Also known as: Lernaea

What are anchor worms?

Anchor worm is a parasite. This parasite is described as a crustacean copepod . Anchor worms can infect your fish and cause additional illnesses, such as secondary bacterial infections at the site of the burrowing/anchoring and potentially viral infections . This is due to the immune system being compromised by the presence of this parasite and other infections taking advantage of the weakened host. Lernaea can in some instances cause the death of your livestock, as during the maturing stage the free – swimming larvae can attach themselves to the gills and cause irritation to the gills and enhance breathing difficulties for your fish.

This cycle begins when the female of this species embeds herself into the flesh of the fish with just her tail visibly protruding from the skin of the fish, essentially becoming an extended part of the fish’s body.

The female then releases her eggs into the pond water from her tail. These eggs take between 24 and 36 hours to hatch. These newborn anchor worms are called nauplii. The nauplii will begin to mature and anchor themselves onto a viable host, your livestock, whilst the young are still swimming freely in the final stage of development the mating will take place. This can also occur whilst the male is anchored to the host. After mating the male will leave the host and die, however the female will either anchor herself to the current host or will find an additional host to anchor to.

This will restart the cycle and bring about the birth of new parasites.

Identifying anchor worms!

This parasite has a few symptoms that are used to help strengthen an accurate diagnosis:

  • Adult anchor worms can be seen on the surface of your fishes’skin without the use of a microscope.
  • There may be redness and visible irritation to the skin of your fish where a worm has anchored or is still anchored.
  • Your fish may appear to have a lack of energy.
  • Gasping at the surface of the pond and breathing difficulties due to possible gill damage.
  • There may be visible worms in wounds on your fish which vary in colour.
  • Rubbing against the surfaces of your pond Flashing.

In addition to these symptoms your fish may develop a secondary illness as a result of this parasite, the secondary illness will carry additional symptoms of its own and would need to be addressed as soon as possible.

If you are in doubt, then please give us a call and arrange a call out as soon as possible. During the call out a scrape will be performed and analysed under the microscope for the most accurate diagnosis.

Tel: 07737 674417

Causes

There is only one major cause to anchor worm in your pond and that is the introduction of this parasite. This can be done either by introducing a fish who has been infected and is carrying live fertile females who have yet to release their eggs.

Or you have introduced a new pond plant that has been obtained from a source and is carrying the maturing parasite in the water, whilst it looks for a suitable host.

How contagious are anchor worms?

EXTREMELY

Given the life cycle of the parasite and the communicability the whole pond requires treatment. Not just the fish who have been identified with the disease.

Treatment

The first step to treating this infestation is to consult professional help. A professional can help this infestation by removing the anchored females from your fish, this will help to stop the reproduction of the Lernaea and reduce the risk of prolonging the infestation.

The whole pond will require treatment to ensure that the newly hatched parasites and the already established parasites can be treated and irradicated to prevent the treatment from failing and reducing the risk of a future outbreak.

The most ideal treatment will be professionally prescribed, and a treatment plan will be devised to ensure this outbreak is kept under control and treated accordingly.

The water quality of the pond will require balancing. This will reduce stress and improve the living conditions for the fish, in turn this will help to boost the natural immune system of the fish.

Keeping to the treatment plan is vital to restore health to your pond.

Prevention

There are a few steps that can be taken to help to prevent any possible outbreaks.

  • Attain and maintain optimum water quality and pond conditions for the fish.
  • Monitor the pond temperature.
  • Ensure the fish are fed an excellent quality food to make sure they are getting the correct level of nutrition.
  • Ensure that new fish are free of anchor worms and quarantined appropriately prior to entry into the pond.
  • Do not overpopulate the pond.
  • Monitor the water quality on a regular basis and filter the pond with the correct filter for the size of your pond, if possible one that contains activated carbon.

If you are unsure about your water quality and filter system, please the pond medic for advice. 07737 674417