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VARIOUS LICE

In addition to this, you will need to know more about it.

Lice, which can take up residence in different aquatic areas, are parasitic crustaceans living in fresh water. There are several types of lice such as:

argulus or carp louse,
the livoneca,
the lernaea (anchor worm).
In addition to this, you will need to know more about it.

Most of these external fish parasites are visible, you just need to identify them properly so as not to infest your aquarium.

Like many parasites, they are often contagious and difficult to get rid of.

To anchors

In addition to this, you will need to know more about it.

These worms are introduced into your aquarium via fish (or other infected axolotls), in short by living beings.

They are actually crustaceans, so treatments for the worms will not work. It is only the females that parasitize the fish by feeding on their blood. Their head is anchored by a hook in the skin of their victim. Their eggs are assembled into a filament and float at the other end of the body. It is a very devastating louse, we can easily see it with the naked eye, because the lernaea measures up to 1 cm, it looks like a brown or white stick, it is also elongated in shape.

This parasite has the advantage of not being transmitted from one fish to another, so there is no risk of contagion.

However, it is imperative to deal with the subject.

Unfortunately, the treatment is often ineffective (mainly on fish), as the parasites get hooked and the fish die from their injuries, even if the parasites are exterminated.

However, it is possible to try to remove the parasites with tweezers on the axolotls and to heal the wound.

Here is what a specialist veterinarian recommended to whom I asked the question, it will certainly help your own veterinarian: "If it is to treat axos then the ideal is to remove the visible worms manually because we only see the females (worms) and this helps to break the cycle. It is especially necessary to proceed outside their aquarium because the pulling can explode the pouch (saccule) of the eggs and help them to spread throughout the aquarium! a bath should be taken with Lufenuron "(product available from the veterinarian only) .

In addition to this, you will need to know more about it.

Another protocol is to carry out a permanent salt bath (anchor worms do not like salt at all) and treat with Aradol JBL for a week (product available in pet stores and on the internet). (or if treatment in the aquarium because of the infestation, change 30% of the water after one week of this treatment (dosage on the bottle, can be bought in a pet store or on the internet), then proceed to 3 days of treatment at temerol (in infirmary baccalaureate this time). The first solution has proved its worth and has been sufficient.

Avoid feeding the axolotls based on live food to avoid any contamination, some lice are transmitted by them.

Thanks to Marie for these photos

Argulus or carp lice

This small parasite measures 5 mm in diameter, it is oval in shape and strongly flattened.

It is equipped with two suction cups, it is fixed on the axolotl by its mouth.

A proboscis allows it to suck body fluids from the axolotl or the fish it parasitizes.

Carp lice pierce the skin of their host with a sting. A poison is then released and causes painful inflammation and swelling, this can also lead to paralysis in the axolotl or fish. The louse will suck the blood of the aquatic.

Once mature, the argulus or carp louse leaves its host to lay 20 to 250 eggs.

The eggs hatch after three weeks. They reproduce freely in water and the louse searches for another host to feed on.

Symptoms

The parasite is highly contagious from one axolotl (or fish) to another, however, it can be carried by live food collected from ponds.

The infested aquatic is very agitated, fearful, it rubs on the decorations to get rid of the lice and swims at full speed.

They are often weakened and can therefore contract other diseases.

Red dots may appear at the parasite's fixings.

To eradicate carp lice, it is imperative to use anti-parasitic agents. Place the infested axolotl in a quarantine bin for one day. To be sure of having killed the parasites, but also the eggs, do not forget to empty and disinfect the tanks or aquariums concerned.