anchor worm.

Question
i just bought a group of gold fish yesterday and the next day me and my brother noticed white strings attched to them. i looked up that they where anchor worm and contagious to other fish i worry that the three silver goldfish may have given it to my other fish. can anchor worm spread that fast and whats the best treatment for the fish and my tank water? i tweezered the worms out but i really don't want the rest to die from it. Thank you ^^

Answer
Corinne,

 Yes anchor worms can spread that fast. This is very important: ALWAYS QUARANTINE YOUR NEW FISH FOR AT LEAST 2 WEEKS BEFORE ADDING THEM TO YOUR TANK. That is a 100% must. This is one thing that can happen if you don't do that. Here are a few ways you can try to get rid of the anchor worm:

1. Salt dip:
      Find a bowl or bucket that can hold 1 gallon of water. Make sure you condition the water, and that it is the same temp as the tank water. Add 1.5 teaspoons of aquarium salt. Make sure it is dissolved BEFORE you add your fish. I take a cup of hot water to dissolve the salt then add it to the water. Put your fish in and leave him there for 5 mins. Make sure you don't leave him alone in case the fish has problems, you can remove him immediately. While he is in the salt water, in another bowl add 1 gallon of water. 2/3 of the water is fresh conditioned water and the other 1/3 is the salt dip water. When the 5 mins is up, remove him from the dip and into the other bowl and he stays in there for 15 mins. While he is in there clean out his tank with very hot water and add the conditioners to it. Again, make sure all the water temps are the same. If not, your fish can go into shock. After the 15 mins are up you can now move the fish to his fresh quarantine tank. Leave him in the QT for at least 3 weeks before adding him back to the tank. I would do 25% water changes every other day.

2. Formalin dip at 2 to 4 ml Formalin/2.5 gallons of water for 30 minutes, if your fish loses              equilibrium, immediately transfer him to clean, fresh water.

3. You can use antiparasitics such as Disco-worm, Fluke tabs, and Clout. this might help.

4. You can also add salt to the aquarium at 1.5 teaspoons per gallon may help prevent secondary infections.

Any one of these treatments should help you out. Remember, do not put your fish back into the tank for at least 2 to 3 weeks. Make sure you clean the tank out completely with very hot water. You want everything fresh and clean when its time to add your fish.