Camallanus worms

Hi Prof

Could you shed some light on Cammalanus worms.

If i suspect a new batch of fish may have been in-contact with fish that had this, what would be my best course of action...

I have read up a little about this, and it seems they could only show themselves many weeks after contact?

I have quaranteend them for the mean while.
No obvious signs of worms exist at the moment.

Thanks in advance

 

We had a HUUUUUUUUGE discussion about these worms a while back. Just search on "Cammalanus" and you will find it, Big G was having the same experiences. All your questions will be answered (I am beginning to think that I am one of these new-age mega cash preachers).

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Nah, if you were saying things like 'come forth with your wallet, and RECIEVE your Redmeption' then I would agree!!

I have PM'd Julie about the above topic (not the redemption bit!!)

But maybe when you are well, and have time, a sticky could be in order?? Perhaps, Maybe??

Regards
G!

 

Hi Big G,

Yes, a sticky would be a good idea for that thread, I agree.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Hi Dirk,

I just had a look back through those threads, and realised that most of our indepth discussion was within PM's!!!

But I'll try and rewrite what I remember, and please correct me if I'm wrong??

Two treatments are available that are effective against Camellanuss worms....

Firstly is Levamisole. This is labelled as 'Dovaworm' and is a commercial dewormeer for Doves and Pigeons. This kills and expels the worms out of the fish. I am not sure on the dosages, but hopefully the Prof will add this bit? The method though is to defrost some bloodworm, and then soak it in a solution of Levamisole. Again, the Prof will have to shed light on how long, and how often this should be fed to the fish??

This is then fed to the fish in question, and should then proceed to kill all internal worms. The roughage in the bloodworm should help expel the worms from within the fish before they rot and kill the host. In order to do this effectively, the fish must be well (but not over) fed!

The Second treatment is Praziquental. This is rediculously expensive, hard to find and is a perscription drug so will need a vet to prescribe it!!! I spent over R500 on ten 600mg tablets!!

Once the tablets are purchased, they are to be crushed into as fine a powder as can be ground, and then disolved into water. The optimal dosage is 2.5mg/L. So if your tank to be treated is a 100L, then you are going to disolve 250mg into some water, and then add it to your tank. This treatment is to be administered on days 1, 5, and 9. This should be effective at killing all free swimming worms, and will also the worms internally.

The one problem I did experience with Praziquental is that it does kill the worms, but in my case it did not expel the worms from the fish, and subsequently I lost my Caca female due to Rotting worms releasing toxins inside the fish. At least thats what I believe happened?? An autopsy was never performed to determine this!!

So, correct me if I am wrong Prof, but firstly, treat the fish with Dovaworm, to expel the worms, and then treat with Praziquental. But only if the worms are actually present?? Is there any harm with doing this anyway as a precaution?? At least the Dovaworm part?

Some people recommend that this is done 1 time a year anyhow, or when getting new fish from Asia, regardless of whether the fish are actually infected or not!! This is because a lot of the fish from Asia are bred in outdoor ponds, so are open to infection!! These fish are then exported all over the world, where they can infect other fish!! Another source of these worms is within cheaper frozen foods!! The Eggs are not killed off by the freezing process!!

Hope that helps?
Regards
G!