Feeder guppy worm epidemic??

[DrKate]

Does that look like what you're seeing on your feeders?

Unfortunately, no - at least not the original problem I described. Anchor worms attach to the surface of the fish and stick out into the water - they're not parasites of the fish so much as they just use the fish as a place to live, and filter-feed from the water. (They do cause damage to the fish's skin, though, especially in large numbers.)

(Warning! Gross comparison coming up!) Getting the worm out of the cysts I found was very much like popping a zit - the worm was most definitely all balled up under the skin, and only unraveled after I popped the cyst.

It sounds like justme is finding the same thing - not surprising given our proximity. Sounds like Shannon's seen the same thing too, though the tanks I saw this past week were much more heavily infested than in her past experience.

As for the danger to the snakes, Shannon is dead on there. It totally depends what life stage this is, and whether it (or any other life stage the fish may be carrying) can live in the GI tract of the snake - or even escape to encyst within the snake's body. I'm going to see if any of my parasitology or fish medicine acquaintances are willing to help ID these creepy crawlies, which might help determine if they pose any threat to the snakes.

Justme - I would definitely STOP feeding our local feeder guppies for now! A lot of the same stores that sell feeders will also sell frozen silversides (you'll need to cut them up for your babies). I also found that my Puget babies were VERY eager to take cut-up pinky mouse pieces, didn't need to scent them or anything, so you could try that too.

[TheArtist]

Wow you're comparison made my memory click! I remember we were having a problem like this on Ultimatebetta. One of our members was talking about how her fish appeared to have a 'zit' looking pump on it's chin. She took photos and noted that the next day it looked like a whitehead (eeew...) and then she saw the white thing come out, like a parasite. We found a solution but my mind draws a blank after that. Do you want me to dig the thread up and find out what she ended up doing to save the fish? The memory tells e that the worm was behaving in the way that you're describing, instead of feeding off the fish itself it seemed to just be using it as a host to live in...

[DrKate]

Do you want me to dig the thread up and find out what she ended up doing to save the fish?

Really I think the biggest concern (for me, anyway) is not whether you could cure the fish, because then you'd have to decide how long after treatment you'd need to keep the fish to make sure that their bodies have excreted all the medication and they are safe for the snake to eat. Plus, even if the big worm dies we wouldn't REALLY know if we'd killed all other life stages present, so there would always be some lurking risk there. Mostly I think we care about whether the worm poses any danger in terms of being passed on to the snakes when ingested. If not, then the parasite is just another food source for the snake. If so, then it's probably way easier and way safer to just feed something else. Of course finding that answer requires knowing what this parasite actually is.

So if you think the thread included an identification of the parasite, that would be really awesome. But if they just tried treating it as a generic worm infestation, then I don't think that would help me so much - but if somebody else feels really dependent on feeder guppies and would like to be able to treat this problem speak up!

[TheArtist]

Unfortunately, it was never identified... It started off as a white head looking pimple.. the worm would be seen every now and then hanging out of it. over time it turned into a 'hard' pointy thing that can only be compared to a fang. White like bone sticking out of the spot the worm and pimple had been. And a few days later it broke off and the fish was left a bit bloody and the tissue finally scared over.

I do not know if it ever re-occurred, or if that was the end of the worms lifecycle.. But I wonder if it didn't lay eggs or something within the fish...

I think, directing this towards feeding infected guppies to a snake.. I would act and assume that, even if the worm was harmless, the wound the worm would have made just to attach or get inside the fish would be just asking for the fish to contract a different type of infection. Even if it's not obvious, things like columinaris, which strain is always present within a tank, would take advantage of any opening within a fish... These side infections I would think, may harm the snake, or make the meal completely worthless.

I think the best plan of action would be to act as if the fish is no longer a suitable thing to feed the snake and should be avoided until the 'epidemic' within the feeder fish is no longer present...

But thats just me!

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

all of this is why i feed f/t silversides as a staple and only use live feeders to start new babies and convince picky eaters!