Jixxergirl Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 I am totally new to this so please bear with me as I have no place else to turn. The end of last week we started to see bristle fish (clear fish) show up in our ferrets fur. Thankfully my wife is good at spotting this stuff and taking it out. I know this probably sounds crazy but I do NOT have an aquarium. My house was built in 1908 and the main drain to the sewer burst in the wall last October. These fish are terrorizing the 2 of us along with my 4 ferrets. If anybody knows anything or has heard of this before please.......I am at my wits end. We believe they are coming up through the drains. Please, please lmk if possible. Ty!!! Quote Link to comment
LazyFish Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 What the heck? A bristle fish often refers to a bushy nosed plecostomus and I'm prety sure these are not on your ferret. This fourm is for aquariums fish and corals not insects I dont know how much help we will be but I'll give it a shot. If you are referring to "silverfish" or "lawn shrimp" they are not a fish they are an insect and a amphipod respectively. I've never herd of either of them getting on an live animal tho. Neither are "clear" silver fish are silvery elongated teardrop shaped bugs with bristles on there butt. lawn shrimp look like saltwater grammarys shrimp only more brown. Are you sure it's not lice? Google pictures of both and see. They both like damp dark conditions and eat organic matter if that is what they are they are probly feeding on dander on your animal giving it a flea and lice bath and finding where they are comming from should eliminate them they are probly in your house somewhere under sinks in closets around trash bins in bathrooms anywhere damp and dark. Untill you eliminate the source they may keep comming back. You may need an exterminator once you find them in the house. Quote Link to comment
Jixxergirl Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 I appreciate you writing back but the ferrets have been to the vet and we have truly ruled out everything else. All I know for sure is they did come up from the drain, they started having babies in our kitchen sink but I became wise to that and they literally are terrorizing us. I only know fir sure because my wife has to comb them out of the ferrets hair and you see the eye and the outline of the clear body. We are desperate at this point. We know nothing about aquatic creatures but are getting a crash course. What’s weird is every time we go to take a pic if comes out blurry. Bottom of bag Quote Link to comment
LazyFish Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 Not my pic but are they baby versions of this maby? It's hard to say without a good pic try to photo a dead one in the dry might be easier. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 Yikes that’s stuff if nightmares! I am assuming a plumber or such fixed the pipe. I would probably try an exterminator because yikes! I clean my skink with bleach but not sure that is enough. 1 Quote Link to comment
Tired Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 Do you mean bristleworms? Bristleworms are saltwater animals that are brought into homes on live rock, and stay in the aquarium. They can't breed in your sink. And any animal that's living in your ferret's fur is not an aquatic animal. Try pouring some bleach down the sink. Be very careful not to mix it with any other cleaning chemicals, as that will most likely release a toxic gas. Also, find out what sort of flea and tick treatment is safe for ferrets, and use that on your ferrets. Catch more of whatever creatures they are, put those creatures in a container without any water, and try for pictures again. Maybe show the creatures to the vet. Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 6 hours ago, LazyFish said: Not my pic but are they baby versions of this maby? It's hard to say without a good pic try to photo a dead one in the dry might be easier. What an unexpected thread for a reef keeping site! Anyway, I think you are spot-on that 'silverfish' are the most likely explanation, here... Quote Link to comment
rough eye Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 i think it's safe to say no one here knows what a bristle fish is. either this is a joke or someone made that name up - or maybe it's a slang term in some far away country? if it's not a joke find university or agricultural organization in your area and get a proper name for the species. whatever is in that bag is definitely not a silverfish. a slug maybe? how many legs does a "bristlefish" have? how many fins? by the way google doesn't know what a "bristlefish" is either. closest thing is a catfish. did your ferret have a catfish in its fur? Quote Link to comment
LazyFish Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 Unless I'm seeing things wrong I dont think it's the brown smudge theres some hazy hard to see indistinct things at the bottom look alot like silver fish juveniles. Unless it's the light or a wrinkle in the bag. They did say they were more clear. 1 Quote Link to comment
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