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GoldfishSanc
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The Goldfish Sanctuary
Fish Lice (aka Argulus)
Symptoms: goldfish may scrape against objects to get the lice off,
parasites of up to 1/4 inch may be visible, attached to the fish's body
These parasites are a kind of crustacean which are capable of swimming
from fish to fish. It appears as a very flat, round, transleucent
louse. It punctures the fish's skin with a poisonous proboscis spine as
it holds fast to the fish with its suckers.
The female louse will lay her eggs on the tank bottom or on tank
decorations in straight lines where she coats them with a jelly-like
substance. There they stay until they are ready to hatch.
remedy:
The first thing to do is to contact your vet or petstore for further
instruction - treatment is not recommended without expert supervision as
treatment may involve pulling out the lice with tweezers or giving the
fish a chemical bath. General medications are also available. It is
wise to treat your main tank in order to destroy any larvae. Fish lice
are somewhat difficult to treat, and may reoccur after treatment has
appeared successful, so patience and careful observation are necessary.
It is advisable to move your sick goldfish to a quarantine tank during treatment.
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