# What is this worm on the side of my Cory Cat?



## warlickone (Nov 14, 2012)

I spotted this thing sticking out the side of this fish tonight when feeding bloodworms. What is it? Could it be a blood worm sticking out of its gill? I cannot find the fish now under cover to get better photos. Thanks in advance for any advice.

1. Size of tank? 29 Gallons

2. Water parameters
a. Ammonia? 0
b. Nitrite? 0
c. Nitrate? 5
d. pH, KH and GH? pH 7.4 - 7.6 KH 5
e. Test kit? API

3. Temperature? 76.3

4. FW (fresh water) 

5. How long the aquarium has been set up? 4 months

6. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them? One male Mississippi MAP turtle 3" long, three platys (2 female, 1 male), six gold ring danios, nine false Juli Cory Cats.

7. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)? No

8. a. Any live plants? Fake plants? Fake, yes
b. Sand, gravel, barebottom? Sand Bottom
c. Rocks, woods, fancy decors? Any hollow decors? Wood, from beach baked in oven at 300x12hrs

9. a. Filtration? Aquaclear 70 x 2
b. Heater? Two heaters

10. a. Lighting schedule? What lights are used? 12 hrs on timer
b. Any sunlight exposure? How long? None

11. a. Water change schedule? Weekly
b. Volume of water changed? 30 - 50%
c. Well water, tap water, RO water?
d. Water conditioner used? yes
e. Frequency of gravel/sand (if any) vacuumed? With each water change

12. Foods? Hikari sinking pellets, occasional blood worms
How often are they fed? twice a day

13. a. Any abnormal signs/symptoms? rapid breathing
b. Appearance of poop? none seen
c. Appearance of gills? cannot visualize

14. a. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? no
b. What meds were used? none

15. Insert photos of fish in question and full tank shot if necessary.

Read more: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...orm-read-before-you-post-61135/#ixzz2CBRL25sL


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

Ugh! That sure looks like some kind of parasite. My first thought was anchor worms but that looks more like a bug larvae :dunno:

I haven't seen anything like that personally so can't recommend what worked for me as a treatment - but I've heard that Prazi-pro (sp) is a pretty good parasite med.

Best wait for someone with more experience here. Good luck and welcome to the forum.


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## TitanTDH (Sep 21, 2012)

*Does it look like this. I have no idea, but it kinda resembles your picture. Heres hoping someone else has a better idea.*


Goodluck and hope you nail it.

TitanTDH

August 16 - _Lernaea_ sp.


"Ummm...you have something hanging off your gill..." says one fish to another. Could very well be an anchor worm, which is not a worm, but instead is a parasitic copepod. They begin life as free-living, but after the female mates, she burrows herself into the flesh of a fish and becomes a long worm-like creature (hence the name). These parasites can cause major problem for aquarium and pond fish such as goldfish or koi, both because of the damage they do burrowing in and back out and also because of promoting opportunistic infections.


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