Camallanus- HELP!

[Scaly]

Out of the blue, my male Bolivian Ram started looking listless, perching on the substrate. For about two weeks I could not detect anything strange until last night I notice little red worms protruding form his anus- Camallanus. Where this came from, I have no idea. I have not added new stock to any of my tanks for about 6 months.

After much reading, it appears that a treatment called SERA NEMATOL is the best solution for this. Does anybody know where I can get. This is URGENT, as this nemotode is highly contagious and I am afraid it may affect my other fish, not to mention my other tanks.

[larch]

Jungle Aquatics sell them: http://aquaria.co.za/shop/index.php?main_page=products_new&disp_order=6&page=47&zenid=6e422ad0766d6b1769792b6c2b765b51

Will pm you a pricelist from another guy I usually deal with.

[Scaly]

Thanks Larch. I phoned them, but apparently they don't have stock... so I am looking at other options.

[larch]

Thanks Larch. I phoned them, but apparently they don't have stock... so I am looking at other options.

Sent you a PM with a pricelist of someone in PTA that might be able to help you.

[neilh]

Florida Vet on the corner of Ontdekkers and Christiaan de Wet. Ask for Dr Elshove

If you take the ram along, he'll check it out for you otherwise he also dispenses

[Zoom]

You could also contact Waterlife... they have a huge range of very good (but often pricy) meds. They will also gladly tell you which LPS store in your area carries their range.

[Vis]

Did you feed bloodworm?

[Scaly]

Thanks for the help!

Vis -Jip I suspect the blood worm. I am stressing now because I feed the same blood worm to my discus from time to time.

Would it be safe to treat all my tanks for this just as a precaution? (mmm maybe dont answer yet as I don't know what meds I going to get.)

Also I will try and take some pics...it looks like something out of an Alien movie!!

[Dolphin]

Seachem metronidazole ?

[Marco]

Hi Scaly. There is a thread in 'Ask the Prof' about Camallanus worms. You can buy the stuff from farm supply stores. I used 'Eradiworm' once with success. You need something that contains Levamisole and/or Praziquantal. Mix some food in it and leave it for about an hour then feed. Rgds, Marco

[JulsM2908]

i got some fish from an infected tank once, i did lots of homework and seems there are alot of things out there, but not many that work. And keep the worms away.
i was advised that Levamisole is the best thing to use.
i mananaged to get it from a vet in my area... maybe you can do the same...????

Good Luck

[Zoom]

Just be VERY cautious with any antiparasitic medication. DO NOT MIX IT WITH ANY OTHER MEDICATION. (I did this and lost ALL my fish due to the medications mixing). Most parasitic medication will also have an adverse effect on your filter.

[Scaly]

Hi All.

A quick update: After much searching and also out of desperation I finally got hold of some Levamisole (spelling?) from a local vet. I had tried four until I found one that stocks the stuff. Originally I wanted to try the Sera Pro Nematol, the the only availble stock had expired. So I took the advice of this forum and proceeded with the Levamisole route.

I soaked:

a mixture of dried food granules (Large pinch)
and thawed blood worm (2 blocks from which I soaked up as much moisture as I could with a paper towel)

with: 2ml of Levamisol for 15min.

After not feeding them yesterday, I put the food in the water my infected Ram ate immediately, as did my other fish.

I will update again when any reactions (good or bad) occur.

Regards

Vince

[Marco]

Hi Scaly. One thing which is relevant here is the suspension in which you get it. It should be an oil suspension and not water. If water it will just dissolve in the water very quickly thus being washed from the food.
Regards, Marco.

[Khalid]

Scaly -don't forget to suck up all the paralysed worms after they are excreted

[Scaly]

Update:

@ Marco- Damn I have an aqueous based solution... I repeated the treatment last evening, this time with soaked granules only. I did a quick check this morning and all the fish are doing well. I could not see any worms...but that's not to say they are not there as I have seen them retract like an anemone before when the fish is spooked. I will check again this evening.

How long is this worms cycle? I would imagine a follow-up treatment will be necessary to eradicate these guys?

Khalid- I did a thorough vacuum and 40% water change yesterday and will repeat again on Wednesday when my next batch of water is ready.

5046
In the above pic you can see little red filaments protruding from the fishes anus. Sorry pic is not great but I think you will get the idea. These get longer and shorter as they worms retract in and out. In this pick they were half way retracted.

[Scaly]

Update: So the Levamisole being an aqueous solution was not that effective on the fish that was badly infested. The worms had already manifested themselves outside of the digestive tract. Out of desperation I made a solution: 50ml tank water with 2ml Lev and submersed the fish in the solution for 5 mins. That was three days after my last post.

Today: The fish in question is alive and well and there are no sign of the worms. It took him about a week, but he no longer lingers on the tank bottom and has started to get his shape back.

[neilh]

Good to hear

As I posted in the beginning, go see DR Elshove at Florida Vet. He'll hook you up with the correct Levismasole treatment

[Scaly]

@ Neil: I got the Levismasole from them, but unfortunately Dr Elshove was not in on the day so they gave me the aqueas. But all's well that ends well. ps it also cost next to nothing...

Tx!

[Khalid]

Scaly - repeat treatment, to make 100% sure

[Big G]

Praziquental is an effective killer of these worms, but the problem is that it does not eject the worms from the digestive tract. As a result, I lost a good few fish to these worms because the dead worms rotted away inside the fish.

I later learned that the Levamisole is used to eject the worms as it paralyses them, and then the Prazi is used to irradicate them. Three treatments of the Prazi are recommended on Day 1 5 and 9 if I remember correctly? Can't remember the dosage right now? The Prof gave me the dosage.

Keep an eye on the Ram and any other fish that shared tanks with it, and look for any signs that they are coming back? If they do, then try and get hold of the Prazi and treat with Levamisole first, and once the worms have come out, treat with Prazi!

Regards
G!

[Scaly]

Thanks G!

Will do. I am just glad my Ram is back to his old self at this stage, but will keep a close eye.

Vince

---------- Post added at 12:11 ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 ----------

@ Khalid - Was going to update, but I am doing that every Sat.

thank

Vince