How do the large parasites pass from one host to another?

[wo]

Hi,

One of my friends just find that his discus with tapeworm, so he use the deworm powder that is produced by the discus breeder. Each time he is about to siphon the tapeworms(1~2cm long) in the water, the next minute the worms are gone. He figures the tapeworms are eaten by those discus again. Are there any kind of drug could kill both tapeworms/eggs without harming the discus itself?
How do the large internal parasites like tapeworm / hookworm to find another host? Thanks for your help.

By the way, he once fed those discus with live bloodworms.

[brewmaster15]

Hi wo,
If you are sure that it is a tapeworm, in most of the cases the medication used to expel the worms , kills the worms. Each tape worm is made up of segments that contain eggs, these segments are called proglottids. what happens is these segments open and release eggs into the water. The eggs are then ingested by an intermediate host (snail, copepods, etc.) The Tape worm eggs then develop and when this intermediate host is ingested by a fish... the tape worm finishes its cycle. and you wind up with the typical tapeworm.

http://a3.cpimg.com/image/E1/51/8882913-9ba7-02000180-.jpg

So in the case of the tapeworm, ingesting the expelled worm is not going to re-infect the fish. The fish must eat the intermediate host , after that host was infected. This is true for 99.9% of tape worms. There is one or two species of smaller tapeworms that aparently don't need an intermediate. I don't believe they are common though.

This is only true for tape worms. Not all parasites need intermediates, and in most cases, ingestion of the worm or eggs is what will infect the fish.

hth,
al

[wo]

Al:

Really thanks for your explicit explanation. Now I can tell my friend that he does not need to worry about the tape worms eaten by discus.

:sun:Have a wonderful weekend! :wave:

[Sertac]

Hi all,
There are type worms in my breeding tank. How can i solve this problem. Whats the name of medicine?

[Ardan]

Hi,
tapeworms
use praziqauntel. get it at billman@citynet.net
learn about it here
http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=10;action=display;threadid=1024

hth