A cross section of an infected fish (just the thing to look at during lunchtime) shows that the vast majority of the worm usually remains within the fish. Most of the time they are undetectable.
Dr. Burgess mentions a number of facts important to our discussions on the dreaded Camallanus. Several Camallanus species evidentially are prone to attack different fishes. That is not so significant, except that it means given the right nematode or roundworm, almost any fish can be at risk.
Oh yes, as elsewhere, Burgess writes that livebearers are particularly vulnerable, especially to a tropical beastie called C. cotti, which can even be mistaken for partly digested bloodworms or Tubifex worms!
Furthermore the larvae, when released into the water column (tank water) are quite animated. This fools fishes into gobbling them down and introducing them to their digestive systems!
Most sobering was the observation that the life cycle can be 3-4 months from larvae to full sized, reproducing adult. This suggests that a one to four week quarantine is useless if a preventative anthelmintic treatment or de-worming treatment is not given.
I don't think my fish have ever picked this ufrom other hobbyist's fish. (Maybe just lucky, maybe not very observant.) However I will look at fish which are a generation or two from stock secured through commercial channels verrrry carefully. The number of cases mentioned by Guppylog forum members indicates that it must be common somewhere along the commercial pipeline to our tanks.
While in nature, Camallanus is usually spread by an intermediate copepod which is eaten by the fish, Burgess feels that the tropical Camallanus is unlikely to be spread by Temperate Zone copepods (different species) which might be fed to fish. I might add, if the food cultures are raised where they would neither encounter fish nor water from a wild fish habitat, chances are even slimmer that infections are possible from that source.
When the worms are visible from the fish's vent is WHEN THEY ARE RELEASING LARVAE! One must be very careful not to spread the affliction with any water, aquarium equipment and even one's hands. Treatment must be done then, both to get the bloodsuckers within the fish and the larvae spreading around the tank!
Some fish, the article mentions, may pale in coloration, get slimmer and emaciated and fade away. The adult Camallanus might never be seen. I wonder how many fish deaths have attributed to something else. Another source of "mystery deaths"?
There are Temperate Zone Camallanus species which can be a threat to native fishes and colored carp (koi, goldfish). Drat, another whole chain of prevention to look to.
Camallanus are livebearers. Their young can infect other fish in an aquarium without any intermediaries. When purchasing fish, examine everything in that tank and maybe even in the petshop!
Aquarists in the UK must go to a vet for Flubendazol or Levamisole. (Sound familiar?)
The good news is that proper medication is going to kill the Camallanus which are free-swimming and those with a fish's system. After a week (or the two day heavy duty bath), the medication should be water changed out of the tank.
In a sidebar to the article, Dr. Burgess also mentions that male guppies infected with Camallanus have a hard time attracting female guppies for purposes of procreation! If you have a male guppy that is especially inept socially, you may want to watch him or give that tank a preventative treatment right then!
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