General Information
Anchor Worms are nocturnal creatures. Although you can’t see them during the day this does not mean they’re not there. The best time to check your fish for anchor worms is at night or when the tank is quite dark. It can take several hours after you have turned the light off and the room is darkened before the anchor worms will appear. Sometimes using a red light will make them visible to the human eye, quick movements should be avoided while observing them as it will scare the worms back into hiding.

Diagnosis
Fish that are infected can be seen with a whitish red worm-like thread, approx 1/4 of an inch long. These parasites are found anywhere on the body of the fish, including the eyes,the gills and fins. Raised ulcers may sometimes appear at the site of where it has attached itself. Consequently, a secondary bacterial infection may occur. The first signs that your fish may be infected include rubbing or scraping itself against objects in the aquarium such as rocks ect. The fish do this in an effort to remove the parasite.

Treatment
Any visible worms should be killed by dabbing them with a cotton swab dipped in Potassium Permanganate or an anti-parasitic medication. You should then carefully remove the worms from the fish using a pair of tweezers. It is a good idea to kill the worms before removing them from the fish. If the worms burrow to deep removing them while still alive could cause the fish some pain and significant physical damage.When you have removed the worm or worms, you can then dab the fishes wounds with some Methylene Blue to stop any secondary bacterial infections from starting. It is also recommended that you feed the fish with a medicated food.At this stage you need to treat the tank tank as well. Using Fluke Tabs, Clout, Paragon or Trifon will help to kill any of the unseen, free swimming baby worms.