The Puffer Forum

Pandora114, what do I do now?

good grief! Well i never...

Maybe the IP's treatment killed it, and now it's out puff will start feeling better...

does her tummy still look lumpy? Maybe teh lumps were all tapeworm???

That is sooooo gross.

That is a tapeworm! Wow, did you get all of it? Tape worms are segmented and can break at their segments. PraziPro is the treatment for this type of tapeworms in fish. There is another antiparacitic, ivermectin, that can be used but I'm not sure if that is available in an over the counter form or what the dosing for fish would be. The biggest problem with tapeworms is re-infestation, you usually see that at about 4-6 weeks after the end of treatment. Oh, 7 inches, big for a fish but, small in the grand scheme of things. One of the species humans can get will grow up to 20 feet in length.....*shudder*

Dadof4 wrote: One of the species humans can get will grow up to 20 feet in length.....*shudder*

I was just talking to my other half about the same thing... enough to make your have your meat VERY well done isn't it, as tapeworm larve can live in meat and if you have it rare... ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Where's the smiley for 'about to vomit' ?!

I know! I was gagging, I had Annabelle in one hand the tweezers in the other and it touched me! I figured if I vomited in her tank it would be a bigger mess to clean than if I vomited on the floor. I'm not sure how she would have gotten it. I freeze all of her food before feeding her. Most of it frozen for at least a week to a month. This is crazy! I had to leave for work, she is still in the net, I just turned it around and left her alone. She can swim out of it if she want's too. I figure she's been through enough for one day so I just let her be. I didn't want that thing going back in, that's why I pulled it out. I'm hoping that I got all of it.

Btw: Yes her tummy is flat now. No more lumpy tummy! I'll check on her again when I get home and make sure she's ok. I'll update in 3 hours.

One thing I thought of and I hate to even bring it up because I'm not sure and this may sound silly but its the nurse in me coming out even after I put him away for the day.....edmlfc1, wash your hands with hot soapy water! The larva from these guys can form a hard protective shell around them and they need to be washed off. I don't know if this is transmittable from fish to human. If you were in the tank or handled Annebelle there is a chance that the larva can end up on your hands.

I did! That thing was so gross, when it touched me it was like snot! I couldn't wait to wash my hands.

edmlfc1 wrote:I did! That thing was so gross, when it touched me it was like snot! I couldn't wait to wash my hands.

I figured you had the smarts to do that! That damn nurse part of me keeps coming out and if I didn't say it I wouldn't have slept tonight....

Not a problem I appericate it.

i still feel sick..

How do you think I feel? I just hope Annabelle's going to be ok.
Another 30 minutes and I will be home to check on her. I really don't understand how she got it.
Is it going to come back? And did I get it all? I know you probally can't answer all those questions but I'm just so worried about my baby. I have never in all my fish keeping years seen anything like that before.

Oh my gosh that's disgusting! I hope she gets better quick

Technically they aren't larvae

You get the egg casings.

See the life cycle of that specific tapeworm you saw is:

Egg casings get cast off in fish feces.

Shellfish, shrimp, clams ect eat the fish feces, become intermediary hosts. Then fish eats the shellfish and become infested with the adult, which are just head...and segments. They self fertilize as well, so each segment, produces eggs, and as they get longer throughout the intestine of the fish, they break off eventually and the fish poops it out, to continue again.

Now what happens when HUMANS eat an infected fish not cooked properly: The tapeworm larvae get lost. Burrow into other tissues such as muscle.

You have no worries about infection unless you put your hand to your mouth immediately after stirring the substrate...with your hand. And I suggest that you keep treating the fish for IP every 2 or 3 months after the fact, just in case she ingests some substrate and eats any segments that happened to have been cast off during her initial infection

Ok so that would explain how I've treated her twice for IP's and this happened. Now I understand. Thanks so much. I'll make sure to keep treating her.

And I suggest not feeding her any live wild caught crayfish in the near future. Stick with farmed/captive bred ones from close friends or even set up a crawdad tank of your own.