Necturus has exterior parastic worms - ideas on treatment?

Caudae

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I have a newly acquired Necturus that has small, white, thread-like worms on it's body. They creep along like an inch worm, and have a VERY strong mouth when they clamp on. Brushing them off is impossible. The worms prefer to attach more permanently on the gills. As a result of the worms, the Necturus is bleeding out and having a hard time breathing. The blood starts, then clots. In one day, it may have bled 7 times.

I've tried a salt dip (4 different amounts), and have used precise tweezers to no avail. There are too many worms in the gills to try to pull them off one-by-one. They can squirm out of the tweezer's grasp, making it further impossible. I noted the worms will elongate in the table salt dip, but do not dislodge. It is impossible to remove the worms while in the salt dip, as the Necturus wants out! I removed a few worms to see what it takes for them to die.

In Isopropyl 91%, they died on contact.
In fresh water, they wriggle but do not swim. This is their preferred habit.
In salt water, they wriggle frantically (we're getting closer!)
In salt water, with an added amount of table salt on top of them, the worms died within seconds.
Aquarium salt and sea salt did nothing.

Has anyone ever had this issue, or a similar issue with thread worms or flukes? I am unsure what to do, and fluke medication (pretty sure it is a type of fluke) is not available near me. I have looked and looked for ideas, and cannot find any. Thanks for any help!
 
So I went ahead and purchased Prazi-Pro (which contains Praziquantel), and treating it as a type gill fluke, which is a Trematode. This is the closest match to the parasite. The severity of the situation is increasing, so time is not on the sallie's side. The previous owner got a scolding and a half...
 
Perhaps try methylene blue, and if that doesn't work, try a whitespot (ich) formula containing formaldehyde and malachite green. The whitespot formula won't be good for the necturus, but it sounds like the worms aren't good for it either.
 
I've seen adult Necturus with those white parasites flailing within the gills. It seems their aim is to dwell in the gills and it seems more common for adults to carry the visible parasites. I've rarely seen juveniles with the parasites lodged in their gills. You should keep that Necturus with none other!

My brother brought home a big Necturus he accidentally fished. It had a lot of parasites in its gills. I did salt bath the 1st few days and saw small effectiveness. I kept it very cold around 40-50 degrees and simply added salt into its 15 gallon tank. I added teaspoons every now and then and slowly over time the parasites disappeared. I didn't want to keep the Necturus warmer than 60 degrees not knowing if the parasites would become more active/aggressive and require more food.

Maybe there is a better way but thats what I did. Saline/salt is a natural preventer of parasites. Thats why you can't eat fresh water fish raw but you can eat saltwater fish raw. SUSHI!

good luck
 
Perhaps a wormer like Flagyl might do the trick...

C
 
Perhaps a wormer like Flagyl might do the trick...

C

Thank you all for input! The Necturus in distress is now having clear slime from its wounds... they are bad! Prazi~pro yesterday, waiting 4 days then trying something different.
 
An update: The Necturus in distress died from severe Trematode infestation, and as a result, a severe fungal infection flared up. Death should not be in vain, but a good learning experience and information to help others. For these reasons also, it is always good to keep them separated! Always quarantine new animals, fish, and plants away from your collection to prevent infections. Inspect them for about a week, look for parasites, unusual behavior, unusual coloring or damage, or damage that wasn't originally there.

Seeing this one die, I have added a new procedure in quarantine (and thanks to Neotenic Jayme's input!): increase the water temperature slightly, it may encourage parasites to thrive, and they can then be identified and treated. I think you hit the nail on the head with this! Had the previous owner not kept it at room temperature, the worms may not have been visible. The 75F degree water allowed the Trematodes to thrive and infest!

The Prazi-Pro did work, it worked very well in just 2 days, it was just the Praziquantel is not available in stores. Because of this wait for shipping, the infections were too much. Perhaps this is a good $20 investment to keep on hand for any aquatic salamanders and fish, especially those animals and fish housed in outside tanks or ponds.

Lastly, went ahead and started a treatment plan with the rest of the Necturus (they did not come into contact), and they are receiving about 8 tblsp. of Prazi-Pro (<5% Praziquantal) to ensure there are no Trematodes and other worms not known about!

That is the end of my rant, thanks again everyone for the timely input!
 
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