Feeding Idea

[goldenpuon]

I don't net or take my fish out of the water often at all so this might not apply to me, but if you have a fish out of water (literally) in order to do something like remove an anchor worm or apply a medication to the fish, would it be safe to feed the fish while it is out of the water?

I imagine it would help with trust if a pet owner was, say, to capture a larger fish with their hands and wants to keep it calm while treating it for something with the fish out of the water for a few seconds.

I got this idea when I captured Alden yesterday when I noticed a 5mm long anchor worm around its head. (These seem to appear on a yearly basis on my fish normally as the appearance of one tiny worm and I remove them.) I thought about how much less stressful it would be for the fish if it didn't feel panicky as I gently held it in my hands to remove the worm.

Renee

[Carl]

I would not try and feed a fish while out of the water (I doubt he/she would eat anyway.

I am surprised that you would find an anchor worm, as these are always introduced, usually by other goldfish (& then usually from goldfish in crowded/poor conditions).

Make sure to put some Hydrogen Peroxide or Methylene Blue on the wound after removal (Peroxide would be your best choice since it does not stain)

Carl

[goldenpuon]

Thanks for letting me know about the fish out of water. Though I think this guy may- it has a HUGE appetite and is very tame.

I have had anchor worms appear at random on 1 goldfish per 9-12 months for a few years now. They might have come with the 40 gallon but I personally think they have coexisted with my goldfish for much longer and recall the same thing happening in my 10 gallons (again on a very rare basis), but never became a problem. The ones I see are very tiny, 5mm or less in length on average and almost always seem attack the top of fish's heads. They also do not come back on a certain fish. Different and often healthy fish are normally the ones affected.

I lacked tweezers at 10pm at night when I discovered this and ended up rubbing the top of the fish's head gently to get it off (which worked). I very much hate this but the fish lost some scales where I rubbed its head resulting in a tiny white area where the scales were lost and feel bad I did it this way. It did not result in any blood or much of a wound (if it is an open one). I did not put anything on the wound and it is not infected and the fish is not stressed/acting like nothing ever happened.

Would you recommend I catch this fish again to put the Hydrogen Peroxide on the area that the fish appears fine and un-infected/sick?

Note: Capturing this fish again would not be that much of a problem as far as stress or risk of injury. This goldfish is 6 inches including fins and is therefore quite big.

Renee

[Carl]

Would you recommend I catch this fish again to put the Hydrogen Peroxide on the area that the fish appears fine and un-infected/sick?

At this point it would do little good since Hydrogen Peroxide is only a topical treatment (unlike Methylene Blue) & if there is any residual problem, it likely is not longer topical (or you would likely see it)

For future anchor worms I would keep some Hydrogen Peroxide on hand

Carl

[goldenpuon]

I do have hydrogen peroxide (a large bottle of it). The only visible wound (very minor and more a case of losing scales than an injury) was made by me. I admit I am not very concerned because of how rarely I see these and on a single fish at a time.

It does worry me a bit more however, that I am seeing the problem with Hansel's eye (which looks the same as before currently btw) and the anchor worm show up at the same time.

Fortunately Alden's trust in me doesn't seem to have been affected by what I had to do to it. Today my finger was savagely attacked (actually eagerly nibbled ) during feeding time.