anchor worms

[morrie]

i have anchor worm in my 4' tank of rainbow fish/gold fish/ sword tails etc (just nusance fish while i get the hang of this aquaponiocs thing - growing asian greens OK )
- i don't want to kill or contaiminate my grow bed with copper -any ideas how to get rid of them?
ian

[Castaway]

http://zamzows.com/Documents%20and%20Settings/41/Site%20Documents/Ponds/anchor%20worm.jpg

I never heard of Anchor worms Morrie but a quick search on Google reveals its not a pleasant task to do:

"Adult anchor worms that are attached to fish must be removed carefully with a pair of tweezers. Hold the afflicted fish firmly in a damp soft cloth and then carefully withdraw each worm, gripping it near the point of attachment to its host."

More info (http://www.australianwatergardener.com/content.asp?Category=303)

Didn't someone on this forum remind people that you should be very careful about buying fish from Pet shops?

[morrie]

i was hoping i didn't have to do that :-( ! i was wondering i there was a systemic treatment for the free living stage that didn't affect the aquaponic side of my set up???? the extra info you sent said these are based on metrifonate - is this safe?-doesn't sound safe!,

the problem is entirerly my fault -not pet shops -i have never had anchor worms from pet shops (i think they tend to fill their tanks up with "treatments")

the rainbow fish and sword tails are wild caught- that'll teach me won't it.

cheers
ian

[Crusty]

If you are looking for a non- chemical biological control, simply remove all the fish from the infected tank for at least 7 days. The life cycle will stop without a host.

The infected fish can be treated individually a few ways;
either as suggested below, just watch for a secondary infection,
or brush the copepod directly with a strong mix of potassium permanginate,
or worst case scenario a prolonged submersion (treating the tank water) with 0.25mg/L with an organophosphate every 7 days for 28 days.