How to Diagnose & Treat Nematodes

While having a pet fish may seem easy and definitely less time-consuming than having a cat or a dog, you still need to treat fish with care. One thing you can do to keep your fish healthy is to check them for nematodes. Nematodes are a type of threadworm that can infect fish, and unless you diagnose and treat the problem it can ultimately kill them.

Things You'll Need

  • Parachlorometaxylenol
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Instructions

    • 1

      Prevent your fish from ever getting nematodes in the first place. Wash any plant with parachlorometaxylenol, an antimicrobial agent, and water before placing it in the aquarium. If you get a new fish, keep it in a different tank for three weeks until you can tell it doesn't have nematodes. Buy only from a reputable pet store that monitors fish health.

    • 2

      Diagnose the presence of nematodes in your fish. While nematodes can be living throughout the entire body of a fish, the threadworms you will actually be able to see will be coming out of the fish's anus. They have a reddish brown tint. The faster you diagnose the problem, the easier it will be for your fish to recover. Left unattended to, nematodes can actually begin to hollow out a fish's stomach.

    • 3

      Treat the nematodes by giving your fish parachlorometaxylenol with their food. You can usually purchase parachlorometaxylenol at stores that sell fish supplies. You can also put the parachlorometaxylenol directly into the tank, but this is not as effective as combining it with the food. If you are treating the water, use 10 milliliters of parachlorometaxylenol for every liter of tank water.

    • 4

      Buy medicated food for your fish if the parachlorometaxylenol does not get rid of the nematodes. This food needs to contain thiabendazole. It is difficult to find in stores, so you may need to purchase it online. Some fish foods also help to prevent a wide variety of parasites in the future.