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Thread: need help to ID a worm

  1. #1
    Registered Member dandestroy's Avatar
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    Default need help to ID a worm

    I have been suspecting capillaria for a while in my fish (white stringy poop), did some microscopy and saw these eggs;


    did 3x levamisole treatment a week apart... no more eggs,

    A few weeks later, I started noticing these worms;



    Frankly, I have been unable to find what they are online... so opinion are welcome, would love to get a proper ID on these bad boys.
    The capillaria eggs and wrom my be unrealted to be honest, but my 1st hypothesis was larva stage of capillaria maybe?, but I can't find ressembling photo online with the notch in the middle and "boot" like on one end and soft point on the other... and all worm have those features (and they never actually move, they seem still when under the microscope).

    Fishes are all fine overall, acting and eating normally (Bare bottom tank, 85 F, 50-90% WC twice a week, 0 nitrate... tons of filtration via sponge and sump setup, eat a variation of FBW from Al's shop, BW pellets, frozen Blood worm, frozen brine shirmps, Hans discus flakes.
    FrancK
    2018 year of the big tank!!!.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    why dont you write what zoom is, in zoom x100 you see all what you need to treat. i sure this is threadworm, i use molenicol lernex pro

  3. #3
    Registered Member dandestroy's Avatar
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    40x objectives (20x eyepieces, so 800x absolute)

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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    if you can make video x100 then i can tell more

  5. #5
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    Quote Originally Posted by dandestroy View Post
    I have been suspecting capillaria for a while in my fish (white stringy poop), did some microscopy and saw these eggs;


    did 3x levamisole treatment a week apart... no more eggs,

    A few weeks later, I started noticing these worms;



    Frankly, I have been unable to find what they are online... so opinion are welcome, would love to get a proper ID on these bad boys.
    The capillaria eggs and wrom my be unrealted to be honest, but my 1st hypothesis was larva stage of capillaria maybe?, but I can't find ressembling photo online with the notch in the middle and "boot" like on one end and soft point on the other... and all worm have those features (and they never actually move, they seem still when under the microscope).

    Fishes are all fine overall, acting and eating normally (Bare bottom tank, 85 F, 50-90% WC twice a week, 0 nitrate... tons of filtration via sponge and sump setup, eat a variation of FBW from Al's shop, BW pellets, frozen Blood worm, frozen brine shirmps, Hans discus flakes.
    Francois,
    The first image does look like capillaria eggs to me and that you no longer see them means the levamisole probably did its job well.


    The second image is odd. I don't think they are worms at all. The levamisole takes care of most round worms and nematodes in general. These structures don't move, and are all the same size, and all the same shape by the looks of them, plus I don't see any organs except that one segment. What do you feed your fish?

    al
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
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    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

  6. #6
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    About the second picture. I have seen a lot of those in fecal samples and, like Al, I suspect they are from food. In my case I thought they were from frozen brine shrimp maybe, but I was also feeding FDBW at the time.

  7. #7
    Registered Member jimg's Avatar
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    Second picture I have seen many times also searched everywhere never found what they are. the very tiny rice shaped things around them in the pictured do they move very fast? look like flagellates, Spiro? to me
    Jim

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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    i told you all what it is, threadworm in Poland have name "owsik", make x100 and then be sure about that

  9. #9
    Registered Member dandestroy's Avatar
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    Nothing was moving in that pictures.

    I feed the following:

    - Australian FDBW
    - Australian BW pellet
    - Frozen bloodworm
    - Colbalt Flakes
    - Frozen brine shrimp
    FrancK
    2018 year of the big tank!!!.

  10. #10
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    Pretty sure they arent from the freeze dried blackworms as they are digested too completely.
    Dan mentioned frozen brine shrimp and Francois did also.. I wonder if those are undigested chiton from the brine shrimps exoskelton? Looking at images on the net of brine shrimp adults under microscopes you can almost imagine the shapes in Francois images being from spine/tail of adult Brine. Yes I know its a reach here.


    Francois,
    I would suggest feed nothing but the fdbw for several days and then repeat your sampling... you can also try the other foods one at a time to see if its from them. I really cant see these things in the second pic being alive... but hey I could be very wrong.

    Al
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
    Simplydiscus LLC Owner
    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

  11. #11
    Registered Member dandestroy's Avatar
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    Thanks for your patience all,

    finished treating with metro+ (feed and water), as well as levamisole (food).
    did some microscopy, all capilaria eggs and hexamita are gone.

    as for the unknown worm looking thing, I did microscopy of the food and....
    Boom... it's in the Australian FDBW cubes

    Nothing moves, relative concentration in poop is almost the same in feces and food (so doesn't reproduce while in the fish), and is only partially digested at best, likely not digested at all. It's all dead stuff I guess, which makes sense how FDBW are made.

    So mystery partially solved, nothing pathogenic here in its current state.
    Would be nice for someone to perform an independent check on their Australian FDBW cubes.

    (40x objective / 800x totals)
    Last edited by dandestroy; 03-11-2019 at 10:10 PM.
    FrancK
    2018 year of the big tank!!!.

  12. #12
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    Francois,
    Thats a really interesting find. I'm guessing though it spinach. Looking at your last orders... both the spinach combo and biopigment plus contain freeze dried baby spinach. Wonder if these are from that?

    Al
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
    Simplydiscus LLC Owner
    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

  13. #13
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    hello all ,
    i just had a look at a few freeze dried Australian black worms and these so called worms are clearly visible .
    i believe they are the bristles that are in rows on the outside of the worm .
    i could clearly see them at 100 X
    i found them in the feces of fish that were fed with black-worms as well , but then they are scattered all over , i suppose they are hard to digest .
    anyway , i don't think it's something to worry about .

  14. #14
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    OMG THANK YOU!! I have been scouring the internet to try and identify these fricking worms for 3 weeks now. Its been driving me crazy!!! I feed my fish FDBW too and their faeces are riddled with these things. Obviously not what made them sick then....

    At least I can stop throwing wormers at them. Far out! Now I'm going to have to take some FDBW to work and have a look under the microscope to confirm hahaha

  15. #15
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default Re: need help to ID a worm

    Quote Originally Posted by klr-dude View Post
    hello all ,
    i just had a look at a few freeze dried Australian black worms and these so called worms are clearly visible .
    i believe they are the bristles that are in rows on the outside of the worm .
    i could clearly see them at 100 X
    i found them in the feces of fish that were fed with black-worms as well , but then they are scattered all over , i suppose they are hard to digest .
    anyway , i don't think it's something to worry about .
    Yes you are right here, thats what I determined they were too..worms have hairs called setae, thats what these are., they are not digested and pass out the fish, much like parts of bloodworms exoskeleton can.



    https://goo.gl/images/UPJ6tT

    Earthworm-TS_setae.png

    al
    Last edited by brewmaster15; 04-30-2019 at 12:19 PM.
    AquaticSuppliers.com Freeze Dried BlackWorms and other foods your Discus will Love!!!


    >>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS

    Al Sabetta
    Simplydiscus LLC Owner
    Aquaticsuppliers.com


    I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images

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