I believe it is safe for scaleless fish IF you use half the doseage recommended
What is this? I'm grossed out!
- Thread starter musilvr4eva
- Start date
I believe it is safe for scaleless fish IF you use half the doseage recommended
My local store is recommending cupramine since it kills crustaceans. Any thoughts on this?
Emily
Emily
Never used it...but Seachem makes some good products so it is probably good. Just use it as directed and you should be fine. Since the parasite is a crustacean, cupramine should eliminate it.
I'm very sorry for your loss, but I have to say that it's actually kinda cool to find something like that. That has to be one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard about!
For the love of g-d and the good of the MFK community please go scorched earth on these horrible little sob's.
I'm sure It would be greatly appreciated by all if you continue to keep us in the loop. Your willingness to share all the info relating to your loss may wind up saving someone else's tank.
Ive got nothing to add in terms of treatment options; every idea i had has already been suggested. I do know a hobbyist who has a masters degree relating to wet ecosystems & I will call him and have him look through the posts to see if can offer any advice
I'm sure It would be greatly appreciated by all if you continue to keep us in the loop. Your willingness to share all the info relating to your loss may wind up saving someone else's tank.
Ive got nothing to add in terms of treatment options; every idea i had has already been suggested. I do know a hobbyist who has a masters degree relating to wet ecosystems & I will call him and have him look through the posts to see if can offer any advice
I ended up not coming home with any medications or treatments. They didn't have a copper test that I would need if I bought the cupramine, so I passed on it. Then I wanted to ask about the prazipro before dropping fifty bucks on it. It only says names of worms on its label, and I don't know anything about this medication, so I wanted to see if it should even help. I'm going to do a deep clean on the tank this weekend and make sure everyone's mouths are empty.
One question the pet store had though was regarding the breeding cycle of these things. We are assuming the sabertooth was wild caught, and the owner of the store is wondering if the other fish would even be able to get the parasite. Depending on the parasites breeding cycle, is it even possible for it to breed since there was only one in the tank?
Emily
One question the pet store had though was regarding the breeding cycle of these things. We are assuming the sabertooth was wild caught, and the owner of the store is wondering if the other fish would even be able to get the parasite. Depending on the parasites breeding cycle, is it even possible for it to breed since there was only one in the tank?
Emily
Wow...$50 for prazipro? You must've been looking at the 16 oz. bottle. Online it says that a 4 oz bottle of prazipro treats 480 gallons, and a 16 oz bottle treats 1920 gallons. So, you would only need a 2-4 oz bottle which costs about $10. "Recommendations: Use any time unwanted parasites are noticed or introduction is probable."...but your right it only really says names of worms it treats but it still could possibly work for your case
Sucks you couldn't find a test kit for the cupramine
& heres the only info I could find really on the parasites breeding/reproduction,
"Cymothoa exigua is a parasitic isopod with a very odd and gruesome life cycle. Juveniles first attach to the gills of a fish and become males. As they mature, they become females, with mating likely occurring on the gills."
"The parasite also sexually reproduces. If there is no female inside the fish and there are 2 males, one of the males can turn into a female after it grows to 10 mm."
Wow wtf is this?!?! I'm grossed out by this yet kinda surpirsed no one has a clue on what this is. No offense what so ever but everyone should be extra careful who you get fish from
From http://www.eoearth.org/article/Crustacea regarding the life-cycle of Isopods, which is the order that these things belong to:
So, it's possible that this thing had already found a male and mated before it got into your tank. It's also possible that it was gestating the eggs or newly hatched young at that time and that it released them into your tank before you found it...although I would think this is highly unlikely. The rest of your fish are probably just fine.Isopoda
Introduction
(Source: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario)
(Source: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario)
With over 10,000 species, the order Isopoda is the second most diverse group of crustaceans. Isopods can be found in all types of habitats, but most species live in the sea or on land. Looking under garden rocks or rotting logs, you will often discover them. They are the small, hard-shelled creatures which resemble miniature armadillos, that roll into a tiny ball when disturbed. You might know them as rolly-pollys, or sow bugs. The most striking characteristic of isopods is their dorsoventral compression.
Morphology
(Source: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario)
(Source: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario)
The body of isopods is divided into three sections; the cephalothorax, the thorax and the abdomen. The compound eyes of isopods are dorsal and unstalked. Isopods are negatively phototactic (reathey ct to light by moving away from it), and usually remain hidden under rocks and debris. Their first antennae are short, while the second set is much longer and reach ahead of the isopod to "feel' for signs of food sources as well as potential danger. The first pair of legs are called gnathopods ("jaw-feet") because they are modified for grasping and tearing food. The other thoracic segments each bear a pair of walking legs. The last abdominal segment is a result of the fusion of the last four abdominal segments to form a posterior shield in all North American species. Uropods are the last pair of abdominal appendages that are biramous and extend beyond the end of the abdomen. Mature females have large, inwardly directed, platelike oostegites at the inner base of their anterior (front) legs. They form a shallow chamber on the ventral surface of the thorax called a marsupium. It serves to hold and protect developing eggs or young.
Reproduction
(Source: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario)
Isopods reproduce sexually and breeding occurs throughout the year. Thus, egg-bearing females may be found year-round, but most are found during the spring and summer months. During mating, males grasp females and carry them under their bodies using their periopods. They may remain attached for months. The male presses his ventral surface against the side of the female, placing his genital pores close to one of the female's genital pores. Sperm are released while the male pleopods vibrate rapidly. The male then moves to the other side of the female and repeats the process with the other genital pore. After 1 to 10 months, the eggs are fertilized and pass into the marsupium. The incubating eggs and newly hatched young remain in the marsupium for up to one month. The newly hatched first instar young look much like miniature versions of the adult. The number of instars in unknown, but there are thought to be at least 15 before maturity is reached. Most freshwater isopods have a lifespan of approximately one year.
Ecology
(Source: Biodiversity Institute of Ontario)
Freshwater isopods are primarily benthic and occur in the littoral zone of ponds, lakes, streams and springs, but they have been recorded at depths of as much as 55 m. They are the poorest swimmers of all freshwater crustaceans. In fact, they can barely swim at all and locomotion is usually restricted to a slow crawl. For this reason, they are exclusively associated with the substrate, or aquatic macrophytes where they live a somewhat secretive existence. Most species are scavengers, feeding primarily on dead and injured organisms, as well as green, decaying vegetation. As a result they form an important link in food chains by recycling dead and decaying material back into living tissue. Isopods have also been shown to be an important food item in the diet of many stream fishes.
Idiosyncratic Inverts
The tongue-eating isopod, Cymothoa exigua, lives in the mouth of the rose snapper (Lutjanus guttatus) and causes tongue stub and the floor of the fish's mouth and resembles the missing tongue!
What I find interesting is that everything I found regarding this particular parasite refers to it infecting a rose snapper, which is a saltwater fish. Is this somehow related to your "red tail sabertooth"?
