a while back...

["alex pastor" <alexp@idirect.com>]

the subject of camallanus worms came up.  According to some people's
postings, they claim that all of their fish, suspected of being clean,
caught the worms from new fish that were infested.

I've been reading a textbook:  The Foundations of Parasitology, during the
past few days.  According to the authors (this is the 5th edition), the
Camallanus worm requires a copepod as it's intermediary host.  The eggs are
shed in the feces of the fish.  The egg capsules are consumed by the
copepods where they develop.  Then they are eaten by fish.  Treatment is
Levamisole.

The only way in which this parasite will spread to other fish is via this
route.  So, perhaps it is not such a great idea to collect live food from
standing waters for apistos.  You never know what else you're getting.  It
is endemic to North America.

Capillaria are a different ugly altogether.  They live in the intestines as
well.  Some female worms bear living juveniles and eggs.  All pass from the
definitive host in the feces.  In water, the eggs embryonate and are eaten
by small fishes.  They hatch in the intestine of the fish, and develop into
juveniles after a few weeks.  These worms can cause massive populations to
accumulate and can wipe out entire aquaria full of fish.  The worms cause
significant damage to the small intestines leading to degeneration.  (I'm
waiting for another textbook to get the drugs and dosages, because there are
only the drugs listed for humans: mebendazole and albendazole -- although I
have seen the name praziquantel mentioned in postings.  According to the
textbook, this drug is effective against tapeworm, not capillaria.)  I don't
know anything about the toxicity of these two drugs in fish.  Maybe someone
out there knows some more.

Given the description in various postings, it would seem that perhaps
Capillaria were the bad guys, although these worms are from Southeast Asia
not North and South America.  It is feasible that fish from different
continents are cross-infecting at importers.  Some importers routinely treat
all wild-caughts with anti-helminthics, but it's possible that the drugs
they are using are not catching all the various types of worms found in the
fish.  Anti-helminthics vary in their relative toxicities to fish.

There is an article in the July edition of FAMA on Thorny Headed worms.
Quite frustratingly, the author did not mention any medication that can be
used to treat this parasite. (Hence my search for more information)
Apparently Mebendazole is successful at eradicating this parasite, but
again, I will be doing more research.  The reference book authored by Edward
Noga, listed by the author in his bibliography, is maddeningly out of print
despite the fact that it was published in 1996.


BTW, how are the imports from Rio Negro doing?  We have not heard much more
about them than their initial 'photo ops'.  Any breeding happening?

G. Kadar
I KNOW I didn't miss any lectures in microbiology, but this is the first
time that I have read about a species of ameba that lives in human mouths.
It's not a bad guy, just eats dead cells and such, but it's there.  So, be
careful who you kiss.  A very large percentage of people with healthy mouths
have this as well.  Gag.




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