Im In Trouble - Worms

[midnight glow]

ok, i have been on the back foot from the start. I was told that i could start my tank with about 10 fish - this was a new tank then, now i know that this was bad advice! very bad advice. The tank has now been running for about 5 weeks with fish in it for 4 weeks. My ammonia was reading 0 for the last two readings (24h period) but is now reading at 0.25. My nitrites are 0, (i know i am still in cycling).
my problem is that i had a sick guppy which was missing most of its tail, (i woke up one morning to find it like this), i didnt want to use medication straight away so had just been doing lots of water changes - about 80% one day then 15% the next. (this was because i had to keep my ammonia levels down as still cycling). He kept his distance from the other fish but after about a week his tail hadn't improved so i decided to put some melafix into the water thinking it might be fin rot as a split and a small tear in my other guppies tails were visible. The guppy with most the tail missing looked dreadful this morning, he looked like his back was broke and could hardly swim, whan i came home from work he had died. i have had a good look at my other guppies that are also not looking too good and have noticed they have small red worm type things hanging from their anus! I am going to get some wormer tomorrow but i need to know will the rest of my fish be infected? is this what perhaps killed my other guppy and will my fish recover from treatment? also are their different types of wormsand would this be causing their tails to diminish? My other fish seem ok but i dont think the albino corys are too chuffed with the melafix as have not been as active today. Can someone please help me? Am i destined to lose the lot due to the bad start?

 

[midnight glow]

re-posting as desperate for reply. x

 

[Athena]

Hi - sorry to hear about your current situation with your tank and fish. Yes, doing a fish-in cycle with so many fish can often lead to varying problems and deaths, unfortunately.

Now, what you describe sounds to me like Camallanus worm parasites (they will be visible hanging from the anus, sometimes disappearing back up when the fish swims around, this also can cause raggedy appearance, bent spines etc), so I would buy some medications for that and start treating after your next water change.

Yes, this is contagious so you need to treat the whole tank.

Regards, Athena

 

[midnight glow]

Hi - sorry to hear about your current situation with your tank and fish. Yes, doing a fish-in cycle with so many fish can often lead to varying problems and deaths, unfortunately.

Now, what you describe sounds to me like Camallanus worm parasites (they will be visible hanging from the anus, sometimes disappearing back up when the fish swims around, this also can cause raggedy appearance, bent spines etc), so I would buy some medications for that and start treating after your next water change.

Yes, this is contagious so you need to treat the whole tank.

Regards, Athena

hi thanks for replying. Today i bought a product called 'parazin' by waterlife, it was the only worm remedy that i could find but it does not say that it treats camallanus worms, only gill maggots, anchor worms and fish lice, it does say that it treats other crustacean parasites too, do you think that will include these worms or will i need to buy something else. I have already treated the tank as i couldnt wait. Will my fish die from these worms?

 

[Athena]

Hello again

Ah, that is the new product by Waterlife...not had to use it myself on anything but if it doesn't say Camallanus worms on there then maybe it's not strong enough for them. What's the active ingredients in it? Does it say on the bottle?

I have read that Fenbendazole is the thing that usually gets rid of these worms (they are not an easy worm to deal with, apparently). Levamisole is another product name that gets mentioned a lot in treating Camallanus worms, too. I think Jungle do a treatment containing it but if you ask at your LFS or local vets they should know what's available to you in your area.

Yes, if the worms are not destroyed promptly they can end up killing the fish as they burrow into the intestines and perforate it, which makes the intestine parts die off and then a secondary bacterial infection takes place.

As well as treating for the worms, it's a good idea to use an anti-bac treatment alongside (if the de-wormer allows it) or immediately after the worms have died.

If you use a good product, the worms can be killed off within hours.

Regards, Athena

 

[WILDER]

In the uk you need this med.
You have to buy it online as not alot of lfs sell it.

http/www.thegreenmachineonline.com/products/aquatics/fish-food-medication/medication/sera-nematol-50ml

Paragon more of external med I think.

Yes it's an external med for external parasites.
http/www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/parazin.htm

 

[midnight glow]

In the uk you need this med.
You have to buy it online as not alot of lfs sell it.

http/www.thegreenmachineonline.com/products/aquatics/fish-food-medication/medication/sera-nematol-50ml

Paragon more of external med I think.

Yes it's an external med for external parasites.
http/www.waterlife.co.uk/waterlife/parazin.htm

Thank you both very much, i have ordered the sera nematol on express delivery so i just hope they hold out til it arrives, whats the best thing i can do for them in the meantime?

 

[Mad Duff]

Levimasole is probably the best stuff to try and get to treat worms, I routinely treat all of my loaches that are new in from the wild with levimasole.

The only way to get hold of the levimasole or leviside I think it is also called in the UK is through a vet, most vets are willing to supply it if you show that you are genuine and know what you want it for as it is actually a pig wormer, you will need to buy a syringe and needle at the same time which are only a few pence.

The dosage I use is 0.3ml per Imperial gallon.

Treatment should be given by adding the desired quantity of Levimasole to a litre (ideally no more than 10ml of levimasole per litre) of tank water and adding this back to the tank. Treatment should be given one day and up to a 50% water change carried out around 24 to 36 hours after, this should be repeated at 5 day intervals from the treatment day in order to maximise effect of the drug in accordance with the life cycle of the worms that you are trying to eradicate.

Depending on the level of infestation a minimum of 3 cycles of treatment should be used up to a maximum of 6, this treatment has worked with many species of fish including newly imported fish such as Loaches and even Discus and Angelfish.

The product does not seem to have a shelf life as such when used on fish, however, as long as the product is stored in a cool dark place, it has been proven to still work with the same effectiveness up to 2 years after first time used.


Hope this helps

 

[midnight glow]

Levimasole is probably the best stuff to try and get to treat worms, I routinely treat all of my loaches that are new in from the wild with levimasole.

The only way to get hold of the levimasole or leviside I think it is also called in the UK is through a vet, most vets are willing to supply it if you show that you are genuine and know what you want it for as it is actually a pig wormer, you will need to buy a syringe and needle at the same time which are only a few pence.

The dosage I use is 0.3ml per Imperial gallon.

Treatment should be given by adding the desired quantity of Levimasole to a litre (ideally no more than 10ml of levimasole per litre) of tank water and adding this back to the tank. Treatment should be given one day and up to a 50% water change carried out around 24 to 36 hours after, this should be repeated at 5 day intervals from the treatment day in order to maximise effect of the drug in accordance with the life cycle of the worms that you are trying to eradicate.

Depending on the level of infestation a minimum of 3 cycles of treatment should be used up to a maximum of 6, this treatment has worked with many species of fish including newly imported fish such as Loaches and even Discus and Angelfish.

The product does not seem to have a shelf life as such when used on fish, however, as long as the product is stored in a cool dark place, it has been proven to still work with the same effectiveness up to 2 years after first time used.


Hope this helps

thank you, i have been reading a lot about levimasole on here and other sites when looking for a cure but have noticed it is hard to get hold of. well i have ordered the sera med which is coming tomorrow so i will treat with that first and see how it goes. i have seperated the two fish with the worms into a seperate tank so im hoping this has stopped them from spreading to the other fish, i have been keeping a close eye on all of them to see if i can see anything unusual but nothing as yet. The two poorly guppies are a little perkier this evening, i hope it isnt to late for them still. fingers crossed. thanks for your replies.

 

[Mad Duff]

If you have visable worms it is likely that they will have released eggs or larvae into the tank so even if you have moved these out make sure you treat the main tank as there is a good chance that fish in there may already be infected or in the process of becoming infected.

 

[Mikaila31]

Levamisole can be kinda tricky to get a hold of. I originally got mine as a pig dewormer, $18 for enough to treat 1800 gallons. It however is technically over a year expired. I use the powered form. For US and UK there is a bird wormer called Harka-verm that contains only levamisole dosage is 1.25mL to 10 gallons. Levamisole IMO is the best dewormer, it is fast and very easy on the fish, unless you have heavy parasite loads.

BTW very important! If any more fish die, place them in a bowl of water or something for 48 hours before disposing of the body if you think you have worms. Its kinda gross, but the adult worms will sometimes try to leave the host body after death. I kept losing fish, but never saw signs of worms till I left a dead fish in a bowl, cuz I wanted to examine it closer. Low and behold when I went back to it there were lots of red worms.

 

[WILDER]

Members on here have used the sera med and it's worked.

Even vets won't always perscribe levaimsole in the uk.

 

[Mikaila31]

Which is why I suggest Harka verm. The bird dewormer is nonpescription and contains levaimsole as its only ingredient. One bottle can treat about 800 gallons. Avalible in UK and US.

 

[midnight glow]

Which is why I suggest Harka verm. The bird dewormer is nonpescription and contains levaimsole as its only ingredient. One bottle can treat about 800 gallons. Avalible in UK and US.

i am going to try the sera med first as i have already purchased it and see how that goes. i dosed last night and the fish still seem ok this morning. Does anyone know how long it takes to work as i can still see the worms. Also i have read on other fish forums that it doesnt actually kill the worms inside the fish and that only medicated food would do this?! is this true?, only i dont think that they would eat the medicated food as they are not really eating, they pick food up but dont seem to eat it.

 

[WILDER]

Give the med time to work.
Follow the sera med instuctions as you have to redose.