Weird leeches/worm cluster on head of CRS ?.

[lillith112]

Hi everyone, I am new here but desperately need your help I have a 35ltr tank with a mix of Cherries, one tiger and 2 black bumble bee shrimps, the tank is full of baby shrimplets various sizes. A week or so ago I noticed a smallish white blob on the head of one of my CRS, it looked like cotton wool and on closer inspection it had lots of worms waving around it, like a cluster of worms, EWWW !.
I have since noticed it on 2 other shrimps but only for 24 hours then it falls off. Today I caught a CRS with this white blob on its nose end. I added a salt solution and to my horror this thing separated into lots of worm like creatures and tried to crawl away from the shrimp. On very close inspection the worms move exactly like tiny leeches, they appear to have suction one end and wave about as well as crawling in typical leech manner. Here are some pics, can anyone please help me as I would like to get rid of these things ?.
Edited to add I cannot add the photos until I have posted 15 times.
Julia.

[FishFan85]

Hello Julia,

I can imagine the scare you got from such a view. Sadly without pics it's very hard to determine what it is.
I would like to recommend quarantining the animals which are affected. You might have a parasitic sickness in your tank.
I hope you get to the 15 posts quickly as possible so we can try to determine what it is and the appropriate action needed.

Take care now.

Joey

[lillith112]

Thanks for your reply Joey, I will try to do lots of posts to get to the 15 then I can post some pics for you to see, unfortunately I moved some CRS into my community aquarium a couple of months ago so may have to treat those too but to date I have not seen any of these things in that tank.
Julia

[soonsing]

based on ur description, i think its something similar in the pic ?



suggested solution :

1. Make Saltwater -I didnt really take exact measurements (very unscientific I know... ) if I would guess maybe 1-2 tablespoons per cup of water? I used freshwater aquarium salt. I wouldnt suggest using table salt.

2. catch the afflicted shrimp and put them into the salt water for 15- 30 seconds. You will see the worms come off completely. I put the shrimp back into a breeding trap to see if there are any worms clinging or moving on the shrimp. When I first tried this I only dipped the shrimp for a few seconds and it wasnt enough to kill the worms, I saw them inching along the shrimp body. Dont be too worried, the cherry shrimp are alot hardier to salt water than I thought. The worms that have lifted off are going to be in the salt water, and will eventually die due to osmotic pressure, they have water permeable membranes.

3. Repeat- I had to do this for probably 5 days straight when I saw worms, even some juveniles are afflicted. But its been a week I havent seen any of these parasites anymore.

I basically did this salt dip thing in despiration because the shrimp meds were taking way too long to get to me. I'm really glad it worked. I will probably still dose the tank to be sure (get rid of hydra and planaria also), but I hope this will help anyone that has this problem now because my heart was breaking when I saw these gross worms on my shrimp.

Additional Notes:
Do water changes to take any free floating parasites out of the water, keep things clean!
If there are parasites on the shrimp, take all the sheds out until this is cleared up. The worms will stay on the sheds and then jump onto the next shrimp that is nibbling on it. If you are worried about them not getting enough calcium then feed them blanched Kale or HBH crab sticks or whatever foods have calcium and chitin in it.

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24355

[soonsing]

also

I spent last few months to study these worms living on shrimp. The worm you can see on the liked video sequece is called Scutariella japonica but other species of worms could also fond on different shrimp species. They are called Temnocepahlids. Not all of them are parasitic, most species are living as commesals in the gill chamber of atyid freshwater shrimp. We found the on almost all wild caught shrimp last 2 years in China, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, India and Tioman/Indonesia.
If you want to treat your shrimp, this could be done with a chemical called Praziquantel, also used for aquarium fishes.
A comprehensiv publication on these very intresting worms will be published in next issue of the German magazine "Caridina".

Cheers
Werner

http://www.shrimpnow.com/forums/show...-Sakura-Shrimp

[lillith112]

Hey Soonsing, thankyou so much for your help its much appreciated, yes that is exactly what my CRS look like, you can actually see the worms moving around, they dont stay on the shrimp longer than a day and I have not lost a single shrimp to these things so I am wondering if they really do pose a problem ?. I may try some fenbendazol or praziquantel in the tank but I am really worried as I have lots of newborn shrimplets and shrimps of varying size in there, It would be near impossible for me to get them out individually for salt baths.
I am still convinced they are some type of very tiny leech, when mine came of the shrimp in the salt bath they all moved just like a leech, it was a caterpillar type movement and some of them stuck there bottom half to the container and were waving just like leeches do. Very odd indeed, I hope there will be some more information and answers on this subject. My local Aquatic center had only heard of one other case a couple of months ago but nobody could give me a definate answer of what this parasite is or how to treat it, its only been during my research online that I found the two treatments mentioned.
Hopefully I will get to my 15 posts and I can add my photos for you to see.
Many thanks again,
Julia.

[FishFan85]

also



http://www.shrimpnow.com/forums/show...-Sakura-Shrimp

I agree with the above posts, btw very nice digging Soonsing!
If it's indeed that worm, I would advise you to do what the above text suggests and get the medication. Treat your shrimp, so the worms cannot multiply and get to other shrimps. When your problem is treated and your worm problem is over definitely, do a water change and then filter a while over active carbon, this will filter out the left over medication without harming your shrimps, also it helps with any colorants in the water due to medication.

Keep us posted, I'll keep checking in.

Gr. and goodluck!!!

Joey

[lillith112]

Thanks Joey, I will be off to my local Aquatic Center in the next few days to see if they sell the Praziquantel as recommended, I hope this is available over the counter in the UK, I have not seen any of these horrid worms today but I am sure the strange clusters of white things on my rocks may be something to do with them as well. I will keep you updated on my progress.
Julia.

[lillith112]

Right here goes, I have 15 posts so will try to post the pics of these things now, I'm afraid my camera isnt great on macro setting but this is the best I could do. Most of these worms attach on the top of the head between the eyes but on this shrimp they attached on his nose poor guy , when they crawled off the shrimp was obviously really distressed. He seems ok today thank goodness.



And after the salt water bath lots crawled off.

[FishFan85]

I viewed this and compared it to pictures of Scutariella japonica on cherry shrimp.
I think we have a very, very close match. I can't say for sure of course because I am not a veterinarian.

Also I read about the possible symbioses it has with the shrimp and presumably they are not harmful.
As to which I can't say if it is that worm, I would recommend treating it anyway.

If you can't get the Praziquantel, I read you could also use JBL Flubenol: 200mg / 100 L often used with worm related issues.
Perhaps that is somewhat easier to come by in your local shop, and very easy to use.
I read that it is not difficult to get rid of this worm, but not treating it won't make it go away.
After the shrimp molts it comes back again.

Goodluck with your treatment, remember to be specific with the dose, for shrimps are very sensitive to medication.

The best of luck and I hope we see a happy post soon!

Joey