Camallanus Worms - now you see them, now you don't.

[Kaosu]

Update:

Bo isn't doing too well. The worms have been killed but he can't expel them, so he's doing a lot of bottom-sitting with clamped fins. Still eating, though. If that stops I'll probably end his suffering with the clove oil bath. He's been through a lot, and may be about four years old which is typical life span for a ram, I believe.

I really hate these parasites...

aww Im sorry I hope he pulls threw,

after 3 doses of levamisole, i have no visible worms, one of the worse apistos had stopped eating but started shortly after the second dose. I am now out of Levamisole, they are still in QT eating like pigs im to afraid to put them in to my main tank,..going to wait a few more months i would be devastated if i put them in my 65 where they were planned on going and they infected my main tank!.

hope yours starts to turn around!

 

[Fish_Bone]

If your ram is having issues clearing them out, I have been told that feeding fish peas (I am guessing with out the skin) is like a laxative to them and completely safe. I would check into this and see if this is a real option.

 

[Jannika]

Thanks guys. Hope your fish are worm-free Kaosu, and I agree about keeping them in qt a while longer. I'm 100% sure that platies brought them in, but that's been six months ago! I tried the peas but I think the vampire worm's hooks are in good even though they're dead. Just kind of hanging there. I'm definitely going to de-worm any new stock from now on.

 

[Star_Rider]

watch them.. the other problem, as you have seen, is the worms that won't expell have been known to cause secondary (internal) bacterial infections.
often the deaths are due to these infections.

 

[Jannika]

Will do, Star. His guts probably look like swiss cheese with all the puncture wounds, but I just can't bring myself to give up on him yet. I tried feeding Kanamycin-based food but his appetite is now too diminished. I should have tried sooner, since dumping antibiotics into the water is far less reliable but now it's my only option.

Instead of moving and stressing him more I moved his tankmates and dosed with KanaPlex, which is supposedly "readily absorbed by fish, making it extremely useful in treating internal infections, especially when fish refuse to consume their regular food.."

Since freshwater fish don't actually "drink" the water, I think it must be similar to bathing in aspirin water for a headache, but I have heard success stories so we'll see. Hopefully he's not beyond help.

 

[Kaosu]

good luck Hopefully he pulls threw!!

 

[Jannika]

Thanks, Kaosu! He looks better today and took a bite of food! Not sitting on the bottom anymore, and I don't see anything hanging out of him, so I'm cautiously optimistic...

 

[Kaosu]

any updates?

 

[excuzzzeme]

You can buy Panacur, mix it with water (3cc/100ml) and soak the food in the mixture for 30 min to an hour before feeding. You can also buy a medicated food that contains fenbendazole at Angels Plus. http://www.angelsplus.com/MedsParasite.htm

Most dog dewormers work well. They are often in a medical section of s pet trade store. Seachem para-guard also works.

Flubendazole works better when added as aqueous solution since fenbendazole doesn't dissolve quite as readily. I believe it is available in a liquid form.

 

[oo7genie]

How's he doing?