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Trematodes and Nematodes in Fish (Flukes and Internal Round Worms); basics, Identification, and treatment in aquarium and pond fish.

TREMATODES:

The trematodes belong to the Animal Kingdom Phylum Platyhelminthes, the flatworms and are commonly referred to as flukes. Trematodes usually have flattened bodies, a primitive digestive system, suckers for attachment to their hosts, and are hermaphrodites (an organism that possesses both male and female sex organs). The Monogenea are the class ectoparasites that infect fish.

Internal Trematodes:

Internal Flukes generally use intermediate hosts such as snails or other mollusks. The eggs must get into water in order to hatch and be able to infect their first host, a freshwater snail. The fluke develops in the snail and then burrows out to seek the second host which is a freshwater fish. Many species of snail and fish may carry these internal flukes.

Gill Flukes:

Gill flukes (Dactylogyrus) will appear on the gill filaments as tiny dark spots 0.04-0.08in (1-2mm) long.

Common carriers of gill flukes include: Plecostomus, Otocinclus, Corydoras, Koi, Discus, Characins, livebearers (Poeciliidae), some tetras (Characins) and Barbs (Cyprinidae), and Elephant Nose (Gnathonemus petersi).

NEMATODES:

Also known as Roundworms are a very common phyla of animals of which there are many parasitic forms. Nematodes are one of the simplest animal groups to have a complete digestive system, with a separate orifice for food intake and waste excretion unlike the Trematodes mentioned above. Reproduction is usually sexual and males are usually smaller than females. Parasitic Nematodes can have quite complicated life cycles, moving between several different hosts or even locations in the host's body.

A method of diagnosing a nematode problem is generally just a guess. When a fish is eating well yet is still not putting on weight, an intestinal infestation may be suspected. This is particularly plausible when a fish is eating regularly yet continues to lose weight, metabolizing body musculature to stay alive. This is usually seen as thinning along the back on either side of the dorsal fin. This often results in a well-fed fish starving to death.
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