has some body parasites and I can't seem to get rid of them I have given 2 treatments of Prazipro to no avail. Can you help me please. I am including 2 pics ...look where the pectoral fins are( just below where they attach to body ) there are some on the crest od the payaras stomach too. Thanks for any help.

 

[RadleyMiller]

Have you added salt and raised the water temp? That is the first thing I would do.

 

[Oddball]

I can't make out anything in the pics. Does the parasite look like this?

 

[mike C]

Yes, they look very much like that. What should I do for it? Right now I'm using a copper med and they are still there. Thanks for the replies. And yes I did raise the temp and add salt but that didn't do anything. The problem started out as little bumps that really seemed to make the fish itch and they got bigger and then what you see in the above pic. I have had aquariums constantly for 34 years now and I have never encountered these before. I really want these worms off my poor fish. Thanks for any help

 

[Fish Room Plus]

Try using RID-ICK
It uses 2 stong medicine to kill stuff like that

 

[mike C]

Well I seem to have cured the problem. I even removed the adult parasites with tweezers and all went really well. Thanks for all replies guys

 

[Oddball]

If the problem hasn't fully resolved (mainly due to new infestations from released larvae), here's a treatment protocol for the tank inhabitants and the system:

All fish are recommended to be treated with salinity change and formalin. Salinity change will involve a 10 ppt bath for all animals for a period of no less than 30 minutes (preferably 120 minutes). Formalin treatment will involve immersion in a bath containing 25 ml of formalin per 25 gallons for 30 to 60 minutes or a bath of 2.5 ml per 25 gallons for no less than 24 hours.

The treatment should be administered in a bare hospital tank (basically, so you can monitor the deaths of the parasites as they fall to the bottom of the tank). With all animals in treatment tank(s), either raise the main tank temp to 90F and drastically raise the salinity, or break the tank down and clean everything with a 50:50 solution of bleach and water. Either way, rinse everything well after cleaning. Wash the gravel with hot tap (not boiling) water to ensure destruction of all parasites and eggs/larvae. If it were me, I'd either hope for the best from washing live plants in a similar formalin bath or, discard the plants for new ones later.