# anchor worms



## tara35 (Jul 24, 2006)

I purchased a oranda off ebay,& realized to late, that he has anchor worms. I now have a 1000 gal pond with 8 koi & 6 goldfish who are also infested with anchor worms. I have the one oranda, quarantined and medicating him, but the anchor worms keep coming back . Help!


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Anchorworms are crustaceans and also parasites. The only way to remove them is catch the fish, remove the adult parasites with tweezers, then treat the wounds.
What med are you using? It's very difficult to treat anchorworms in the pond. They can readily lay eggs in the water.


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## Nick (Aug 2, 2006)

If it gets really bad. This is last case and something that you would probably not want to do. But if they do lay eggs, like blue said, they do easily. Than it would be horrible to the pond & the fish. Best thing to do than is to take everything out and sort of start from scratch. 

But I hope that you get everything squared away! 

Nick


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

i dont no to much about goldfish i would say salt but, goldfish cant use salt .


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

There's a med which is worth a try. It's Metriphonate. It's an insecticide and can remedy serious pond infestations of large skin parasites like Argulus,Anchorworms and Fish Leeches.
Another med: Sera Cyprinopur. It's available in a bottle which can accomodate 1000 gallons. As it is designed for the ponds, it fits to your situation. It can still be used in aquariums though.


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## joeshmoe (Aug 2, 2006)

Removing Anchor Worms must often be done by hand, .


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

I will have to add that the lifecycle of anchorworms starts with a female parasite laying eggs in the water. Males die after mating. The eggs hatch into juveniles in which they find a host and attached to it when they reached adult stage.
The meds can destroy only the juveniles but not the adults. It's best to catch each fish and remove the adult parasites with tweezers, then treat the wounds(the spot where the anchorworm had attached).


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