Treating Camallanus Worms

[Livy_ann]

Should Levamisole kill a fish?

I just recently started treated my tank for camallanus worms using Levamisole. I believe its been going on for months, had a few very skinny endlers. But it never progressed, fish kept eating and were active, so I didn't treat.

Keep in mind I have had majority of these fish for at least 2 years. A bunch of endlers and 3 Xray tetras. Fish have been doing amazing, have had no issues!

Fast forward to 2 days ago I saw some endlers with worms, 95% sure. Very clamped so of course sick. I had bought Levamisole already for last time but never treated. I started my first dose Sunday and did a 30% water change after 24hrs and dosed a 2nd time and will do a warer change in 24hrs. This unfortunately killed all my Ramshorm snails in that tank first dose, which I heard wasn't supposed to happen.

I just checked the tank today after dosing last night and I lost one of my X ray tetras. This fish has had no issues, always been very active for the 2 years. I never saw worms come out of the tetras. But I believe my German Ram months ago and most recently a lot of endlers.

Is there a reason I would lose a healthy fish?

Honey gourami hasn't been effected at all, most of the guppies are active still, and the remaining xray tetra. Cant find the 3rd one, but will look again soon.

And my German ram has gotten very dark and hiding in one corner

I have heard of dosing 3 times, thoughts? Should I just stick with the 2 doses and only dose again if I still see worms.

Any help is appreciated, as I have never experienced this!

 

[GaryE]

Camallanus nematodes bite into the intestinal wall of the fish. When the medication paralyzes them and they let go, it can cause intense internal bleeding, and kill fish. The nematodes have really adapted - when I first saw it years ago, it killed fast. Now it is more chronic, and can be in fish a while before it kills them.

I mixed the med into food, dosed as per instructions and then redid it 3 weeks later, to be sure. So 3 doses here. It's been a while, but it's a nasty parasite it's hard to forget.

 

[Livy_ann]

Thank you! Should i wait 3 weeks and dose again for the 3rd time?

 

[GaryE]

I don't know what format you got the med in, so follow what the packaging says. But I have had good results with a 3rd dose at 3 weeks.

 

[Livy_ann]

It's a powder from Subquaria! Thank you

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I buy Levamisole HCL itself from Dr. Charles Harrison on his site. Here are his dosing instructions for treating with it:
https://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/CamallanusTreatment/TreatmentProcedure.html

Please bear in mind that these are for the medication he sells:
Fresh water use Levamisole HCl powder - serious treatment for Camallanus Nematode internal parasite infestation (see paper above) - 5 gram packet - $10.00 + postage treats 100 gallons of Fresh Water tank water.

Here is his page with links relative to using Levamisole https://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/CamallanusTreatment/

I also have his Flubendazole in my fish med kit.

 

[Colin_T]

What are the ingredients in the medication?
Can you post pictures showing the front and back of the packet?

Levamisole does not normally kill snails or fish. If there are other ingredients in the medication, they can harm aquatic organisms.

If you are treating every day you probably overdosed the tank. When treating for intestinal worms in fish, treat the tank once a week for 4 weeks. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate, and clean the filter 24-48 hours after treatment.

More info in section 3 of the following link.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

If you are losing fish now, do a big (75%) water change and gravel clean to dilute the medication.

--------------------

To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Calculator

Remove carbon from the filter before treating with chemicals or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working. You do not need to remove the carbon if you use salt.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence when using medications or salt in aquariums.

 

[Livy_ann]

What are the ingredients in the medication?
Can you post pictures showing the front and back of the packet?

Levamisole does not normally kill snails or fish. If there are other ingredients in the medication, they can harm aquatic organisms.

If you are treating every day you probably overdosed the tank. When treating for intestinal worms in fish, treat the tank once a week for 4 weeks. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate, and clean the filter 24-48 hours after treatment.

More info in section 3 of the following link.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

If you are losing fish now, do a big (75%) water change and gravel clean to dilute the medication.

--------------------

To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Calculator

Remove carbon from the filter before treating with chemicals or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working. You do not need to remove the carbon if you use salt.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence when using medications or salt in aquariums.

Unfortunately I was told Subaqaria is changing their dosages. Here is the link I just read.

Warning! Purchasing Levamisole From Subquaria | Commercial Websites Forum

This is my personal experience with ordering levamisole from the company Subquaria for treating Camallanus worms. My intentions are to inform others so that they can avoid making the same mistakes I did. Before I begin, I will say this about Subquaria: I don’t believe there is anything wrong...

www.fishlore.com

I just did an 80% water change and total of 3 fish died. What is the exact dosage for a 20gal? I can't figure out the math.

 

[Livy_ann]

A fish still has worms coming out, so dose again in 3 weeks?

 

[Essjay]

20 gallons needs 2.5 scoops. I assume there's a scoop provided?

 

[Livy_ann]

Yes, that's what I did 2.5 scoops and killed 3 fish. Based on the article sounds like I should use a gram scale not the scoop to be 100% sure I am not overdosing. I watched a video of someone using the same stuff from Subaqaria and they recommended. .15g for 10gal
So .3g for 20gal so based off the chart 1 1/2 scoops

 

[Livy_ann]

What are the ingredients in the medication?
Can you post pictures showing the front and back of the packet?

Levamisole does not normally kill snails or fish. If there are other ingredients in the medication, they can harm aquatic organisms.

If you are treating every day you probably overdosed the tank. When treating for intestinal worms in fish, treat the tank once a week for 4 weeks. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate, and clean the filter 24-48 hours after treatment.

More info in section 3 of the following link.

What to do if your fish has Stringy White Poop.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons. 1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at the surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be...

www.fishforums.net

If you are losing fish now, do a big (75%) water change and gravel clean to dilute the medication.

--------------------

To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove these before measuring the height of the water level so you get a more accurate water volume.

You can use a permanent marker to draw a line on the tank at the water level and put down how many litres are in the tank at that level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "FishForum.net Calculator" under "Useful Links" at the bottom of this page that will let you convert litres to gallons if you need it.

Calculator

Remove carbon from the filter before treating with chemicals or it will adsorb the medication and stop it working. You do not need to remove the carbon if you use salt.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence when using medications or salt in aquariums.

I am still seeing worms out of a few endlers, I did 2 treatments and a 75% water change and will do another dose in 3 weeks. Is is normal to still be seeing worms?