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What am i looking at? anchor worm? fungus?

Oh, goodness! Please do not use a full dosage for a 5 gallon tank!
I'm wondering why the directions on our packets were different as well.. Hm.

No, he didn't have bumps under his skin.. +this is what he looked like when he had his anchorworm issue, and he wasn't eating. I'm not sure what the bumps could be... perhaps something else going on?

Thanks for the updates.
 
Day 6 - waited till the end of the day

with anchor worms still attached, i decided to dose the tank again. emptied another 1/2 pack of the general cure powder into about 5 gallons of water.

wait and see i guess

ouch randy thats a rough looking case of anchor worms. mine have 3-5 small ones at most.
 
Day 7 - axies still have healthy appetite.

anchors still appear to be attached.

@randy - did the anchors on yours just detach themselves? or did you rinse or wipe them off?
 
Hmm... They just fell off on their own. If you only have three or four, you may just try tweezing them off, especially if they aren't in a sensitive place (i.e. gill stalks).
 
Day 7 - should have dosed today but didnt
tried to tweezer a couple of anchors but silly guys wont stay still.

there was one on a gill stalk but hard to tell since it was within the filaments. There are also a couple of spot that looks like it might be anchors looking to break through the skin, but it has been like that for days.

they are moving to a bigger tank tomorrow. ill be dosing that tank.
 
i tweezered off 2 small worms (1 from each in their armpits). there is one on a gill stalk that i manage to cut in half... i will see if this grows the forked end back. there is one on the neck that is virtually impossible to get to without completely restraining the axies.

who knows how many are attached to them and unseen at this point

im pretty sure that the attached anchor worms are growing day by day... :(
 
Oh, no! Do you know if there are any pet stores near by, or amphibian specialists that may have another treatment?
 
Day 9 - axies moved to a bigger tank. furniture moved with them. minimal water from the old tank went with them. the wild type seems to love it and swims around all over the place. the leucistic one sits in the corner moping and miserable.

i dosed the tank with a full packet and a bit. will wait 3 days before dosing again.

it looks like there are a couple of bumps on top of their heads that could be anchors waiting to pop through -- it will be super easy to see if these develop fully or if they are dead under the skin. No new anchors have appeared since i started dosing -- so maybe the ones in the water column are dead or it could just be the lower temps that are slowing their development

will dose again 3 days from now. after that does if the anchors are still there, i will have to switch tactics.
 
Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress. I am sorry to read you have to deal with anchor worms. The only time I had to deal with them was with koi fish in my pond and it was so hard to get rid of them... they are quite a pain! I will try to find the name of the treatment I used... and research if it is safe on axis. I don't think they are life threatening by themselves but I am worried (like you are) of secondary bacterial infections.... etc.
 
It may also be that you are moving their furniture? I don't know how much of an affect that would have, but the treatment may not work on killing anything on the rocks/sand/etc.

I had an empty tank when I dosed.

What a bummer that this isn't working!
 
Day 10 - 11 : Well the few anchors are still attached and it looks like a couple of the bumps will be showing signs of anchors soon

Ill tweezer what i can reach. as soon as i can see them anyway

im just hoping the med are killing baby anchors in the water column rather than developing and burying themselves in the axies --- or i could be dealing with this for months

I will dose again tomorrow with no water change, leave it for the weekend, and then make a 25% water change in a few days.

If that fails, i may look into this
Hikari Cyropro - Hikari - Pond Solutions

anyone have experience with that product?

or i may decide to put the axies in a fairly container (shoe box) for the next few weeks and do 100% water changes every day or every other day. That way i get rid of the free swimming anchors before they latch on, i can tweezer any that i see, and basically wait for the anchor worms that are attached to die off and finish their life cycle. But that plan sounds like waayy too much work
 
It is my understanding that Praziquantel, the anti-anchor worm ingredient in general cure, has a very similar mode of action to Cyromazine, the active ingredient in Cyropro.

I would be inclined to keep the level of medication up by not too many water changes, or frequent water changes in a small volume tank, rather than changing medications if no new anchor worms seem to be appearing.
 
Day 12 - no water change performed. hint of fungus on a spot of a gill stem where the head of an anchor worm is. Dosed a full packet into 10-12 gallons of water

Day 13/14 - did not have a chance to observe

Day 15 - ate like pigs. fungus patch still there. the bumps on their skins appear more raised. new bumps have appeared on the head of the other axies. attached anchors still there and looks like they are growing (on is massive but i cannot get to it to tweezer it off)

will make a water change and dose again tomorrow. i suppose i could just keep dosing till i run out of the stuff
 
Hey, I'm currently treating my 46 gal tank with 4 adult axolotls with microbe-lift lice and anchor worm for pond fish, active ingredient: N-cyclopropyl- 1, 3, 5- triazine- 2, 4, 6- triamine (cyromazine). It's only been one treatment so far but I haven't noticed any signs of stress and the worms seem to be turning white and are falling off now after 4 days. I still need to retreat 3 times about every 7 days with a 20% water change inbetween to kill all the microscopic free swimming larva. So far it's looking like a success.

Sidenote: metronidazole is an antibiotic best used for anaerobic bacteria and protozoa. While praziquantel is an anthelmintics best used for flukes or intestinal worm infestations. The anchor worm is actually a copepod crustacean like fish lice and it's best to use an IGR (insect growth regulator) also called an IDI (insect development inhibitor) in the fish medicine world. These kinds of drugs inhibit the synthesis of a substance called chitin. Chitin is necessary for the formation of the hard outside skin (cuticle) of the adult copepod. No chitin, no more maturing adults. Better mode of action in my opinion.

Another sidenote: I love API general cure for other things. I recently rescued a very sick axolotl that could only swimming erratically in circles or float head up almost up side down. It did this for 5 days with virtually no eating and was extremely thin. Then mild swelling of the chest and redness of it's tail and legs. After 24 hrs of adding the first dose it was at the bottom of the tank. 48 hrs it was eating like a pig. I think it had some Internal infection that was going septic and general cure was just the right broad spectrum to do the job.
 
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So to get a better understanding on why this product seemingly worked for Randy and isn't working well for waster I took a look at randy's thread. I first have to say good job, your little guy looks much better. unfortunately, I don't feel the metro/prazi had a whole lot to do with it. Why this medicine states it works on anchor worms/fish lice is a mystery to me. I have found no proof of its efficacy in parasitic crustaceans in any of my textbooks or even on VIN/VSPN website (private veterinary form). It's labeled as a general cure for a reason I guess. I honestly think that randy's success was due to removing his axolotl from the infected tank filled with probably thousands of free swimming larvae. Decontaminating the tank is what did the trick. Imagine they are like fleas, adults are only 5% of the population the rest are eggs and larvae. And for the adult anchor worms, well after they mate the female attaches, lays eggs, then dies anyways. Randy's axolotl probably wasn't in the treatment tank long enough to have mature larvae reattach.

Some examples of IDI drugs with the proper mode of action: Diflubenzuron (dimilin), Cyromazine, VIN states success with lufenuron in tadpoles, I've heard proform-LA is safe on amphibians but the man that dispenses it will not tell me the active ingredient so I have no idea other then it is an IDI.

Just trying to share some knowledge, when my axies get sick I'm usually on my own to do all the research and plan the best treatments. I work at a vet office and my Vet doesn't treat reptiles or amphibian so i'm left with minimal guidance (he knows I like a challenge). I have to add anchor worms are no fun! I'm glad my ordeal will soon be over and I hope yours will too.
 
Day 16/17 - i did nothing with them. still eating. still got anchors that look like they are growing

Day 18 - water change and another dose of General Cure

Day 19 - added a bit of water cause water was low

Day 20/21 - no chance to see them

definitely beginning to think that API general cure does nothing. I will have to see if that other product that kuphie mentioned is available in Canada
 
Kuphie does seem to know what she is talking about. Dimilin(Diflubenzuron) has a proven track record with axolotls and it sounds like cyromazine may be an available similar product. I hope a smaller bottle is available the 16 oz size looks dearer and more than you need.
 
dimilin is a controlled pesticide/chemical in canada

and looking at cyromazine... it looks like that is also controlled

dont think i can grab either off the shelf... are there known products that have these ingredients? ill have to keep an eye on them
 
Oh Canada, Why do you have to be so difficult?! I have heard that diflubenzuron products are controlled in parts of the US as well and hard to come by. Dimilin was a common pesticide used in crop dusting, etc. Then proven harmful to humans so they are trying to get it off the market all together. But cyromazine was to my understanding it's safer replacement product.

A general pet/fish store probably won't carry these IDI type drugs. At least not in my area. Pond/koi places are normally where you find them. Or you need to order online. And all the bottles I've found are large bottles of high concentrations ment to work for 5,000 gal or more. Meaning you need to do your own math to figure out the correct dose (30ml/300gal = 1ml/10gal)

I'd also like to add that it's been 7 days of treatment with cyromazine and no ill effects on my 4 adults. It's time to do a 20% water change and 2nd dose. I am also using API aquarium salts to help prevent secondary skin infections. All the adult anchor worms have fallen off and no new ones have attached. This is all taking place in my 46gal with live plants decorations and sand. Cyromazine states it will not hurt the biological filter as it is NOT an antibiotic. I have no interest in decontaminating my tank and starting from scratch after this is over. I like my healthy beneficial bacteria.
 
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