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View Full Version : Red "worms" in the backside...


Radio KJ
12-20-2007, 12:51 AM
All right, I would like to get this mess sorted once and for all, and preferably before Christmas if possible.

Now, I have (had) fish in the store with little red "worms" coming from their butts. Just little tiny stringy looking things, pure red in colour and no longer than a couple millimetres protruding. I can't really describe them better than that. They appear and dissapear at seemingly random times; sometimes many, sometimes just one. The first instance was with baby Oscars, the second with Balloon Mollies, and currently with Blue German Rams.

Now, I've heard various names for these "worms". The fish expert for down at head office thought they were just a protruding anus on the Oscars. Those Oscars are living happy lives in a customer's 100G tank. The Balloon Mollies, on the other hand, pooped hourly and eventually died. One of the staff decided to try pulling the "worms" out of the Mollies with tweezers, and I'm concerned this caused a bit of the stress on them which lead to the deaths. The Rams have only just gotten this, but only one of the 20 has died so far and no tweezering has been done.

I've tried, at different times, every product I have access to (and even some we're not supposed to get across the border any more) to "treat" these fish. Am I in fact looking at a problem that needs treatment or is this something of no concern?

Lady Hobbs
12-20-2007, 01:08 AM
Any internal worms in fish is a problem just as it is in dogs.

Get a medicated food and start feeding right away and cut back on meat products you are feeding.

Radio KJ
12-28-2007, 12:20 AM
Pardon my bumping, but I'd like to get a few opinions on this: assuming that I am in fact seeing worms here, is it better to try to pull them out with tweezers or medicate in the hopes they'll eventually fall out? I've heard advice either way for this one.