Eye parasite?

[MrDuckBootz]

I have had a fungus infection outbreak in my tank and have just done a 25% water change after the 96 hour wait time from the start of the treatment. I was looking at the eyes of my fish and have spotted two things wiggling in the eye of my cichlid. I was hoping for some help identifying what exactly it is and next steps for getting rid of wht ever it is

 

[MrDuckBootz]

Also I think my white Oscar might be blind and I’m unsure what to do about him. It’s bad on that side and getting similar on the other side I don’t know what to do I did the treatment for fungus, eye cloud, and others that it said on the box but I don’t see any improvement

 

[kno4te]

Can’t tell if some type of nematode. But more meds could always stress it out. Could try a round of levamisole.

 

[MrDuckBootz]

I’ll try that thanks

 

[duanes]

Can’t tell if some type of nematode. But more meds could always stress it out. Could try a round of levamisole.

I agree, appears to be some type of nematode, these are very common fish parasites.
If you are feeding feeder fish such as goldfish, minnows, or other wild caught or pond raise fish, this would be obvious vector route.
Meds like flubendazol, levamisole, mebendazole, trichlorphon and triclabendazole are effective against some species, but not all.
Some of these nematodes are actually capable of being transferred to humans, so be careful.
These nematodes do not only occupy the eyes, but there may be many more in the cichlids digestive tract, so...
I know this sounds drastic..... but if it were me, and there wasn't some timely success in treatment, I'd euthanize all fish in the tank, and any fish in tanks that shared equipment, carefully destroy them (rubber gloves, etc), sterilize the tank, and all equipment, and start over.

 

[MrDuckBootz]

I feed freeze dryed shrimp and blood worms never live because of that reason. Not quiet what I wanted to hear about transferring to humans lol. Especially after doing a water change yesterday... how would I know if I’m infected? It’s a dam shame I have some babies from when I breed my Dovii and purple rose queen cichlids. That was the only time on this site and anywhere else that those fish have bread. I really hope I can save those babies if nothing else.

 

[Wharf]

Well if you get a CBC with a differential in a few weeks...if you have elevated Eos (Esonophils) ya might have a parasitic infection lol. Don't worry, I wouldn't obsess over it...and there are anti-parasitics for humans that could wipe them out...they are usually a one and done. Everybody has those harsh images of the Guinea Worm Disease where they are pulling the worm out of the leg lol.

I think they are hinting that you need a shotgun treatment of Levamisole that can kill all stages of nematodes. There is always Clout, it actually contains Trichlorphon and is a old shotgun type of treatment...not sure how it fairs with various nematodes.

The suggestion of disinfecting everything if you don't see timely results saves suffering of your present stock and future. You should maybe try treatment first and if you don't see some success or progress...Nuke the hell out of everything.

If you practice good hand hygiene and do not ingest any of your fish or tank water...I would think you would be ok. If you get worried or a little paranoid go to your PCP in a couple of weeks and tell him/her you may have potentially exposed to nematode/parasite and get a CBC with diff and maybe a repeat down the road. You will be fine

 

[duanes]

I agree, I wouldn't get paranoid.
I've only had a few transfers over 60 years of fish keeping, most infections were gone in a few days on their own, or with a little neosporine type.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

I feed freeze dryed shrimp and blood worms never live because of that reason. Not quiet what I wanted to hear about transferring to humans lol. Especially after doing a water change yesterday... how would I know if I’m infected?

Could be a good thing if you're not in the US. Human treatment is a fraction of the cost of treating a person. Get meds for yourself, share them with your fish! Everyone gets better!


(This is not meant to be actual medical advice)

 

[Cabie]

Look up "eye flukes".

Keep all the infected fish and the ones that were in contact with them in quarantine. Separate the ones that are showing symptoms from the ones that are not showing symptoms yet, but keep all of them away from tanks that haven't been exposed to the parasite yet. Wash your hands carefully before putting your hands from one tank to another tank. Do lots of water changes and vacuum the bottom of the tanks frequently to keep the parasite load as low as possible.

Invasion Of The Eye Flukes

By Pete Southgate, the Fish Vet Group - In the summer of 2005 many UK trout farmers experienced serious outbreaks of eye fluke infestation which resulted in severe pathology in affected fish and conse…

thefishsite.com