Freshwater fish parasite

Question
Hi Chris,

Thanks for your rapid reply,

I cannot be 100% sure as the microscope I was using was a basic 25x, but I would hazard a guess at yes as they seemed to have markings similar to the daphnia in the first picture.
The reason I am asking is because one of our fish, a Balloon Molly has died and another has fallen ill and it looks as if one of our Gaurami is starting to show signs of becoming ill. The trouble is there are no visible signs of illness except that their stool is white coloured and not substantial and they are losing balance and are starting to sink to the bottom. This morning I also noticed a small white thin worm moving around in the current (one of the Zebra danio's ate it though). Do you know if any of these are related and if I have daphnia in the tank are they dangerous?,

Many thanks,

Robert

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Followup To
Question -
Hi Chris,

On cleaning out my tank I noticed some parasites which must have been sucked into the filter. I do not know whether they are harmful to the fish though. They are about the size of a grain of salt and under a 25x microscope they seem to have chicken egg shaped bodies and little tentacles or swimming arms that appear to come out of a split in their sides. Could you tell me what these are and whether they are harmful,

Regards,

Robert
Answer -
Hi Robert;

Does it look like these;

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=daphnia&btnG=Search

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Come on over and join us on the freshwater fish forum at About.com to get even more information too;
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/questionsanswers/a/naavigateforum.htm

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Answer
Hi Robert;

The daphnia aren't a threat and the white worm you saw probably isn't either. The worm was most likely planaria. They are harmless to your fish and are simply thriving on excess food and waste. They are a warning sign that you have been overfeeding. We all do it from time to time. We just have to remember to clean up after ourselves when we do. Vacuum the gravel while removing 25% of the water in your tank. Do this at least once a week for the next month or so. Also cut back on food by 30% to 50%.

From the description of their feces, it sounds like your fish have in internal parasite of some kind. With all the water changes you will be doing it will help the fish feel better. They were probably weakened by the waste buildup and that helped the parasites get a foothold. There are many parasites and other pathogens that are present in most tanks or in bodies of fish but can't multiply when the fish are healthy. When the fishes' immune systems are strong the parasites are kept dormant or held back.

You can feed the fish an internal parasite remedy from the local fish store if the fish don't respond quickly enough to the water changes. Keep in mind however that these products do stress the fish to an extent because they are actually poison in small controlled doses. It would be best to try getting the tank in better shape first. The fish will be stronger and better able to fight off the effects of the medicine and infection. The most effective remedies are given to the fish in food or are actually sold as a food in fish with parasites. Remedies that just go into the tank water can't effectively kill parasites inside the body of the fish. They have to consume it to get it where the problem is.

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Come on over and join us on the freshwater fish forum at About.com to get even more information too;
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/questionsanswers/a/naavigateforum.htm

My member name is ChrisR62. See You There!