Fish trouble! Do my fish have worms or parasites?

Question

I bought two pearlscale fish from our local pet store a few days ago. They are almost babies, the larger of the two being one and a half inches long. They are in a 10 gallon tank because they won't survive the 20 gallon with the larger, more aggressive fish yet. The pH is 7.4, there is little to none nitrates and nitrites, and I do regular 2 gallon water changes every 3 days to keep ammonia levels low.

About the worms: I was watching my fish yesterday and saw a floating string in the water. It was long (an inch or so), thin, and flat. It was clear and had a pink, slightly bulgy head/end. The fish stayed away from it. I saw it go up the filter but today I saw another one and I'm really scared for my fish! I'm thinking internal because there is nothing visibly noticable on the outer areas of my fish.

The gills of the fish are red. I don't know if this helps. I thought they were just getting used to the water or there was too much ammonia maybe?

Answer 1

You should treat your tank immediately for worms and parasites, call your local trusted pet-store and ask about the right medication to use, also research the internet for more information on this. With your fish having red gills is not a good sign. They probably are infected with the parasite. Good luck.

Answer 2

get tweezers and quickly grab the fish and take out the parasites then go to the pet store and look around the fish section and get this bottle

http://www.petco.com/product/102450/Mard...

or

http://www.petco.com/product/5967/Mardel...

and just poor a little bit in their tank