# Callamanus WORMS... updated 2/5/2013



## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Prazi pro is for internal parasites, I am looking now to see if it is specific for Camillanus.
... seems it is not. 

Levamisole will work. 

http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/CamellanusTreatment.pdf

Fenbendazole will work. 

"Camillanus is easily recognized as a small thread-like worm protruding from the anus of the fish. Control of this nematode in non-food fish is with fenbendazole, a common antihelminthic. Fenbendazole can be mixed with fish food (using gelatin as a binder) at a rate of 0.25% for treatment. It should be fed for three days, and repeated in three weeks."


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

Diana said:


> Prazi pro is for internal parasites, I am looking now to see if it is specific for Camillanus.
> ... seems it is not.
> 
> Levamisole will work.
> ...


ya... that was where i found my information earlier. Both drugs seem to be semi hard to obtain and even harder to determine what to dose in an aquarium. I don't know what to do. Upon further inspection of other fish in tank, they all have it. This hit quick and hit hard.

Any idea on where I can obtain this that isnt sketchy? (ie i wouldnt feel weird putting my credit card number into some crazy website)


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

looks like it can be bought at petsmart and mixed with food..... I will probably mix it either with spectrum pellets or bloodworms and water and let it soak for an hour. I am not sure how many times to dose those, but according to that site, he did it 3 times and then once a week later...

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...eating-internal-parasites-fenbendazole-19108/


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## lipadj46 (Apr 6, 2011)

The most effective treatment will be levimasole:

http://www.jefferspet.com/product.asp?pn=a2-pi&camid=liv

you need a good mg scale though. Food with fenben. will work in a proper food preparation, just soaking pellets is going to reduce the effectiveness by a wide margin. Angelsplus has flake foods that have either lev. or fenben. already in it.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

I ordered from angels plus this morning.... the only thing i am worried about is that the eggs are in the water column. I am extremely leery putting a medication that is meant for something else into a tank. Just worried about poisoning them in some other way.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

I am really curious if anyone else has had this issue lately. I went and talked to my LFS that I buy from and they did admit that they had a batch of Angels come through about 6 months ago (i bought 2) that supposedly had the worms.

After days of research on these horrible creatures, it sounds like they are becoming more and more common among aquariums and causing major issues for keepers.


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

msawdey said:


> ya... that was where i found my information earlier. Both drugs seem to be semi hard to obtain and even harder to determine what to dose in an aquarium. ****
> Any idea on where I can obtain this that isnt sketchy? (ie i wouldnt feel weird putting my credit card number into some crazy website)


Charles Harrison (owner of the referenced website) happens to hold a Ph.D.

I've purchased from Doc several times without complaint.
Flubendazole and Levaisole hcl are water column dosed.
http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ItemsForSale.html


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## CytoEric (Apr 14, 2012)

I had camallanus worms that came in with an infected celebes rainbow and spread to the rest of my fish. They really suck. Prazipro won't work, but I was able to get rid of them using fenbendazole. You can buy it at petsmart in the dog section. It's sold as safe-guard and is used as a dog dewormer. It does not mix with water well, so soaking the fish food in it won't work (I tried). I ended up mixing it with unflavored gelatin and pellet food that I'd ground up in my coffee grinder. After it had solidified, I cut it into tiny pieces and the fish gobbled it up. Fed it that way for around a week and it took care of the adult worms. You do have to retreat after 3 weeks (I think) to take care of the eggs that have reinfected the fish. I did treat the tank with the prazipro in that time, just in case it was able to help with the eggs. Don't know if it helped at all, but I had it on hand and figured it couldn't hurt.


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## tiggity (Feb 21, 2012)

I used a dog dewormer I bought at petsmart. Since it doesn't dissolve in water very well, I crushed it, mixed it with water and let some bloodworms soak for half an hour. Fed it once a day for a week and did a huge water change. 

Also, it's not safe if you have snails in your tank. Forgot the name of the medicine but it was fenbendazole based I think


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

wkndracer said:


> Charles Harrison (owner of the referenced website) happens to hold a Ph.D.
> 
> I've purchased from Doc several times without complaint.
> Flubendazole and Levaisole hcl are water column dosed.
> http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ItemsForSale.html


+1. I used his recommended Levamisole water treatment of 23mg/L, repeat 3 weeks later. Though I did not order from him - given the number of tanks I had to treat and to have some left over for addition to QT protocol, it was cheaper to order "Vermisol", commonly sold for treatment of avians. Google turns up a number of sellers.

Flubendazole is supposed to work also, but will also kill snails.

NOTHING ELSE WORKS. I can't stress that enough.

Even Fenbendazole is iffy, in my opinion. The Angels Plus Fenbendazole flake was completely ineffective. Not all fish will eat enough, and even for those that did pig out, it was still insufficient to cure any fish in my case.

You can put more in food with dog dewormer, but still you may have fish that won't eat enough for an effective dose.

The Angels Plus Levamisole flake wasn't out yet when I had callamanus, so I haven't tried it. But since it's so water soluble that it has to be eaten within 10 seconds to deliver full potency, I expect it too will be hit and miss.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

wkndracer said:


> Charles Harrison (owner of the referenced website) happens to hold a Ph.D.
> 
> I've purchased from Doc several times without complaint.
> Flubendazole and Levaisole hcl are water column dosed.
> http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ItemsForSale.html


+1, I ordered the levasole(levamisole) from Charles too, one package less than the recommended dose, the worm disappear over night, have never seen them again in my tank.

before I ordered the levasole, I used pure fenbendazole 50-100 times more than the recommend dose for two weeks, both in fish food and water column, only suppressed the worm (or possibly wipe out the eggs) , but didn't kill the adult worm.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

wkndracer said:


> Charles Harrison (owner of the referenced website) happens to hold a Ph.D.
> 
> I've purchased from Doc several times without complaint.
> Flubendazole and Levaisole hcl are water column dosed.
> http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ItemsForSale.html


HA!... i see what your getting at, but I also happen to hold a PhD in public health. Just because he has a PhD doesn't make him trustworthy (I have plenty of colleagues that aren't!). But I definitely believe you all if everyone vouches.

I am going to try the flakes from Angelsplus first and see what happens then probably order from him to eradicate from tank. My first concern is ridding them of the issue to make sure they are able to take in needed nutrients, then i will bomb the tank with the meds from Charles


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

Bettatail said:


> +1, I ordered the levasole(levamisole) from Charles too, one package less than the recommended dose, the worm disappear over night, have never seen them again in my tank.
> 
> before I ordered the levasole, I used pure fenbendazole 50-100 times more than the recommend dose for two weeks, both in fish food and water column, only suppressed the worm (or possibly wipe out the eggs) , but didn't kill the adult worm.


Oh NOO???? Really???? Scratch the above post... I am ordering now


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Bettatail said:


> before I ordered the levasole, I used pure fenbendazole 50-100 times more than the recommend dose for two weeks, both in fish food and water column, only suppressed the worm (or possibly wipe out the eggs) , but didn't kill the adult worm.


This demonstrates another problem with Fenbendazole I forgot to mention. It's so poorly water soluble that it makes an ineffective water column treatment. Unless premixed with a strong solvent like acetone, and there have been some successful treatments using that method; but often with fish deaths due to the acetone!



msawdey said:


> Oh NOO???? Really???? Scratch the above post... I am ordering now


Excellent. This really is the best way, hands-down. I don't know what Charles' creds are, but he sure knows his callamanus worms. Took three months research and other failed treatment attempts before I finally followed his advice, and it did the trick. Though I wouldn't regret the previous order from Angels Plus, it may come in handy for something else. I have about a dozen of their products, and love and recommend them, but just not for callamanus.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

ordered from charles. He responded within two days and mailed the next day. Should get it tomorrow... I will follow up on this thread


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## kellysmith (Jan 31, 2013)

Diana said:


> Prazi pro is for internal parasites, I am looking now to see if it is specific for Camillanus.
> ... seems it is not.
> 
> Levamisole will work.
> ...


I had this problem two years ago, and again a year ago. Ordered from Charles on inkmkr.com and had a great experience. Killed those nasty little buggers once and for all. I cannot stress enough how essential Levamisole is in treating these bastards (including the worms in their other various lifecycles). Make sure that you follow the directions for dosing correctly and don't skimp out on the gravel siphon and repeat treatments. My understanding from my previous research is that the larvae stage of the worm is not killed by the drug, but rather paralyzed and sent to the bottom of the tank.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Exactly. So you don't kill them with the Levamisole. Instead you have to manually remove the worms/ larvae/ eggs so it's very difficult with substrate in the tank. Better off moving the fish to a bare bottom, treating them there a few times and removing the worms/ larvae or even better, move the fish again. I had to throw out the substrate to get rid of mine. If you don't, you will often relapse after a good long time. It took about eight months for me to get re-infested after the first treatment. Second time I treated the tank, then moved the fish (after the medication would be effective) to a bare bottom. I then treated again and then moved them back to the now freshly cleaned original tank. Problem solved.


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## lifeoffroad03 (Jan 29, 2013)

lipadj46 said:


> The most effective treatment will be levimasole:
> 
> http://www.jefferspet.com/product.asp?pn=a2-pi&camid=liv
> 
> you need a good mg scale though. Food with fenben. will work in a proper food preparation, just soaking pellets is going to reduce the effectiveness by a wide margin. Angelsplus has flake foods that have either lev. or fenben. already in it.


Agreed and you gotta get the real deal. I got a strait bag if powder from some place that supplies farms for deworming goats. No joke it was fine in 2 days and never came back. Coat me a pretty penny but I saved all my fish. They all had them from one new fish that didn't show them while in QT.


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## lifeoffroad03 (Jan 29, 2013)

jcgd said:


> Exactly. So you don't kill them with the Levamisole. Instead you have to manually remove the worms/ larvae/ eggs so it's very difficult with substrate in the tank. Better off moving the fish to a bare bottom, treating them there a few times and removing the worms/ larvae or even better, move the fish again. I had to throw out the substrate to get rid of mine. If you don't, you will often relapse after a good long time. It took about eight months for me to get re-infested after the first treatment. Second time I treated the tank, then moved the fish (after the medication would be effective) to a bare bottom. I then treated again and then moved them back to the now freshly cleaned original tank. Problem solved.


I totally disagree with this. I'm sorry if you actually had to do this but if you get pure levamisole I put in just the front part of a teaspoon for 55 gallons and they were gone in two days never to return. I tried all kinds of these other treatments. Even lost fish due to crazy treatments that didn't do jack. 

I did a good vacuum then treated a week later as directed and I've never had an issue again. With any worm for that matter.


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## kellysmith (Jan 31, 2013)

lifeoffroad03 said:


> I totally disagree with this. I'm sorry if you actually had to do this but if you get pure levamisole I put in just the front part of a teaspoon for 55 gallons and they were gone in two days never to return. I tried all kinds of these other treatments. Even lost fish due to crazy treatments that didn't do jack.
> 
> I did a good vacuum then treated a week later as directed and I've never had an issue again. With any worm for that matter.


It sounds a bit overboard to me as well, though I can definitely understand the frustration of a relapse. They recommend that you do three treatments about a week apart if I'm not mistaken. And definitely siphon the gravel. After that, you should be ok. Whether or not all that extra work is worth not having a mini heart attack every time a fish looks at you the wrong way .. I don't know haha. It was a stressful couple of months for me.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

kellysmith said:


> It sounds a bit overboard to me as well, though I can definitely understand the frustration of a relapse. They recommend that you do three treatments about a week apart if I'm not mistaken. And definitely siphon the gravel. After that, you should be ok. Whether or not all that extra work is worth not having a mini heart attack every time a fish looks at you the wrong way .. I don't know haha. It was a stressful couple of months for me.


that does sound a bit odd from what Charles directions were. Basically, he said one treatment should do the trick, but sent to 2 just in case and said to do them 2 weeks apart. It should be here today so I will dose tonight. As far as lifecycles of most parasites, if the medication kills the adult stage, there are a limited of number of "bugs" that will not be killed by the same medication. But from all my research, it looks like it would work as long as i do a good vacuum. (I have a PhD in Public health so i know a bit about parasites)

I just wanted this thread to be there for those who get it in the future. Everything I am reading is saying that they are becoming more common and the availability of medications that actually work are limited. I rely on this forum for everything tank related and hope that this thread will help people out in the future.


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## Edub (Mar 23, 2011)

*Callamanus WORMS... Anyone have experience? updated post*

Fenben did not work at all for me. Levasole (spelling?) worked like a magic charm.


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## ShortFin (Dec 27, 2005)

lipadj46 said:


> The most effective treatment will be levimasole:
> 
> http://www.jefferspet.com/product.asp?pn=a2-pi&camid=liv
> 
> you need a good mg scale though. Food with fenben. will work in a proper food preparation, just soaking pellets is going to reduce the effectiveness by a wide margin. Angelsplus has flake foods that have either lev. or fenben. already in it.


You can get some here too for $14.95. Please note the quantity difference: 52 grams vs 7.5 grams.

http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/medications/worms-wormers/586-levamisole-powder


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

You guys are right, I'm not saying you have to get rid of the substrate, or go bare bottom, but treatment is easy with bare bottom and hard with substrate. It depends on the degree of the outbreak as well. I hardly had an inch of substrate visible with the amount of hardscape and plants so I would've had to do some serious work to vacuum everywhere. A relatively bare tank may be fine with a good vacuum. 

Like I said, a relapse can take a long time so it's nice to be sure. You don't want a relapse to find out you've sold or moved some fish in the mean time.

I don't know how one would do a decent vacuum unless you are sparsely planted.


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

ShortFin said:


> You can get some here too for $14.95. Please note the quantity difference: 52 grams vs 7.5 grams.
> 
> http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/medications/worms-wormers/586-levamisole-powder


_*Really*_ look at what you are buying folks when you shop!
The Prohibit product is vendor listed as containing 46.8 grams of levamisole hydrochloride activity so while the package weight is 52 grams the devil is in the details.

The pigeon dosage listed in the link is for consumption not drench. Charles lists a drench dosage based on weight and chemical reactivity selling a pure chemical without filler or inerts being added in the packaging. The math conversion wasn't hard for me so the savings using Prohibit made sense to me based on the number of tanks I have to treat every year. 

Know what you are dumping in your tank.
Know you tanks actual water volume when dosing via solution.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

wkndracer said:


> _*Really*_ look at what you are buying folks when you shop!
> The Prohibit product is vendor listed as containing 46.8 grams of levamisole hydrochloride activity so while the package weight is 52 grams the devil is in the details.
> 
> The pigeon dosage listed in the link is for consumption not drench. Charles lists a drench dosage based on weight and chemical reactivity selling a pure chemical without filler or inerts being added in the packaging. The math conversion wasn't hard for me so the savings using Prohibit made sense to me based on the number of tanks I have to treat every year.
> ...


What racer is saying here is my biggest fear with using a medication meant for another animal in my tanks. Those medications are produced for goats and birds that are EXTREMELY different from fish or a water column. Remember we are putting a chemical into their ENTIRE environment. It is like dosing your bedroom with a medicated aerosol. 

On that note.... I dosed last night with the medication from Charles. Within almost 15 mins, I began to notice the worms being shed from one of my large males. The other male began shedding them a few hours later. The fish were not eating and an email from Charles regarding this made complete sense. As the medication takes effect, the 'knots' of the worm (where they attached) begin to pull away from the intestine. The fish probably have a feeling of complete satiation. With Charles instructions, I dosed the proper amount and will leave it in for 3 days with UV filter off, and any charcoal removed from filters (even though i don't have any). This includes Purigen. 

Before dosing, i changed 3/4 of tank water and will do so again after 3 days. I then dose again using the same instructions after 3 weeks to kill off any of the remaining worms that may have hatched in the mean time as the medication may not completely kill of eggs


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## ShortFin (Dec 27, 2005)

wkndracer said:


> _*Really*_ look at what you are buying folks when you shop!
> The Prohibit product is vendor listed as containing 46.8 grams of levamisole hydrochloride activity so while the package weight is 52 grams the devil is in the details.
> 
> The pigeon dosage listed in the link is for consumption not drench. Charles lists a drench dosage based on weight and chemical reactivity selling a pure chemical without filler or inerts being added in the packaging. The math conversion wasn't hard for me so the savings using Prohibit made sense to me based on the number of tanks I have to treat every year.
> ...


I don't see anything wrong with Vermisol.

Here is a posting on SimplyDiscus about using Vermisol. Check out post# 5 and #11.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?82475-Dosing-with-Vermiol-check-my-math

Also on Charle's pdf. Check what Ken wrote to Charles 9/26/96 on using the 7.5% solution.


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

Ask Sewingalot about mistaking Fenbendazole for Flubendazole.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showpost.php?p=1342425&postcount=1341

and there are a few others that have confused ratios when making conversions among other things when reading web advice. Less fillers and inerts in a compound I'm adding to one of my tanks is something I consider a good thing. 

I'll say it again and again,
Know what you are dumping in your tank.
Know you tanks actual water volume when dosing via solution.


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## Warlock (Feb 28, 2012)

http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/products.html

meds for EVERYTHING!!!!

the doses are simple and easy to understand.. pure forms

http://www.angelsplus.com/StoreSupplies.htm


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

Yup! something for everybody. (including snake oil & lemon drops for the kiddies)

A source most would blindly trust. There is absolutely no proof that any treatment will work and all research data to date states nothing effectively eliminates it in fish. _*Kanamycin specifically has been tested at several dosage levels without evidence of any effect on Mycobacteriosis infected fish. Study proven in laboratory conditions NOT to work.*_
Kanamycin Sulfate Powder
USE: Gram-negative bacteria and resistant strains of tuberculosis.
Works especially well in salt water aquariums.
DOSAGE: 1/4 teaspoon per 20 gallons of water.
Treat every 24 hours with a 25% water change before each treatment.
Treat for 10 days.
For tuberculosis, use for up to 30 days.
http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/products2.html
Why? Why treat a fish that cannot be cured?

fact: Myco is considered non-treatable.
Research paper after research paper and study after study stating there is no treatment that works and here's someone selling what is proven not to work in lab study. Can you say "let’s make money"?

Do your own due diligence. 
Know what you are dumping in your tank.
Know you tanks actual water volume when dosing via solution.


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## lipadj46 (Apr 6, 2011)

who cares? you can buy the meds from there, some that you cannot get elsewhere. I get my dosages from simplydiscus which is second hand from books or from a fish vet in FL.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

one thing i will say as of this morning, which is the final day of the dosage, is that this stuff will kill fish. Essentially, it is a poison to all living organisms in the tank. Most of the fish are holding strong and I will do a big water change tonight


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## marko d (Nov 5, 2012)

I had the worms in the fall of last year. Golden Wonder Killifish had stopped eating and noticed a while later red worms coming from the vent.

Charles got me the levamisol in very good time. First dose went well and I lost no fish. Re-dosed later as supposed to, lost the killi and 5 neons in a matter of an hour or so. All the other fish seemed to take it a lot harder than the first dose.

I'm assuming they are gone, altho last week I lost a sunset honey gourami out of the blue. Water parameters all in check. The gourami had not been eating any fish food since the last dose, nearly 4 months. Never saw the clear/stringy poo that I have heard can be related to the worms. Don't think it was related to the worms but it has me a little worried. Maybe it was just his/her time to go.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

msawdey said:


> one thing i will say as of this morning, which is the final day of the dosage, is that this stuff will kill fish. Essentially, it is a poison to all living organisms in the tank. Most of the fish are holding strong and I will do a big water change tonight


had cardinal and a big school of rummynose, plus some other different kind of fish in the tank at the time, about over 100 spirits but only 11 angelfish(the treatment subject), non of them acting weird or died from the levasole(levamisole) treatment, the tank is 168G.

Go Charles, his levasole is pure for sure, and it is really hard to find pure levasole in the States now, no more production. No confident on imported fish med that contains Levasole, been diluted too much.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

msawdey said:


> one thing i will say as of this morning, which is the final day of the dosage, is that this stuff will kill fish. Essentially, it is a poison to all living organisms in the tank.


That's a bad assumption.

By the time fish have clearly identifiable symptoms, they've got so many worms inside of them that they're already quite weak. And then quite suddenly, the worms die, and must ALL be successfully passed. This is a highly traumatic experience, and a lot can go wrong, resulting in fish death. They may either fail to detach and then rot, or clog up the intestines entirely. The callamanus treatment document linked earlier in this thread makes brief note of this:

_"Dead worms inside the fish may cause future mortality."_

But more documentation is available elsewhere.

I lost a few fish when I initially treated for widespread callamanus infestation in my tanks. But during the follow-up treatment to knock out any new worms from eggs, no losses. And also no losses during the many, many times I've used it subsequently, using it as part of my standard QT protocol.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

DarkCobra said:


> That's a bad assumption.
> 
> By the time fish have clearly identifiable symptoms, they've got so many worms inside of them that they're already quite weak. And then quite suddenly, the worms die, and must ALL be successfully passed. This is a highly traumatic experience, and a lot can go wrong, resulting in fish death. They may either fail to detach and then rot, or clog up the intestines entirely. The callamanus treatment document linked earlier in this thread makes brief note of this:
> 
> ...


I'm not basing that statement off an assumption. I'm basing it off of evaluation and observation of the fish. There is a reason this stuff kills the worms, snails, and crustaceans in a tank. Ultimately, any medication is a poison.

I have no doubt that what you are saying is correct, but not the only variable in the equation. The fish become noticeably sluggish while the tank is dosed. Yes, they do stop eating, but I noticed the sluggishness within an hour of dosing. If you look up the medication, you will see just how potent it is

That post was a follow up post of wkndracers posts of know what you are putting into your tank and make sure you follow the directions. There is an obvious reason to follow charles' instructions which was exactly what I had observed with my fish. If you overdose, it WILL KILL the fish


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

Bettatail said:


> had cardinal and a big school of rummynose, plus some other different kind of fish in the tank at the time, about over 100 spirits but only 11 angelfish(the treatment subject), non of them acting weird or died from the levasole(levamisole) treatment, the tank is 168G.
> 
> Go Charles, his levasole is pure for sure, and it is really hard to find pure levasole in the States now, no more production. No confident on imported fish med that contains Levasole, been diluted too much.


Yes, you are correct about the levamisole. This worries me as my research into the topic showed that this is happening more and more among keepers. levamisole appears to be the only viable option of treatment


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

msawdey said:


> I'm not basing that statement off an assumption. I'm basing it off of evaluation and observation of the fish. There is a reason this stuff kills the worms, snails, and crustaceans in a tank. Ultimately, any medication is a poison.


Now that is true, and I don't deny that uninfected fish sometimes seem a bit subdued. Or that the necessary dose is about half the fish LC50 I saw in one research paper. This worried me enough that my first treatment attempt was half what Charles recommended. It didn't work.

Though I haven't seen any snail deaths, or recall seeing anyone else report this. Did this happen for you? If not, are you possibly confusing Levamisole with Flubendazole, which is a guaranteed snail killer?



msawdey said:


> This worries me as my research into the topic showed that this is happening more and more among keepers. levamisole appears to be the only viable option of treatment


It worries me too. A lot. Callamanus is only becoming such an issue now because it's developed resistance to most common anthelmintics. If it develops improved resistance to Levamisole too, we're in trouble.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

DarkCobra said:


> Now that is true, and I don't deny that uninfected fish sometimes seem a bit subdued. Or that the necessary dose is about half the fish LC50 I saw in one research paper. This worried me enough that my first treatment attempt was half what Charles recommended. It didn't work.
> 
> Though I haven't seen any snail deaths, or recall seeing anyone else report this. Did this happen for you? If not, are you possibly confusing Levamisole with Flubendazole, which is a guaranteed snail killer?
> 
> ...


ya... i lost all of my snails... This is all if could have been. 

The fact that lev is hard to obtain is what is worrysome


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

I changed the water last night. Luckily i only had one fish die throughout the process, but all my snails are gone (except for pond snails... .god i hate those buggers)

I will redose in 2 weeks as per Charles' instructions. But for the most part, it looks as if it WORKED


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## lookimawave (Feb 23, 2012)

Ok, so good to know to remove my nerites before treating. I recently introduced a fish into my tank with Camallanus. But I'm wondering if I need to treat. I removed the fish within 36hrs of introducing it. I have very few snails in my actual tank, 2 nerites and maybe a few baby pond snails (though I do have pond snails growing in my filter arg!). As I understand, inverts are necessary for infection. So since I only have a few snails (and nerites don't seem to eat anything but my driftwood and algae) and since the infected fish was only in my tank for 36 hrs, would you guys say treatment is necessary? I'm more worried about the 100% water changes than the actual chemical. I'm currently treating for ick and my rummynose tetras are looking a bit raggedy.


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## marko d (Nov 5, 2012)

What is the reasoning for a 100% water change? Is there eggs or something in the water column? Seems like more stress for already stressed fish. 

If it's for removal of the chemical, wouldn't a large water change and carbon be a better option?


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## lookimawave (Feb 23, 2012)

marko d said:


> What is the reasoning for a 100% water change? Is there eggs or something in the water column? Seems like more stress for already stressed fish.
> 
> If it's for removal of the chemical, wouldn't a large water change and carbon be a better option?


From what I understand the Levamisole only kills the adult worm, not the free swimming larval stage so the 100% water changes are to remove those, but ya, 100% sounds really scary! I recently did a 50% when changing my substrate and my rummynose tetras went pale and wouldn't talk to me afterwards.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

The large water change i assume is to remove EVERYTHING else from the tank so that its just water and Lev. Lev will kill most eggs from the research i have done depending on the stage of development, but the whole point of treatment is to do it twice. I am moving on to my second treatment tonight. Hopefully these littler buggers are completely gone after this.


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## switch26 (Jan 25, 2012)

I just noticed this post.. I got Camallanus worms or whatever in one of my Golden rams, and didn't know what it was til he got really bad.. I first went to Tractor supply and got Fendbendazole or whatever.. and soaked blood worms in it and then treated. Didn't work all that well.. I had to wait for a Vet to get Levamisol for me. Some tractor supplies have it apparently so if some of you guys are struggling to find it check out any tractor supply stores. My host fish died the night before i got the Levamisole.. My rams were all store bred, so idk where i got the worm from..

Anyway, i did a 24 hour treatment twice and it seemed to clear up the worms in my rams.. All of their color returned and they began scooting around the tank as usual.

I returned everything back to my 30 gallon out of the Quarantined 5 gallon.. as none of my other fish have any signs of it. But just in case i did do 1 treatment on my 30 gallon and plan to do another one probably next wk just in case..

They suggest to vacuum your gravel and drain the water because of the eggs from the worms and Levamisol doesn't necessarily kill the worms, it just stuns them then they fall into your tank.. that is why they say to vacuum. 

Can't believe no one has posted this article, but you all need to read this if you have any issues with C. Worms

http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/levamisole-hydrochloride-1


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

switch26 said:


> I just noticed this post.. I got Camallanus worms or whatever in one of my Golden rams, and didn't know what it was til he got really bad.. I first went to Tractor supply and got Fendbendazole or whatever.. and soaked blood worms in it and then treated. Didn't work all that well.. I had to wait for a Vet to get Levamisol for me. Some tractor supplies have it apparently so if some of you guys are struggling to find it check out any tractor supply stores. My host fish died the night before i got the Levamisole.. My rams were all store bred, so idk where i got the worm from..
> 
> Anyway, i did a 24 hour treatment twice and it seemed to clear up the worms in my rams.. All of their color returned and they began scooting around the tank as usual.
> 
> ...


Hi switch

I dont want to scare you, but all of the research i have seen (and yes, i came upon that article) states exactly what charles wrote about this this article.(http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/CamellanusTreatment.pdf)

I HIGHLY doubt 24 hours of treatment was enough. These are parasites, not bacteria are are NOT easily killed. Simply dosing and then expecting just to vaccum them out are the reason we are seeing resistant strains of C worms. They are extremely hardy parasites and everything i have seen stated treatment for 3 days twice. I know the entire post is alot, but most of what you posted here is discussed within all of the posts. The Lev actually does completely kill the worm. I watched this happen over a 3 day period as my large angels got rid of them.


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## Leighkai76 (Jul 19, 2012)

Just wanted to pipe in and say I also bought from Charles and so far it seems to have worked. I unfortunately bought from ebay first and that stuff had no effect.


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## switch26 (Jan 25, 2012)

Sorry if I wasn't that clear in my explanation. I also contacted that Charles guy, he responded to me once, then never returned an email so I went elsewhere for my levamisole. 

Anyway, I followed his instructions as well. When i mentioned 24 hours, it also depends on how strong the levamisole you are dosing as well..

Like some of the people mention, putting in more than what is called for doesn't hurt the fish.

Don't worry I did treat my Rams 3 times, I just dosed the recommended dosage and let it go in my tank for 24 hours, then did a water changed. Several days later I dosed again.

I no longer see any worms. I do understand that C. Worms are very resistant, but most become this way if they are born in fish farms where they became resistant to lots of medications.. The fish i bought were raised in a pet store and didn't have all the fish farm type meds. So far all my fish are completely fine.

Like i said i plan on treating my tank several more times to be sure. Even though I don't have any more fish showing any issues. At least I have a cure if they get it again.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

The thing with buying lev and other meds meant for other animals, is many times there are other additives. Pure lev is extremly hard to find and Charles was pretty much the only source. 

It did take him nearly a week to get back to me after submitting the request. I think we will need more input from other people regarding the reaction of fish to lev though. Nearly everyone of my fish became sluggish and refused to eat for 2 days following dosage. Additionally, i lost all snails


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## switch26 (Jan 25, 2012)

see I had a completely different reaction. After 24 hours my Rams that were infected with C. Worms, were active and all their color had come back. Their appetite came back better than ever too. What is included in the Levamisole you got?

When they were infected i could see the worms coming out of them and my fish would just sit on the bottom and wouldn't eat..

The next day like i mentioned they were swimming all over and color had come back. I since dosed another one for them.

The levamisole i got from a Vet in a neighboring town worked great. Ill have to look when i get home tomorrow to see exactly what it was.. but it is the powder form and it isn't 10% like most people say.. It is a much higher concentration

I was lucky I was able to get ahold of it without a prescription.. they are kind of a hillbilly middle of nowhere Vet office and they didn't care.


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## switch26 (Jan 25, 2012)

forgot to add, im pretty sure I got the good levamisole without a bunch of additives.. Prob why it worked so well. I on the other hand didn't have an issue with it killing all my snails.. Although i do have a lot of them.. some may have died, but i definitely don't mind. 

They were eating all my Ram's eggs


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

Ya... we definitely need more people to post their experiences. Charles believed it was due to the knots of the worms detaching in the fishes intestines. Which from a biological stand point, makes sense. My fish were definitely back to normal within 1 hour of me removing the lev from the water column. In fact, they are eating like horses now. 

I really noticed it the worms take it hard to my Bolivian rams. My female i don't think has fully recovered, but she is back to eating a lot once again and most of her color and fins have come back. 

If i was to buy lev from anywhere else. It definitely would be a vet. I would stay clear of buying it from an online source besides charles

but i definitely appreciate this conversation, because i know all of these posts will help someone else one day


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## switch26 (Jan 25, 2012)

yea i agree.. it makes sense that it will depend on how bad they have the worms.. like my fish only had 1 or 2 worms at the most sticking out.. 

When my 2 golden rams in my QT'ed tank got better i didn't see any of the worms in the bottom of the tank.. I have no gravel in it so it was easy to see anything that came out of them.. My filter did suck up a lot though. I had been feeding them blood worms to pass the worms quicker, and some of the fecal matter was extremely dark red, which could of included some of the worms in them? That was when I noticed that they were much healthier and swimming about in the tank instead of idling and sitting by themselves in the corner. Hope i don't have to deal with this again, but for 30 dollars my Vet got me 100 grams, which is basically a lifetime supply of the stuff lol.


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## marko d (Nov 5, 2012)

My experience seems different than most peoples. My fish were fine for the first dose, then lost after retreating 3 weeks later. Same procedure.

I'm pretty sure my ram has them, based soley on clear, stringy waste. Not every time, but enough to make me think so. Its eating normal, good color, actively swimming. 

Based on my first experience, I am hesitant to use levamisole again. But don't want to wait until its too late. I've got some on the way.


_Posted from Plantedtank.net App for Android_


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## switch26 (Jan 25, 2012)

because they have long stringy feces doesn't always mean they have a parasite, or worm like C. Worm..

They could be constipated, or several other stomach issues. Just keep an eye on them. If they have C. Worms they should be sticking out of the anal area


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

when you msg Charles, make sure be specific and show him proof that you are a fish tank enthusiast, but not a crack head. he sure will provide help to the fish keepers instead of guys who want to make their cocaine weight more(diluted), lol.


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