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Hi, I have a fish that has a red spot on his head. Inside there seems to be a green colored worm or something. It's difficult to describe, so I've placed a picture instead.

http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/9144/image6nv.jpg

Does anyone know what this is? The fish is acting normally. PH is at 6, ammonia is in the "safe" zone.

Thats downright freaky! The just visible forked tip to the head looks exactly like a large gyrodactylus skin fluke, but without seeing the rest of the body its hard to be sure. The vivid green is new . Id be tempted (if the fish is a decent size) to have a vet lance that and have whatever the hell it is analysed. You can see its causing infection by the raised blood vessels and whatever it is, you want it gone. Even if you worm it the body mass of a fluke that size could still cause infection after its death.Try a wormer and anti fluke treatment in the meantime to see if you can kill it.Its well buried in there though, so you might consider getting it removed, and a systemic drug from a vet. Whatever it is , you want it gone before it reproduces.

Remove it, wipe them out, go complete terminator, you dont want flukes that can get to that size getting around the tank.

Is the green thing disc shaped as you can get fish lice in green colour.

No, it looks like a excrete. Anyway, there is no vet around here that services fishes.

What treatment longhairedgit? I don't see those in my pet shop .

If you can get it, any treatment containing praziquantel, you might be able to find some "prazi pond" treatment over the net, its like it says on the tin , basically for ponds, but you can scale down the dosage accordingly, and its a really safe drug to use.It doesnt tend to harm filters either.Sometimes brief salt baths kill some flukes, but i think that one is too well rooted in there to be affected.


In fact, just found a US source, there you go.

http://www.koivillage.com/medications/fluke_tabs.html

If im right about the fluke causing infection even after its death you might need some antibiotics after the fluke treatment, you might find the wound will weep and that could mean a likelihood of a follow up fungal infection or worse continue to swell. Personally, if that happens I might drug the fish with clove oil and prick the parasite out with a sterilised needle, but thats something you should only attempt if you know the fish's anatomy well and have very steady hands. You might not want to risk it if at all unsure.