# Parasite Identification



## Pet Respect (Nov 7, 2006)

I've snapped a few pictures of a parasite that a customer had picked off of her fish. She brought them into the store for identification. I think it's anchorworm but I can't be sure. Does anyone know for sure what this parasite might be?










Kim @ Pet Respect


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

looks like a anchorworm to me


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## girlofgod (Aug 22, 2006)

eww..thats gross!

bri


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

It doesn't look like anchorworm to me. I had a previous encounter with anchorworms before and their body is not red like the one in the pic. Not even the head's shape.


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## dprUsh83 (Sep 11, 2006)




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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

]mybe larvae with its lil hands. how big is this bugger?[/


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

I agree, that does not look like an anchorworm, but I will pull down some text books and see if I can find anything. Anchorworms tend to be white to grey in color, and have a prominent head with "hooks" all around. I have spent hours picking them off of fancy goldfish at the store, as they spread quickly through a tank.
Can you give us any further information? What kind of fish she was keeping? Were the worms on the fish or in the substrate, stuck to the glass or rocks... as anchorworms will stick to a fish and literally eat a hole through the poor fish. Did she remove all from a fish body? I've never known anchorworm to last more than about 20 minutes off of a host fish.
More info please, if possible?


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

ive looked through 5 books didnt find anything :?


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Try taking a look at this info... I think I've found you're "parasite". It's not a parasite, it's a bloodworm, aka midge. You'll find a picture and info here:
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N
Depending on what kind of fish she's keeping, these will probably become food for the fish. Most fish love bloodworms.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

bettababy said:


> Try taking a look at this info... I think I've found you're "parasite". It's not a parasite, it's a bloodworm, aka midge.


That's what I've been thinking all along.:mrgreen: But then I could be wrong.:crazy: :bluelaugh:
Well done, Dawn.:wink2:


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

> mybe larvae with its lil hands. how big is this bugger?


 8)


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## crazie.eddie (Sep 1, 2006)

Yeah, it did look like a bloodworm....Small, red, and segmented.


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## Pet Respect (Nov 7, 2006)

Thanks, guys. I didn't suspect it to be a bloodworm at all as she told me she just feeds her fish live goldfish. I appreciate all of your help.

Kim @ Pet Respect


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

It is not uncommon for those to come in with the shipment of feeder goldfish. At the store here, we were always picking "contaminants" out of our feeder fish when they came in. Not all stores do this, and not every "contaminant" is something that needs to be picked out.
In the spring, we see a lot of tadpoles mixed in, and sometimes small crayfish. Other times of the year there are guppies, darters, and various other small fishes that come in with the feeder goldfish, even dragaonfly larvae.
This is normal. The places that supply the feeder goldfish tend to raise them in large large vat type facilities, and this tends to be an outside location. When an order comes in they simply scoop and count and ship. Being an outdoor facility would explain the bloodworms, and eventually the fish will eat them. They are not harmful, actually have a lot of nutrition to them, and are nothing that should be worried about.


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