Wormy Fish?

[Bubba1235]

Last year I had to clear out my pond (fish kill) and restock it. (A long story.) Anyhow, they are too small for fishing so I and the grandson decided to try a pond about 100' on the other side of my property. We cought a couple catfish and one bass.

Problem was, when I cleaned them (all three) the meat was riddled with small worms of some kind. (I tossed the fish out.) Never seen this before and I wonder where they came from and more importantly can they be transfered to my pond by birds, etc.? Is there a chemical I could put in my pond to prevent it from happening?

Anyone ever seen anything like this?

 

[j_martin]

Re: Wormy Fish?

Do you have any herons around? Small fish in shallow water get the worms from the heron's poo, The herons get the worms from the small fish.

Harmless to you, but not very appetizing.

 

[avenger79]

Re: Wormy Fish?

had some bass here with the same thing. i tossed 'em out. later I checked with the state DNR, they said the worms were completely harmless and would be gone after cooking. me I still don't eat them but they say you can. these were tiny little white worms just big enough to see wiggling around.

 

[Sixmark]

Re: Wormy Fish?

Yeah completely harmless after cooking, but what about the time in between, such as while cleaning, especially if you make an oops and cut yourself. An open wound and worms seem like a bad combo to me. It's common here to find them in rock bass and other fish that spend the majority of their time on the bottom.

A worm on your hook and in their mouth is one thing, worms burrowed into a fish won't ever see my livewell.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Wormy Fish?

As I posted before, usually only found in small fish living in shallow water. Occasionally there'll be one or 2 in a bigger bass caught in shallow water. They're easily seen and flicked out with the tip of a fillet knife.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Wormy Fish?

As I posted before, usually only found in small fish living in shallow water. Occasionally there'll be one or 2 in a bigger bass caught in shallow water. They're easily seen and flicked out with the tip of a fillet knife.

When I worked in the East Coast commercial fishery, worms were a big issue in a lot of species...especially cod. Seals were a major host and the fish picked them up by eating seal droppings.
One of the last steps on the process floor was running the fillets over a clear plastic surface with a lights source underneath...whole rig was called a "candling table".

Worms were removed with a variety of tools...whatever was favoured by the worker.
One of the handiest (We have worms in bass here in Ontario, I still use it on them) is a straightened, plain fish hook, epoxied into a small wooden handle.
The hook goes in easily, and the barb will "hook" the worm when you pull it out.

The worm is probably higher in protein than the fish...

 

[Silk]

Re: Wormy Fish?

I'm sorry but it's just WRONG

This is exactly why I don't eat fish: WORMS

I love to fish, I love catching them, but if I don't have anyone with me that will eat them, they go back into the water. I don't care if they are worm free, just the thought of a worm possibley being there just ruins my appetite. I am one of those people who would starve if all I had to eat was worms and bugs, and I'm not going to apologize for it either! Thousands of years of civilization has kept worms and grubs off my personal menu and for that I am thankful.

Now give me shrimp, lobster and crab, I'm all there...and you better not tell me about any worms in them either!!

 

[Silverbullet555]

Re: Wormy Fish?

Now give me shrimp, lobster and crab, I'm all there...and you better not tell me about any worms in them either!!

I don't know of worms in them, but crabs and lobsters are essentially bugs that live in the water.

 

[scooper77515]

Re: Wormy Fish?

I don't know of worms in them, but crabs and lobsters are essentially bugs that live in the water.

Ahhh, but such tasty bugs. We eat crawfish down here, we call em mudbugs. So I guess any bug that lives in water is fair game for a spicy and buttery boil...

 

[sublauxation]

Re: Wormy Fish?

They're pretty common in perch too in some areas. as J_Martin said, flick em out with the tip of the fillet knife and all is well. They pop right out. I recommend cooking them but then I've never understood sushi anyway.

 

[Silk]

Re: Wormy Fish?

Ahhh, but such tasty bugs. We eat crawfish down here, we call em mudbugs. So I guess any bug that lives in water is fair game for a spicy and buttery boil...

Well I'm going with the tastey bug scenario as well, lobster tail broiled with some garlic butter on top....Christmas tradition at my house, tastey bugs. I highly doubt worms and grubs would be nearly as delicious...crawdads are good too, mudbugs or whatever they are called.

I find those little worms in perch too, just plain yuck, worms are meant for drowning, no eating.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Wormy Fish?

I find those little worms in perch too, just plain yuck, worms are meant for drowning, no eating.

They taste like chicken.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Wormy Fish?

Well I am assuming that it can't be healthy for the fish. I really don't want to see my pond infected. I think I'll talk with the county extension office and see if they have any recommendations.

From what I have read in this thread it sounds like the fish get the worms from poop, not from contact with other fish. My guess would be that whatever is the source of the worms in the one pond would likely do the same in the other pond.

My question to you Bubba is did you have a worm problem before you killed off the fish in the other pond??

I'm assuming this stems from the thread about people claiming to havea legal right to fish on your pond because the state owns the fish unless you can show that you personally stocked the pond.I can't believe you followed through on that. Not that I thought you were full of BS before, it's just that it seems like quite an undertaking to kill all of those fish and start over.

Have you looked into how to properly restock a pond? I've never done it but I think you have to start with certain feeder minnows and then introduce the predetor fish seperately in a precise way or you will have problems down the road. Don't be suprised if you see a thriving fish population one year and a mysterious kill off the next. As the predetors kill of the food supply the balance in the food supply will take a few years to equalize. (I'm no expert but this is what I've read when I researched the subject.)

Good luck, please keep us updated periodically with how the new (old) pond is doing. I for one am very interested in the ups and downs of this process.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Wormy Fish?

Last year I had to clear out my pond (fish kill) and restock it. (A long story.) Anyhow, they are too small for fishing so I and the grandson decided to try a pond about 100' on the other side of my property. We cought a couple catfish and one bass.

Problem was, when I cleaned them (all three) the meat was riddled with small worms of some kind. (I tossed the fish out.) Never seen this before and I wonder where they came from and more importantly can they be transfered to my pond by birds, etc.? Is there a chemical I could put in my pond to prevent it from happening?

Anyone ever seen anything like this?

Lot of responses and info, but maybe not addressing your actual questions...I know I didn't in my first response...:facepalm:

I'll try again. If this is all too obvious and you already know, sorry.

The worms in the fish from the other pond can be a number of types of infestation, but most broadly ...at the top of the flow chart...are they a transient parasite or is the fish the final host? i.e. you should get them ID'd and that will tell you whether they were just killing time and will end up being transferred to another host...something will eat the fish and that will be the final host....birds or otters or whatever ~OR ~ is the fish the final host and then probably the infestation originated bird poop or your local bears did not do it in the woods.

Your description of "small" worms sounds like fluke family rather than nematodes, but again, getting them ID'd is key.

Next, is it a direct or indirect transmission....i.e. does it get transmitted from fish to fish...(direct) or from an external host?

These factors will help you assess what risk is present for your pond. Type of species stocked will also be important; some species are at greater risk.

Most of my experience is with marine fish/parasites, but the patterns are similar for freshwater species.


If you have any questions, send me a PM. I can point you to some good resources if your local Government folks want $$ or aren't helpful....

 

[sprintst]

Re: Wormy Fish?

Worms..pyuck.

Even though the worms are probably the best protein I just pitch any fish back with them. It's a psychological thing more than anything. I don't think anyone wants to envision worms hanging out of their bunghole as they are eating those fish. Sorry about putting that picture in your heads

It's always in the warmer water bodies of water... I tend to only eat fish from the deeper lakes or mountain streams. Look ma...no worms

Looks like this stuff will work but how much will you need and how easy is it to buy cheaply.

http://www.fishnpond.com/html/dimilin_faq.html

 

[j_martin]

Re: Wormy Fish?

Worms..pyuck.

Even though the worms are probably the best protein I just pitch any fish back with them. It's a psychological thing more than anything. I don't think anyone wants to envision worms hanging out of their bunghole as they are eating those fish. Sorry about putting that picture in your heads

It's always in the warmer water bodies of water... I tend to only eat fish from the deeper lakes or mountain streams. Look ma...no worms

Looks like this stuff will work but how much will you need and how easy is it to buy cheaply.

http://www.fishnpond.com/html/dimilin_faq.html

Wrong parasite.

From MN DNR:

Black Spot Disease, Uvulifer ambloplitis
Have you ever caught a fish that looked like someone had sprinkled it with coarse-ground pepper? You were likely looking at black spot disease, caused by the larval stage of certain flukes that live as adults in fish-eating birds. Any fish can become infected. The most frequently infected are sunfish, yellow perch, northern pike, bass, and other fish that live in shallow water and vegetated areas where birds and snails are found.

Life Cycle: 1 The adult fluke lives in the digestive tract of fish-eating birds, typically kingfishers or herons. It produces eggs, which pass from the bird in its droppings. The eggs hatch in water, liberating larvae called miracidia that swim around until they encounter a snail.

2 After digging their way into the snail, the miracidia form mother sporocysts. Mother sporocysts produce sporocysts that invade the snail's liver. In about six weeks, each sporocyst produces another form called a cercaria.

3 Cercariae emerge from the snail into the water. They seek out a fish and penetrate its flesh, forming cysts just under the skin and in the flesh.

4 If a bird eats infected fish, the parasites leave the cysts and mature in the digestive tract of the bird, starting the cycle again.

Effects on Fish: Black spot is rarely fatal to fish. A heavy infection may make a fry's eyes bulge. If heavily infected fish live in stressful conditions (poor nutrition, injury, crowding, etc.), they could die.

Effects on People: Black spot disease is not harmful to humans. However, you may find the spots unappetizing. Your best bet is simply to remove the skin and cysts in the flesh before cooking the fish.

Interesting note. On a forum where it's hard to get a rise (pun intended) here's 19 responses in 3 days to ..........wormy fish.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Wormy Fish?

Here's the yellow one:

Yellow Grub, Clinostomum complanatum
Adult yellow grubs are flukes and live in a heron's mouth. The larval stage, called a metacercaria, is the form referred to as a yellow grub. It appears as a yellowish cyst in the flesh or just under the skin of fish, most commonly yellow perch but also black bass and sunfish. Yellow grub doesn?t infect humans.

Life Cycle: 1 The eggs move from an infected heron's mouth into the water while the heron is catching fish. Once in the water, the eggs hatch almost immediately into miracidia.

2 When the miracidia come into contact with a ram's horn snail, they burrow into it and migrate to the snail's digestive gland or liver. The miracidia develop into sporocysts, which produce larvae called mother rediae. Each mother redia produces three to 15 daughter rediae.

3 Daughter rediae form cercariae, which escape from the snail into the surrounding water. When the cercariae encounter a fish, they burrow into it and form a cyst, often near the tail or front fins. They develop into metacercariae ?yellow grubs?within about 20 weeks.

4 When a heron eats infected fish, the metacercariae migrate to its mouth and matures into flukes. There the flukes produce eggs, beginning the cycle again.

Effects on Fish: Yellow grubs usually have no significant effect on fish.

Effects on People: Like other parasites of birds, this fluke will not infect people. If you want, you can remove the cyst with a knife. When the fish is cooked thoroughly, the cysts will die and not be noticeable.