Anchor worm

[flywheel]

I recently purchased 3 - 12 inch koi from a breeder. They came out of 2 different ponds. The one that was from a different pond has developed anchor worm. Sores, threadlike potrusions, they have been in quarantine for 3 weeks. The other 2 are showing no signs of anything. What course should I follow? Treat the tank they are in and wait or dip/bath them and move to another tank to try and break the cyle. What should I use to treat them. Would salt be a good option and when will I be able to get them out to the pond. I don't want to rush it. I've never dealt with anchor worm so looking for all the help I can get. I will let the breeder know also.
Ron

[Terri]

Well, never dealt with anchor worm myself either but Dimilin is the recommended treatment,... I don't believe salt does much in the way of anything to anchor worm.

Look for Pond Care Dimilin, should be available at your local pet/fish store or where you purchase your pond fish from.

[flywheel]

Everything I've been finding says pretty much the same thing, kinda disappointed, was hoping to get them in the pond as soon as possible. I've learned patience the hard way, my whole pond was wiped out 2 winters ago by not quarantining new fish, so anyone thinking it's not needed is only fooling themselves.
Ron

[Jackie Ramo]

Don't feel bad Ron, it human nature to learn the hard way. Still its a lesson we never forget.

[luke frisbee]

A mud pond fish having anchorworms is NORMAL.
Dimlin the whole QT...
Dimlin is fairly harmless to koi and humans. I always overmedicate (2x) when using dimlin. Anchorworms somehow survive when I follow the regimen on the bottle.
And don't worry, after a few months ya can't tell the koi ever had an anchorworm.

[flywheel]

The LFS was not open today so I will be picking some up tommorrow and treating first thing. The koi really seems fine, should I remove the adult worms with a tweezers as I've been reading,appears to be only two at the base of the tail, or will they fall off on their own? I don't want to add any more stress if it's not needed, but how else they gonna go since Dimilin doesn't kill the adults.

Thanks for your help,
Ron

[luke frisbee]

I agree with the people that allow the anchorworm to fall off...it takes a couple of weeks (at least!), but I think the damage is less by allowing it to happen this way.

[flywheel]

Sounds like a plan!

[flywheel]

Wow, I think the worms dropped off in less than 6 hours, a quick dab of iodine and there is almost no sign it was ever there (3 days ago).:grin:I did double the dosage like you said Luke. The other 2 still are showing no signs of anchorworm.

How do you guys feel about iodine? I haven't ever used until recently and I like what I've seen. Does anyone have any bad feedback on it?

The remaining koi at my friends petstore from the koi farm look terrible, they now have secondary infections and they got the anchorworm a lot worse than mine. They all came out of the same 2 ponds as mine. I picked my 3 out while they were still in the bags, and we removed the others so mine never came out of the bags until I got them home. I told him to also double the dosage to see if that helps and we treated them for the secondary infections. Hopefully they will come around soon.

This is the friendliest,most helpful site I've seen, a lot of good people here. If I can get some good pics of my new koi I will try posting them soon.

[Terri]

Looking forward to seeing some photos!!! Happy to hear your koi are doing much better - and thanks to Luke for offering his advice on doubling the dosage.

Iodine... this is a one time use treatment. Over use and you can do damage to the surrounding slime coat and tissues.

[flywheel]

Thanks for the info on iodine Terri, that's what I thought but it's always better to hear it from people who are more knowledgeable. There may be hope for me yet!
Thanks to everyone,
Ron

[Jackie Ramo]

I use iodine quite a bit if I need to. Not often, after a spawn to prevent infection if there is a scrape that looks nasty, small scrapes and bumps I leave alone and watch the water to make sure it is perfect.

On some things like tail rot, I have used it twice but a week between treatments. Second treatment was my fault as I let the water go in the tank.... !bonk