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Recently I noticed my blushing angel seemed stressed. I didn't think too much of it, she was acting shy and had clinched fins. Two days ago I noticed she doesn't want to eat and decided to take a closer look. I noticed a red swollen area near her anal fin. Here is the best picture I could get of it.



When I look real close it looks almost like a thorn. Could it be something she ate? Should I try and do something or just keep an eye on it? I don't have a cycled quarenteen tank.[/font]

Is that the bottom front or rear of the fish??...

Although I can't be sure, a parasite comes to mind either about to protrude through the skin or an abcess, probably infected.

--garyroland.

Well I moved her to a QT tank and put in some melafix. She didn't make it through the night . I think a parasite may be the right answer. It almost looks like worms were comming out of her vent. Should I be worried about the other fish in the tank?

If the vent is red and swollen and you red worms sticking out it'a camallanus.These are worms that live in the fishes stomach and intestines. They can be there for months before symptoms or the worms themselves show. The worms showing are the final reproductive stage.Chances are other fish in the tank are infected and should treat the whole tank.

The good news is it is treatable. You need to get hold of a cattle/sheep wormer called Levamisole. In the UK brands such as Nilverm will do. Contact a farm supplier and they will almost certainly have some. You only need a small amount. Sorry but I've forgotten the exact dosage, but if you Google Camallanus you'll find lot's of info.

The good news: Levamisole is a very specific worming drug and very safe for aquarium use. It's hard to overdose, won't harm your bio filter or plants if used properly and in fact will improve the fishes immune system. It will get rid of the worms very quickly.

The bad news: The worms could have already caused serious internal damage and you may lose other fish later.

Just another point: sorry you lost the Angel but it's a story I've seen so many times on this board. People post a message -"fish sick don't know what it is but I dumped in medicine X anyway, what should I do?". Never ever use a medication unless you are certain of what you are dealing with and the medication being used is the appropiate one.So often chucking in meds or chemicals causes far more problems then it ever solves. I'm not saying that's what happened with your angel but it's possible. I've had fish with the same problem you have now and saved them by only using the correct med and no other.

Having got that off my chest, do try to get the Levamisole and dose the main tank, it's quite possible the other fish are infected but not yet showing symptoms, or there may be larvae in the tank. The drug is very mild and very specific so safe to use as a prophylactic.

If you have any probs finding the dosage let me know and I'll dig them out for you

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

That's good advice from our friend in Ireland...

But, there are many species of internal parasites that live for a long time before maturing internally.

"Pepso Food" has been very effective for treating all types of parasites if given in time.

Regular food is replaced by "Pepso" and fed for three days.

--garyroland.

Thanks both of you for replies. From the pictures I've seen on the web it sounds just like camallanus. I'll look for some "pepso food" at the LFS and feed that for a few days.

Thanks again,

Jungle parasite clear with praziquantel is a good med and widely available as well. . . . It will generally kill most intestinal parasites within 24 hours. Good luck with those other fish.

Thanks for the recemendation tryst. I may go to the LFS today and ask the guy there what they have. Right now none of the other fish look sick or has stopped eating. Of course my understanding of this is that by the time you see symptoms the fish has had them for quite some time. I only had Serra for 6 weeks. Is it possible that she had it when I got her? Or do you think that she got it from one of the other fish or plants I bought?

Reiko,

From the photo you posted, the first thing that crossed my mind was that was a serious infestation, the vent was more red and swollen then any I've ever seen. based on that, if you have only had the fish 6 weeks I would be pretty confident the fish already had it when you bought it.

Problem is the worm sticking out is usually because the worm is reproducing (it'a live bearer)so there is a fair chance they dropped some babies into the water. There is some debate as to whether or not the larvae need an intemediate host before it can enter the fish. i.e the larvae gets eaten by a daphnia which in turn gets eaten by a fish who becomes infected.

But to be safe I would treat the other fish anyway. My own experience with this s*&%$y little worms was when I noticed a Rainbow acting strange and then noticed the worms, when I found out what it was I checked the other fish (a couple of hours trying to get a clear look at the fishes asses, that had the wife worried for a while)and found about 6 or 7 definately and a few others possible (some fish have a real small  infected - all different species Danios,Rams, Tetras and Platy.Don't know how thw worms got in but they obviously spread fairly easily. After dosing with the Levamisole they cleared up very fast and I know of only one fish that succumbed to worms. That was a couple of months ago all other fish that were definately infected are still going strong today and never showed any ill effects.

Unfortunately an illness that not many people new much about a couple of years back is now becoming very common, you only have to check the hospital forum here to see that, mainly due to bad breeding practices in the big fish farms here in Asia. I have a feeling this is going to become as common as Ich.

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Jungle Fungus Clear is available at walmart actually, and I agree with bensaf on treating the whole tank.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm happy to say that I found some Jungle Parasite Clear and dosed the tank according to the directions. Everyone seems to be doing well but I will be keeping an eye on them just in case.