How to treat anchor worm in molly fish? 7 Tips from Experts

Anchor worm disease is a little bit hard to cure and needs a lot of care for your fish. This illness has various treatment methods, and we try to present the best practice at the moment.

How to treat anchor worm in molly fish? A tank treatment or a “dip” of potassium permanganate is generally considered the best method. In addition, a salt dip or formalin dip may be beneficial, as well as modern anti-parasiticides. It would be best if you diagnosed before start treatments.

Should I remove the anchor worm?
- Can humans get anchor worms from molly fish?
Symptoms of anchor worms
- What kills anchor worms, and How to treat anchor worm infected molly fish?
Will anchor worm kill my molly fish?
So how did these anchor worms get into the tank?

How to feed anchor worm infected molly fish?
- Do we need to supply an air pump to molly fish thank that infected with anchor worms?
Do I need to place the aquarium plants in a sick molly fish tank?
Is direct sunlight good for sick molly fish?
- Do I need to turn off the aquarium light when molly fish get sick?

Should I remove the anchor worm?

Anchor worms can be very tempting once attached to your molly fish, but do not pull them off suddenly. To remove anchor worms successfully, your veterinarian will have to use tools that are have not in your home. That needs a lot of Patience, so take assistance from your veterinarian.

Can humans get anchor worms from molly fish?

No. you not need to worry about this. You will not infect anchor worms from your molly fish tank. After you deal with your tank, remember to wash your hands using soap twice. That is much enough for your safety.

Symptoms of anchor worms

Red and inflamed skin irritations are characteristic of molly fish infected with anchor worms. If you look closely, you can notice the parasite’s body sticking out, resembling whitish-green threads.

Also, the molly fish will always rub or brush against objects while trying to get rid of the anchor worm. Sometimes, mollies not eating foods due to this matter.

What kills anchor worms, and How to treat anchor worm infected molly fish?

Pulling the anchor worm from the fish’s skin is a simple and effective way to remove it. Treatment with a topical antibiotic ointment takes place after the infected area has been cleaned.

When you remove the adult parasites, larvae, or eggs, the pond or fish tank should be disinfected and sanitized later. Always use fresh water for this task, and don’t use twice the same water to clean your tank.

You can use salt water to kill the anchor worms eggs in your tank, as well as you can put your molly fish into the saltwater container for few minutes.

After 10 -12 minutes, you can remove that saltwater and fill the freshwater.

Will anchor worm kill my molly fish?

When you notice anchors worms are in your molly fish, you should separate that molly fish immediately. It will help to stop spreading to other molly fish. Sometimes treatment will not be sufficient to recover your molly fish, and molly fish will die.

Most of the time, anchor worms do not kill the molly fish, and you have a chance to treat your fish. You can get assistance from your fish seller regarding this matter.

He is the right person to get advice and buy medicine for your molly fish. He indeed faced and handled the tone of these kinds of situations correctly.

So how did these anchor worms get into the tank?

Most of the time, it comes from new fish you bought from an outside seller’s house tank. When you purchase molly fish, you should check properly before buying them.

Closely watch their body, and if you can see any suspicious thing is there, do not buy that fish from that tank.

Various diseases are there in the seller’s tanks. The seller cannot identify it correctly because there are many mollies in the same tank. The better way is to check your fish before buying them.

How to feed anchor worm infected molly fish?

When you correctly identified fish infected with anchor worm disease, you need to remove that fish and quarantine him properly. In that stage, you should provide a higher protein and vitamin diet to your molly fish.

Your higher protein meal will help to increase molly fish immunity and balance his health issue.

How to feed anchor worm infected molly fish?

Most of the time, fish will reject your food when you are feeding. But do not stop feeding them. If you stop feeding, they will become weaker, and it can lead to death.

In this period, you should not feed live food such as daphnia or mosquito larvae. Because they almost lose their appetite for hunting food.

Do we need to supply an air pump to molly fish thank that infected with anchor worms?

Yes. When mollies get anchor worm to infect, they get breath problems too. They will come surface on the water to take oxygen. This is not a good thing, and it will harm fish life.

Arrange a good quality air pump to your fish tank and provide a good amount of oxygen level to your molly fish. It will help to solve breath problems.

Do I need to place the aquarium plants in a sick molly fish tank?

Yes. Place few aquarium plants in your fish tank, and it will help relieve your molly fish stress. Your fish is already stressed with anchor worms. We should not stress him anymore because it can have a negative side effect on your molly fish.

When you place aquarium plants in your tank, you can put few stones and small wood. It will help to feel he is in the safest area.

When quarantine any fish, they always live with fear. Because he is the only one swim fish in the tank and no tank mates or Herd in the tank.

Is direct sunlight good for sick molly fish?

No, not at all. Direct sunlight is harmful to molly fish when they get sick. Don’t provide sunlight to your fish tank, especially fish in a quarantine period such as anchor worm infection.

Too much darkness is also not good. So don’t use anything to cover your fish tank. You can give shelter if sunlight comes directly to your tank.

Do I need to turn off the aquarium light when molly fish get sick?

Yes, of course. You can turn off your aquarium light at night time. It will help to make a calm and quiet place for your sick molly fish. Fish is also needed dark time at night. If you continuously use your aquarium light, then your fish may stress.

When you turn off your light, don’t switch off your air pump motor because fish need more oxygen at night time. Aquarium plants so also need more oxygen at night time.

So keep turn on your air pump whole the day. This will help maintain the same oxygen level in your fish tank, and it will help recover your molly fish soon.