Dog Dewormer for killing Planaria/Hydra

[Sounguru]

I used .3 because the planaria outbreak was so bad and I wanted to make sure they were toast. I dosed .1 then 3 days later dosed .1 again 3 days after that I did a 30% water change and dosed the last .1. So it took about 9 days until the last planaria was not moving....

As far as the fleas go I use day old baby feeder guppies and leave them until they are big enough to maybe feed on shimpletes then back in the cray tank they go. I do this about once every couple of months and it seems to really keep the fleas under control.

 

[Sounguru]

*Update*

I have tried to reintroduce Nerites in the dosed tanks but all have died. All other snails seem to do well but the nerites slowly die off. This is after enough water changes to turn the tanks over at least twice.

 

[Jane of Upton]

Wow, this is a great thread.

I have some questions about using fenbendazole, though.

Background: I have Apple Snails, Ramshorns (trying to get a pink strain fixed) and MTS in a heavily planted tank which used to also have a few Cardinia (Amano) shrimp and 6 yellow shrimp. I've seen a few of the nematodes and planaria, and think this is what took out my shrimp population. They'd be fine and active one day, and in the morning, I'd see a dead shrimp, with snails starting to feed on it. I tested water parameters, checked for copper and other heavy metals (zero to negligible) and the results pointed to the water being fine - same as in a bare-bottom tank with floating plants with cherry shrimp, which are doing great and breeding. There were no signs of molting distress, no attached worms (saw that a few years ago with wild caught neocardinias I got) and the shrimp looked fine, healthy and clear at lights out, only to be a carcass in the morning. The head count went down by one every day or two. In an attempt not to have to tear the whole tank down, I'm thinking to treat with de-wormer and re-introduce a shrimp or two from the "healty" tank to see if that stops this mysterious killer. But I don't want to harm my lovely snails!

So... if I take out the Brigs, is there any chance of re-introducing either nematodes or planaria with them as the vector? I know that Brigs have a particularly rich range of intestinal fauna, and know some killifish breeders who swear by having a brigs in with fry to provide an ongoing source of infusoria culture in their grow-out tanks.

I saw someone's picture of a snail with a worm attached. I've inspected mine, and they look clean. Because of the negative reaction to fenbendazole which Brigs seem to have, I want to protect them from this. I may take out a few of the rams and some select MTS just to be sure I won't lose them as well.

So... if there are any cysts (or whatever part of the nematodes' lifecycle might be carried) in the Brigs' intestinal track, how long should I quarantine them? I'm thinking I'll put them in a 3 gallon container, and swap them out into another container with entirely fresh (declorinated) water every day... but for how many days?

Any advice?

I sincerely appreciate the amount of invert knowledge I've been finding here!

Thanks,
Jane

 

[Jane of Upton]

Anyone?

Will removing the Brigs, dosing, and re-introducing them (after many water changes) possibly re-introduce the nematodes?

-Jane

 

[Sounguru]

I would not try to reintroduce the Brigs at all. After 3 months I still can not put Nerites back in the tanks.... and since brigs reacted he same way as the nerites when I put it in after dosing I would not recommend it.

 

[Jane of Upton]

THANK YOU for this reply!

Ok... once de-wormer has been used on a tank, its off limits to Brigs and Nerites. Good advice - thanks!

I really appreciate the guidance. I've had enjoyable experiences w/ inverts (even had my first set of Brigs lay an egg clutch, but wasn't able to hatch it) but feel I've barely scratched the surface of what there is to know!

Thanks,
Jane

 

[Flaringshutter]

Agreed - this chemical is NOT safe for use with any Pomacea or nerite species. Fenbendazole, praziquantel, mebendazole, and other chemicals commonly used to treat flukes, worm or hydra infestations are highly toxic to most snails. I'm curious that the ramshorns were fine in Sounguru's experiment but as they are a more primitive snail, I think that probably allows them to tolerate the drug better.

 

[Sounguru]

Well the good news is 2+ months and still no planaria so it got them and seems to have done it with gusto.

Another factor maybe that Ramshorns can breathe from the surface so that maybe a plus for them in surviving, but that doesn't cover the MTS survivng.

 

[captmicha]

I'm really excited to try this. I wonder if it'll have any effect on my snail leeches too.

 

[Sounguru]

Let us know it did reduce but not remove all the worms off a cray I had.