[LeslieH]

Hi Solos -- Sorry to hear about the parasite. The information you posted above is contradictory because the sources were talking about different types of parasites. I found a paper which describes a type of internal copepod parasite called Serpentisaccus magnificae which lives on the orange fire fish Nemateleotris magnificae. What you have appears to be the same or a similar parasite. The genus name of the parasite - Serpentisaccus - describes the 2 long curly egg sacs. The rest of the body is deeply embedded in the fish's body. Even if you pull off the egg strings, unless the parasite is so damaged that it dies it will just grow new egg sacs. This type of parasite usually doesn't kill the fish and if the fish is healthy it should be able to tolerate the parasite. The life cycle of this parasite isn't known. Similar copepods go through up to 11 developmental stages starting with planktonic forms before they become the final adult form. Some species require an intermediate host like a snail but others don't; once they stop being planktonic they find a host fish to live on. Without knowing the life cycle it's impossible to predict if the eggs can survive long enough to become additional parasites. Hopefully they will be eaten or removed through your tank's filtration. these parasites tend to be very specific about which fish they live on so it's unlikely that they would attach to any other fish in your tank.

The paper only describes the copepod; it has no information on life history or another else but it does have a drawing on an entire parasite. If you'd like to see it send me a PM with your email.

Good luck. Here's hoping the cleaners will help.