Are these things hazardous to fish? I saw these all over the crawyfish at my LFS. A few were really bad, like they had fur coats on. If they are harmless to fish I wont worry about them since they will probably end up as fish food.
CRAYFISH AND PARASITES
- Thread starter SemperFish
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Based on the information I have been finding, your question cannot be 100% answered. Some say it is anchorworm, others say a form of leech. Some people think the worms maybe harmless, others believe there is a possibility of the worms possibly attaching to fish in the tank. I took my crayfish back to it's lake after I spotted the worms. Here is another link I have found for you: http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?t=427
wow, really good info. It occurred to me that if my fish are going to eat these crayfish and thus the worms it doesnt really matter. They wont really have time to infect any fish because they will be digested.
That vid is exactly my yabbies have got, tomorrow ill do my first salt bath and ill keep you updated from there, i wouldnt risk it at all man. thats me though, ocd.
Yeah got to thinking and the last thing I want is little wormies inside my Red Devil "Pierre". What I forsee now is setting up a tank for my "feeder" crays. Shortly thereafter my wife will decide they are cute and become emotionally attached to them and thus begin "rescuing" them from their horrible fate. On the plus side, I'll have one more aquarium! On the down side, its an aquarium of just crays lol.
Definately please keep me posted on your efforts.
Definately please keep me posted on your efforts.
Danzig, I keep forgetting to ask you, since youre in Australia, have you ever been to that power plant that has all the cichlids living in its cooling pond? I read about it somewhere and it sounds awesome.
Hey SemperFish, if you are going to feed your fish the crayfish, just give them krill or shrimp. You can buy fresh shrimp from your local store. Rinse well, and pop it in. I bought the cocktail size shrimp for puffers I had. It cost me about $.76 with tax for two.
According to what I read, the worms wait on the molted skin and then transfer to the new crayfish. So while your fish is attacking the crayfish, some worms will fall off . If your fish is shaking the crayfish or even as it starts swallowing and some of the crayfish hangs out the mouth, the some worms will come off.
You may even have an arm, etc..fall to the bottom. If the crayfish is not around, the worms will search for another host. They will try to survive. If these worms are able to survive on fish, you are looking to have and infestation of massive proportions.
Think of the possibility of your fish being covered in these worms. The worms can also attach themselves to your hand and arm as you clean the tank or move things aound. I would just buy fresh or frozen shrimp, etc...at least you know the parasites are dead.
According to what I read, the worms wait on the molted skin and then transfer to the new crayfish. So while your fish is attacking the crayfish, some worms will fall off . If your fish is shaking the crayfish or even as it starts swallowing and some of the crayfish hangs out the mouth, the some worms will come off.
You may even have an arm, etc..fall to the bottom. If the crayfish is not around, the worms will search for another host. They will try to survive. If these worms are able to survive on fish, you are looking to have and infestation of massive proportions.
Think of the possibility of your fish being covered in these worms. The worms can also attach themselves to your hand and arm as you clean the tank or move things aound. I would just buy fresh or frozen shrimp, etc...at least you know the parasites are dead.
Rays of Sunshine;4256265; said:Hey SemperFish, if you are going to feed your fish the crayfish, just give them krill or shrimp. You can buy fresh shrimp from your local store. Rinse well, and pop it in. I bought the cocktail size shrimp for puffers I had. It cost me about $.76 with tax for two.
According to what I read, the worms wait on the molted skin and then transfer to the new crayfish. So while your fish is attacking the crayfish, some worms will fall off . If your fish is shaking the crayfish or even as it starts swallowing and some of the crayfish hangs out the mouth, the some worms will come off.
You may even have an arm, etc..fall to the bottom. If the crayfish is not around, the worms will search for another host. They will try to survive. If these worms are able to survive on fish, you are looking to have and infestation of massive proportions.
Think of the possibility of your fish being covered in these worms. The worms can also attach themselves to your hand and arm as you clean the tank or move things aound. I would just buy fresh or frozen shrimp, etc...at least you know the parasites are dead.
I feed my other fish market shrimp all the time. Unfortunately Pierre will not eat dead shrimp. If I buy live fish or inverts he gobbles them right up.
He is quite the finicky eater. In fact I had to starve him for almost 2 weeks once before he would eat pellets. He's a big eater but I want to vary his diet more. If I can sanitize these crays Im going to give it a shot. Cant pass up free food, plus I get to fish at the same time!
We must have been typing at the same time. Try the salt bath, if your crayfish look like they are in distress, remove them quickly and rinse them well in freshwater.
I had to do a salt bath on 3 freshwater turtles that had a leech infestation. One turtle was in distress, so I removed them all to freshwater. The turtle in distress foamed at the mouth and nose in the freshwater. They all held their all heads above water.
The leeches were killed upon entering the saltwater. I put all of their rocks and wood in tere too. The leeches fell off in the salt water. I didn't quarantine the 2 new turtles. Within 10 minutes of putting them in the tank with the other turtle, I found 10 leeches including the adult.
I had to do a salt bath on 3 freshwater turtles that had a leech infestation. One turtle was in distress, so I removed them all to freshwater. The turtle in distress foamed at the mouth and nose in the freshwater. They all held their all heads above water.
The leeches were killed upon entering the saltwater. I put all of their rocks and wood in tere too. The leeches fell off in the salt water. I didn't quarantine the 2 new turtles. Within 10 minutes of putting them in the tank with the other turtle, I found 10 leeches including the adult.
Some people have had success with attaching a string on the end of the dead food. Pull on the string and make it look like its alive. Good Luck with your crayfish farm. I want to see a pic of the finicky Pierre, please.
