Nematode Infestations
Contents:
- Altispinosas & Rams
by toado <toado/ihug.co.nz> (Sun, 02 Mar 1997)
- Altispinosas & Rams
by Ken Laidlaw <kl/jach.hawaii.edu> (Mon, 3 Mar 1997)
- Altispinosas & Rams
by toado <toado/ihug.co.nz> (Fri, 07 Mar 1997)
- Altispinosas & Rams
by toado <toado/ihug.co.nz> (Fri, 07 Mar 1997)
- Nematode?
by Ken Laidlaw <kl/jach.hawaii.edu> (Thu, 13 Mar 1997)
- Nematode treatment.
by Ken Laidlaw <kl/jach.hawaii.edu> (Wed, 19 Mar 1997)
- RE: Worms...
by Ken Laidlaw <K.Laidlaw/roe.ac.uk> (Wed, 14 Jan 1998)
- It's a matter of Breeding
by "Maladorno, Dionigi \(DRUG;Nutley\)" <DIONIGI.MALADORNO/roche.com> (Wed, 14 Jan 1998)
- RE: It's a matter of Breeding
by Ken Laidlaw <K.Laidlaw/roe.ac.uk> (Thu, 15 Jan 1998)
- Thanks for the help with my nematode problem
by "Drozdz, Susan A. CER" <s-drozdz/cecer.army.mil> (Fri, 13 Nov 1998)
- Tramisol
by "Brown, Victoria: TMI" <Brown.Victoria/ic.gc.ca> (Tue, 24 Nov 1998)
- LevamisoleHCl
by "ALEX PASTOR" <alexp/idirect.com> (Thu, 21 Jan 1999)
- Wasting taeniatus
by Ken Laidlaw <K.Laidlaw/roe.ac.uk> (Fri, 22 Jan 1999)
- 100 small white worms
by krombhol/teclink.net (Paul Krombholz) (Thu, 21 Jan 1999)
- Fw: cammalanus worms
by pisces/git.com.au (Sat, 27 Mar 1999)
- cammalanus
by Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise/bewellnet.com> (Sun, 18 Apr 1999)
- cammalanus
by Kathy Olson <kathy/thekrib.com> (Fri, 16 Apr 1999)
- levamisole
by "alex pastor" <alexp/idirect.com> (Fri, 16 Apr 1999)
- levamisole
by Jota Melgar <jsmelgar/compuserve.com> (Fri, 16 Apr 1999)
- levamisole
by Ken Simolo <Simolo/chem.chem.rochester.edu> (Mon, 19 Apr 1999)
- a while back...
by "alex pastor" <alexp/idirect.com> (Sun, 27 Jun 1999)
- apisto with intestinal worms
by "gkadar" <gkadar/idirect.ca> (Thu, 13 Apr 2000)
- apisto with intestinal worms
by "gkadar" <gkadar/idirect.ca> (Thu, 13 Apr 2000)
- apisto with intestinal worms
by "Bolton Museum, Art Gallery & Aquarium" <bolnathist/gn.apc.org> (Sat, 15 Apr 2000)
- Apisto with worms follow up
by "Simon" <svavev/hunterlink.net.au> (Sat, 15 Apr 2000)
- worms
by Sarah LeGates <slegates/yahoo.com> (Wed, 4 Apr 2001)
- Listless Eunotus and some notes about levamisole treatment
by Biplane10/aol.com (Sat, 16 Dec 2000)
by toado <toado/ihug.co.nz>
Date: Sun, 02 Mar 1997
To: Tracie Alfieri <Talfie/ix.netcom.com>
Tracie Alfieri wrote:
> <snip>
> > I have a problem, primarily with these 2 species developing some type of
> infection and gradually wasting away. It seems to be some type of
> urinary infection?? The anal area gets red and swollen and seems to have
> something resembling fibers (sp) sticking out of it.
<snip>
This sounds very much to me like a nematode infection, aka "roundworm".
If you try a postmortem exam with tweezers I expect you'll find those
fibers extend to worms up to 1cm long living in the intestine.
All the rams and altispinozas we get here in NZ come from Singapore and
I've never found any yet that weren't badly infected.The solution
-cattle drench!.
I've used levamisole.HCl at 5ppm sucessfully.If you havent any access to
a good chemical supply you should be able to pick some up as 'Nilverm'
from any agrochemical supplier. You'll only need a few ml so smile
nicely and you might get it for free. Failing that save up and try a vet
that handles cattle,sheep horses and the like.
Best of luck
Toado
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by Ken Laidlaw <kl/jach.hawaii.edu>
Date: Mon, 3 Mar 1997
To: Tracie Alfieri <Talfie/ix.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Dear Tracie,
Fibres sticking out of the fish, sounds like the nematode worm
"Cammallanus" When the fish moves forward look closely and you may see
them moving back up into the fish. I have succesfully treated this in the
past using a drug called Levamisole Hydrochloride recommended by a vet.
It is actually a cattle worming drug. In the UK at least you can purchase
it without prescription from farmyard suppliers.
Ken.L
On Sun, 2 Mar 1997, Tracie Alfieri wrote:
> I have a question that I have been asking..and asking..etc. and never
> received an answer. And, duh, I never thought until now to ask it here.
> I have a problem, primarily with these 2 species developing some type of
> infection and gradually wasting away. It seems to be some type of
> urinary infection?? The anal area gets red and swollen and seems to have
> something resembling fibers (sp) sticking out of it. I'm not sure if it
> is just the females, or males also; but I have alot of trouble keeping
> either alive. I recently bought a largish pair of altispinosas and they
> bred almost immediately. I only ended up with 2 babies though. (my
> carelessness.) I put them together again to breed and noticed that one
> has this dreaded infection. I would love to be able to properly care for
> these fish, but don't know what to use to treat this problem.
>
> TIA,
> Tracie
>
> PS- this may not be the best place for this...sorry in advance if it's
> not. I have recently set up a brackish tank and was told in addition to
> chromides and kribs I could also place Mozambique mouthbrooders
> (Oreochromis mossambicus) in it. If anyone has any experience with this
> fish, or knows of a source, please e-mail me privately so as to not to
> take up any more room on the list. (I have Baensch's Altas, but it's not
> very helpful concerning this guy!)
>
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by toado <toado/ihug.co.nz>
Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997
To: Ken Laidlaw <kl/jach.hawaii.edu>
Kathryn Knudsen wrote:
>What is cattle drench?
Any liquid used to treat ruminants for pests or deficiencies of some
kind!.
Originally products used to coat cattle hides for flies, the term now
gets used for mineral supplements given to giraffes.
Ken Laidlaw wrote:
> I have never fed tubifex because I was always warned of the disease risk.
I'm not sure about nematodes but you can get just about everyting else
from tubifex. Ken's right, why risk it. Then again the only frozen blood
worm I can get come from Hong Kong- Great food but I'm suspicious,
comments anyone?.
<snip>
> guess better quarantine could have prevented this but they are easy to
> overlook.
There's an understatement, sometimes takes a month or so to become
obvious.
In the end secondary bacterial infection kills your fish (bloat).
> As for Piperazine,
Look to where the money is. The aquarium trade is miniscule so theyr'e
still selling stains as anti-microbials :(. Humans don't get tapeworm or
nematodes often so theres not much investment. However pastoral
agriculture's got a multi-billion dollar problem. There's where to find
the product.
<snip>
> I thought this had worked but the worms came back after a month or so. I
> guessed that the larval form (eggs or young in the water/gravel) survived.
Sounds right to me. This is also the problem with fenbendazole
('Panacur' and dog/cat wormers) and oxfendazole ('Systamex' -metabolises
to fenbendazole giving more lasting availiability). Unless the active is
water soluble it seems you're bound to get another attack. I've seen
Ivermectin suggested but it's too toxic for my comfort.
> The levamisole really did the trick though.
> I had no information on adding the powder directly to the water.
No money in aquaria :(. About 5ppm levamisole worked for me. With all
these treatments assume your fish are going to die anyway, add a little
and if it doesn't work, try some more!. Thats why these lists pooling
knowledge are great.
Levamisole itself isn't soluble so get the hydrochloride if you can.
If you can't buy it as the active "Nilverm" is your next best bet. Some
of the generic formulations aren't so great. Nilverm comes in a few
flavours,
with/without mineral supplements, 4% or 20% active etc., get it plain if
you can.
Some vet in Nigeria even fed the stuff to village children as a tonic
once, apparently it worked a treat!. I'm an industrial chemist and once
worked for the local manufacturers. They (I hope) can't sue me too
easily any more so here's a little disclosure from memory.
It also contains: dye(obviously)-nothing to worry about here. Thickeners
are Xanthan gum, Methyl Cellulose, and PolyVinylPyrollidone. These
should give your fish an excllent slime coat, they're found in several
aquarium products for this purpose. The buffer is Citric acid/Sodium
Citrate (pH ~4.5) -not enough to affect those apistos. Antioxidants are
sodium metabisulfite (dechlorinates the water too!), NaEDTA (should help
to get the iron level up a litte for your plants) and ascorbic acid (aka
vitamin C, A.Thiel sells this as a tonic for your fish, and its a
supplement in most good flake. Clouds the water slightly though). As I
recall the rest is water (kills more people than any other chemical :)).
In short Nilverm may as well have been formulated especially for
aquaria.
Fishes for all!
Toado.
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by toado <toado/ihug.co.nz>
Date: Fri, 07 Mar 1997
To: Ken Laidlaw <kl/jach.hawaii.edu>
Kathryn Knudsen wrote:
>What is cattle drench?
Any liquid used to treat ruminants for pests or deficiencies of some
kind!.
Originally products used to coat cattle hides for flies, the term now
gets used for mineral supplements given to giraffes.
Ken Laidlaw wrote:
> I have never fed tubifex because I was always warned of the disease risk.
I'm not sure about nematodes but you can get just about everyting else
from tubifex. Ken's right, why risk it. Then again the only frozen blood
worm I can get come from Hong Kong- Great food but I'm suspicious,
comments anyone?.
<snip>
> guess better quarantine could have prevented this but they are easy to
> overlook.
There's an understatement, sometimes takes a month or so to become
obvious.
In the end secondary bacterial infection kills your fish (bloat).
> As for Piperazine,
Look to where the money is. The aquarium trade is miniscule so theyr'e
still selling stains as anti-microbials :(. Humans don't get tapeworm or
nematodes often so theres not much investment. However pastoral
agriculture's got a multi-billion dollar problem. There's where to find
the product.
<snip>
> I thought this had worked but the worms came back after a month or so. I
> guessed that the larval form (eggs or young in the water/gravel) survived.
Sounds right to me. This is also the problem with fenbendazole
('Panacur' and dog/cat wormers) and oxfendazole ('Systamex' -metabolises
to fenbendazole giving more lasting availiability). Unless the active is
water soluble it seems you're bound to get another attack. I've seen
Ivermectin suggested but it's too toxic for my comfort.
> The levamisole really did the trick though.
> I had no information on adding the powder directly to the water.
No money in aquaria :(. About 5ppm levamisole worked for me. With all
these treatments assume your fish are going to die anyway, add a little
and if it doesn't work, try some more!. Thats why these lists pooling
knowledge are great.
Levamisole itself isn't soluble so get the hydrochloride if you can.
If you can't buy it as the active "Nilverm" is your next best bet. Some
of the generic formulations aren't so great. Nilverm comes in a few
flavours,
with/without mineral supplements, 4% or 20% active etc., get it plain if
you can.
Some vet in Nigeria even fed the stuff to village children as a tonic
once, apparently it worked a treat!. I'm an industrial chemist and once
worked for the local manufacturers. They (I hope) can't sue me too
easily any more so here's a little disclosure from memory.
It also contains: dye(obviously)-nothing to worry about here. Thickeners
are Xanthan gum, Methyl Cellulose, and PolyVinylPyrollidone. These
should give your fish an excllent slime coat, they're found in several
aquarium products for this purpose. The buffer is Citric acid/Sodium
Citrate (pH ~4.5) -not enough to affect those apistos. Antioxidants are
sodium metabisulfite (dechlorinates the water too!), NaEDTA (should help
to get the iron level up a litte for your plants) and ascorbic acid (aka
vitamin C, A.Thiel sells this as a tonic for your fish, and its a
supplement in most good flake. Clouds the water slightly though). As I
recall the rest is water (kills more people than any other chemical :)).
In short Nilverm may as well have been formulated especially for
aquaria.
Fishes for all!
Toado.
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by Ken Laidlaw <kl/jach.hawaii.edu>
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 1997
To: "Edward G. Chappee" <echappee/ncia.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
On Thu, 13 Mar 1997, Edward G. Chappee wrote:
> I moved my nijsseni yesterday and today there appears to be a thin
> thread-like worm coming from the anus of one of the fish. I have removed
> the affected fish to a quarrantine tank. This fish has become bloated in
> the past 24 hrs but has not become listless or skittish. Does this sound
> like a nematode worm? If so, how should I treat the problem?
>
> Thanks,
> Ed Chappee
Yes - Camallanus sp.
Can be treated with the drug Levamisole Hydrochloride which is a farm
animal worming treatment. It can be bought from farmyard suppliers
without a prescription. It is simply a case of adding a dose (can't
remember off the top of my head) to the water and doing a 100% water
change after 24 hours.
Get back to me if interested and I'll dig out the dosage.
Ken.L
ps this is a nasty parasite. Before I found out a reliable treatment I
lost almost a complete brood (about 25 fish) of A.nijsseni which were
nearing adulthood.
>
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>
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by Ken Laidlaw <kl/jach.hawaii.edu>
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 1997
To: apisto <apisto/aquaria.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Here is the treatment doseage I have used to successfully treat
Cammallanus nematode infestation.
Drug - Levacide (TM) = Levamisole Hydrochloride 7.5% concentration.
Note: different concentrations can be used e.g. 1,5% just adjust
quantity accordingly.
Dose - 1ml in 7.5litres of tank water. First mix required quantity in
luke warm water. Then pour into tank.
After 24 hours perform 100% water change if possible.
Treat all tanks and fish not just those showing signs of
infestation.
The amount available from farm suppliers (usually 0.5l) is obviously
enough to treat 3750l (approx 900 gallons) so it is quite affordable.
This amount cost $18UK = $25US. If you have given fish to friends you
could also treat there tanks.
Regards,
Ken.L
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by Ken Laidlaw <K.Laidlaw/roe.ac.uk>
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
> I was wondering if pulling out the intestinal worms might cause internal
> bleeding. Do you know if these worms might attach themselves and be
> "ripped" out by my tweezer method?
>
Do not rip them out. These are almost certainly Cammalanus
sp. which bury there spiked heads into the intestinal wall.
I have managed to completely erradicate them using a drug
called Levamisole hydrochloride (levaside TM) which is a
livestock wormer.
I'll dig out the doseage later and post.
I'll just say first that this is a real pest to dwarfs and
killies. I introduced it into a 55gallon holding/grow out
tank at one time via a pair of A.cacatuoides and almost as
soon as I noticed it nearly all the other fish were
infected. I tried piperazine (human worming powder) which
I soaked bloodworm in and it seemed to lessen for a while
but soon came back worse.
In the end I lost many fish including most (~15) of my
A.nijsseni fry which were just sexing out. If you can't
see it yet on your other fish you must remove them now
before it is too late. When you use a treatment method
though treat all fish that have been in contact with the
infected fish.
Ken.
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by "Maladorno, Dionigi \(DRUG;Nutley\)" <DIONIGI.MALADORNO/roche.com>
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998
To: "'apisto/majordomo.pobox.com'" <apisto/majordomo.pobox.com>
"Pollowy, Richard" <rpollowy-at-INTEGRACAP.com>
wrote: <<<<Subject: "It's a matter of Breeding" (...)
The aformentioned Bolivian Rams (Microgeophagus Altispinosa) seem to
have a case of worm/nematodes. Symptoms: tiny red pin shaped "spikes"
hanging out their anus and have clamped fins. I've tried Hexamite
unsuccessfully and a deworming medication with pellets and frozen brine
shrimps. I actually removed several with a tiny pair of tweezers. All
remedies aside, they still have these damn worms sticking out their
butts!!!! WHAT CAN I DO?>>>>>
Your diagnosis seems right. As Erik mentioned, piperazine (available
also for aquarium use from, if I am not wrong, Aquatronics) is one
choice.
Another simple approach is to use Fluke-Tabs, one tablet/10 gal only
once (repeted treatments or higher doses may not be well tolerated.
Lower doses may be ineffective). I wrote a paper on discus diseases
(available in AWMagazine, on the Web) where I also give info on
flubenol, which is another possibility. The Tetra medicated food or
metronidazole on the contrary will be ineffective.
Some Discus keepers mix garlic extract with their beefheart, because it
seems effective in repelling nematodes out of the guts of the fishes
that eat it. It's not 100% proven, but it causes no harm and some people
(including myself) do not mind to use it. I never tried it on apistos,
but I wonder if they would accept flakes or tetra bits soked in a
diluted garlic extract (you seem quite gastronomically oriented in your
post, and maybe you are the right men who can give a try!)
.
Another opinion: FORGET ABOUT THE TWEEZERS!
Let us know how things go. Bye
Dionigi
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by Ken Laidlaw <K.Laidlaw/roe.ac.uk>
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
Hi Richard,
> Does anyone know how to obtain Levamisole Hydrochloride in the Toronto
> area. There don't seem to be any tropical fish vets out there and you
> need a prescription to obtain some.
> Most annoying!
Have you tried a livestock supplier, perhaps you could lie
and say it is for your pigs.
In the UK you do not need (at least you didn't 2 years ago)
a prescription and the UK has very tight drug laws. e.g.
you cannot buy any anti-biotic products without a
prescription.
Or, you could go to a regular vet with some articles from
the web and beg him to give you the prescription. The vet
I saw didn't particularly know anything about fish but I
took a fish along saying that I thought they were
nematodes, he then read up and recommended the drug &
doseage.
What about the US, could you have it sent from there to you.
Alternatively if you only need a few ml then I could spare
some, I'm a bit worried though about having the drug squad
at my door. Perhaps it is noty a good idea, never really
fancied prison!
Regards,
Ken.
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by "Drozdz, Susan A. CER" <s-drozdz/cecer.army.mil>
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
I went over to the local Farm and Fleet and bought enough levamisole
hydrochloride to treat 200 25-lb pigs (or 25 200-lb pigs!). I used a
laboratory scale to weigh out the appropriate dose for my 29 gallon tank
(estimated 25 gallons of water). All of the fish survived, and the pair
that was badly infected are now free of any visible parasites or
irritation. All fish are eating well, too. I haven't identified the
fish yet. The might be A. borelli. I bought them a few weeks ago as
"dwarf umbrella cichlids with nematodes."
Thanks to all who responded.
Susan Drozdz
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by "Brown, Victoria: TMI" <Brown.Victoria/ic.gc.ca>
Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998
To: apisto-digest/majordomo.pobox.com
Hi Folks,
I had a nematode outbreak in some Viejitta's afew months ago. I got a bottle
of Levamisol, (Tramisol), in the form of sheep dewormers. These pills are
huge. What I did was took 5 oblets,, ground them up, mixed them with some
tank water, removed the carbon, and dumped them in the tank. The water went
milky cloudy, but the fish didn't seem to mind. By the next morning the tank
had cleared. I left this dosage in for another day. The next morning the
tank was so cloudy I couldn't even see the fish. I then did a 60% water
change on the tank and put back in carbon. The fish were totally cured, and
havn't had any probs with nematodes since. These fish are still alive and
doing great. They have even spawned.
worked great
Vicky
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by "ALEX PASTOR" <alexp/idirect.com>
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999
To: "apisto" <apisto/majordomo.pobox.com>
Now you guys tell me!!!!
I couldn't find it in injectible form _anywhere_ . Nobody, at the time,
even suggested that an injectible form exists. Even the drug companies who
make the stuff. Maybe, since I live in a city and don't have rural
connections this was clearly a handicap in this case.
Nevertheless, I received a drug information sheet from one of the drug
companies. That's where I obtained the info re: drug activity and pH. The
water must be kept as acidic as possible. (I had mine at 6.4 -6.6) At
least keep it below 7.
Dr. G. Kadar
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by Ken Laidlaw <K.Laidlaw/roe.ac.uk>
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
I've used the levamisole as a liquid and it worked straight
away on removing the worms. It too was available from
farm suppliers. Only a very small amount is required,
perhaps the pill has a lot of inactive ingredients and it
doesn't dissolve easily.
One problem after a heavy infestation is that there may be
damage to the intestinal walls where infection can set in
(I'm not a medic, just guessing).
Ken.
*****************************
Ken Laidlaw
UK Astronomy Technology Centre
Royal Observatory, Edinburgh
Web: http://www.roe.ac.uk
*****************************
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by krombhol/teclink.net (Paul Krombholz)
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999
>From: "Dennis J. Harney" <harneyd1@muohio.edu>
>"Jamie Johnson" wrote...
>>100 small white worms, ~1 mm in size.
>>...verified they were planaria
>
>Be very sure they are planaria. I too had what I thought to
>be a harmless infestation of small, ~1 mm white worms.
>Under a dissecting scope, they had segments and setae
>(little hairs at each joint). Their mouth area did not look
>very harmless. The closest thing I could compare it to was
>a worm of the genus Camallanus. Making a long story short,
>I scoured the web to no avail and 2 weeks later, everything
>in my tank was dead. The fish would begin to bloat, die,
>and then worms would stream out. The tank was dense with
>them. I tried a few different worm meds and even physically
>filtering them out along. Nothing worked. After everything
>was dead (except one lone danio which is still in a tank,
>alone with chara--"stonewort") I bleached the entire tank
>and broke it down.
If they had segments and setae, they would be Annelids, namely freshwater
oligochaetes. Camallanus is a nematode and should not have segments or
setae. Also, Camallanus is entirely parasitic and does not have a
free-living stage, except a brief swimming stage as tiny larvae. These
must be eaten by invertebrates, such as Cyclops, and then the invertebrates
have to be eaten by the fish. . Are you sure the worms were coming out of
the dead fish? The freshwater oligochaetes are scavengers, and it seems
more possible to me that they may have been feeding on the dead fish.
Obviously something caused the death and destruction, but I doubt it could
have been the worms you describe.
........<snip>........
>
>I realy hope what you have is not what I had. One friend of
>mine swears it was shistosomiasis. I think it did come in
>with some snails so maybe that theory is not as ridiculous
>as it sounds.
Schistosomes (blood flukes) wouldn't kill the fish. Tiny swimming forms,
called cercariae emerge from snails and swim in the water or hang at the
water surface until they are picked up by the final host, which, are either
water birds or mammals, depending on the species of schistosome. Fish are
not known to be hosts of schistosomes.
Paul Krombholz, in central Mississippi, with severe storms and possible
tornadoes on the way.
by pisces/git.com.au
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1999
To: eriko/wrq.com
----------
> From: Terry & Ronda Rowlands <pisces@git.com.au>
> To: erik@thekrib.com.uk
> Subject: cammalanus worms
> Date: Saturday, 27 March 1999 21:02
>
> Hi Erik
> I found your site in the Apistogramma archieves while looking for a cure
> for cammalanus worms and I found this information.
>
> Here is the treatment doseage I have used to successfully treat
> Cammallanus nematode infestation.
>
> Drug - Levacide (TM) = Levamisole Hydrochloride 7.5% concentration.
> Note: different concentrations can be used e.g. 1,5% just adjust
> quantity accordingly.
>
> Dose - 1ml in 7.5litres of tank water. First mix required quantity in
> luke warm water. Then pour into tank.
> After 24 hours perform 100% water change if possible.
> Treat all tanks and fish not just those showing signs of
> infestation.
>
> I have purchased some Nilverm pig & poultry wormer, the active
constituent
> is: 16g/L Levamisole hydrochloride equivalent to 14g/:L Levamisole. By
my
> calculations this is 1.5% Levamisole and I should increase the dosage by
5
> times to be the equivalent of 7.5% concentration. This seems very strong
> to me and I am reluctant to use it. Could you please confirm that this
is
> the right dosage rate.
>
> Thanking you in anticipation
>
> Terry
>
by Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise/bewellnet.com>
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999
To: apisto/admin.listbox.com
Bob,
In Andrews, et. al. The Manual of Fish Health it says, "Although Camallanus
nematodes usually require a copepod ('water flea') intermediate host to convey
the juvenile worm from fish to fish, this parasite also appears to be able to
pass from fish to fish directly - at least for several generations.
Mike Wise
IDMiamiBob@aol.com wrote:
> G Kadar writes:
>
> > When I had "the problem" with the worms, I did some research and it seems
> > they need another host(s).
> <<snip>
>
> What type of other host does it need? If it is a snail, then that may be
> small comfort for many of us, especially those who swap plants and get snails
> in the process. Last week I found a dragonfly nymph in my grow-out tank that
> could only have gotten there from a plant-swap with someone from the Aquatic
> Plants Digest.
>
> Bob Dixon
>
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by Kathy Olson <kathy/thekrib.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999
To: apisto/admin.listbox.com
You guys are lucky. can't buy levamisole in the US. So if next time you
make a run down the Seattle way let me know. I would love to get some.
Turns out they think it may be carcinogenic, so don't get it on you hands,
and if so just wash it off well.
We use to wash chickens in sheep dip when I was a kid as a way of getting
rid of lice. Oh well, there have been a lot things taken off the market
here.
I used fluke tabs on the hongsloi I got from Vancouver, we will see how
they do. The female that was the worst still looks infected but better
after two days.
Kathy
On Fri, 16 Apr 1999 Apflanzeneh@webtv.net wrote:
> I have some of the same group of fish as vern does.These fish were
> brought in from germany to a local wholesaler here in Van. I gave a pair
> to a list member in Seattle,and the wholesaler also sold some to stores
> in the Seattle area,the fish in question are hongsloi.So people reading
> this in seattle might want to check,just to make sure.
>
> First I lost a female hongsloi,2 days later I woke to find a tank with
> another pair of hongsloi,3 female aggies dead,and 1 male aggie
> struggling ...later dead.
> Anyways ,pretty sure it's worms of some sort (cammalanus) has been
> indicated to me.
>
> The levamisloe that I purchased is called levamisole phosphate.......
> equivalent to 136.5 mg levamisole HCI per mL.
> Is this the right stuff? And what would the dosage be at this ratio?
>
> Will it harm shrimp,snails or plants,what about fry?
>
> thanks for any further help
>
> Steve
> Van. B.C
>
>
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
by "alex pastor" <alexp/idirect.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999
To: "apisto" <apisto/admin.listbox.com>
This drug will not affect your biological filter, nor the snails or anything
else. It is very specific in that it is a broad-spectrum anti-helminthic.
It is actually safer to use than any other anti-helminthic on the market.
You can overdose by 400% and your fish won't die. (tried it) Even the
literature re: human overdoses indicates that death has been very rare and
only when it was consumed in absolutely extraordinary quantities. (My CPS
is at work, but I read up on it. and can't remember the exact mg/kg dose)
In addition, this drug will actually assist the immune function of your
fish. So, it's A-one.
G. Kadar
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by Jota Melgar <jsmelgar/compuserve.com>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999
To: "INTERNET:apisto/admin.listbox.com" <apisto/admin.listbox.com>
The toll free # for the Fish Farmers Ass. is (800) 940-3833. They have
another number (813) 671-7812 and a fax # (813) 671-8237. The price for 100
gr of Levamisole used to be $50 and change. You'll need far less than that
but I don't know if they sell it in smaller quantities.
Julio
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by Ken Simolo <Simolo/chem.chem.rochester.edu>
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999
To: apisto/admin.listbox.com
I know people have said Levamisole is not available in the U.S. However, I
went to my local farm supply store and they had it in several forms (pills,
topical solution and injectable solution). It was $12 for 24 pills (200mg)
or $30 for 100 pills. The price was not marked on the solutions but I
wanted the pills anyways since there shelf life is measured in years.
I have to believe other stores have it as well. But, if you can not find
it elsewhere, this is a chain and I know they will ship parts nationally.
The local store is Central Tractor Farm & Family Store, (607) 324-5835.
Ken
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by "alex pastor" <alexp/idirect.com>
Date: Sun, 27 Jun 1999
To: "apisto" <apisto/admin.listbox.com>
the subject of camallanus worms came up. According to some people's
postings, they claim that all of their fish, suspected of being clean,
caught the worms from new fish that were infested.
I've been reading a textbook: The Foundations of Parasitology, during the
past few days. According to the authors (this is the 5th edition), the
Camallanus worm requires a copepod as it's intermediary host. The eggs are
shed in the feces of the fish. The egg capsules are consumed by the
copepods where they develop. Then they are eaten by fish. Treatment is
Levamisole.
The only way in which this parasite will spread to other fish is via this
route. So, perhaps it is not such a great idea to collect live food from
standing waters for apistos. You never know what else you're getting. It
is endemic to North America.
Capillaria are a different ugly altogether. They live in the intestines as
well. Some female worms bear living juveniles and eggs. All pass from the
definitive host in the feces. In water, the eggs embryonate and are eaten
by small fishes. They hatch in the intestine of the fish, and develop into
juveniles after a few weeks. These worms can cause massive populations to
accumulate and can wipe out entire aquaria full of fish. The worms cause
significant damage to the small intestines leading to degeneration. (I'm
waiting for another textbook to get the drugs and dosages, because there are
only the drugs listed for humans: mebendazole and albendazole -- although I
have seen the name praziquantel mentioned in postings. According to the
textbook, this drug is effective against tapeworm, not capillaria.) I don't
know anything about the toxicity of these two drugs in fish. Maybe someone
out there knows some more.
Given the description in various postings, it would seem that perhaps
Capillaria were the bad guys, although these worms are from Southeast Asia
not North and South America. It is feasible that fish from different
continents are cross-infecting at importers. Some importers routinely treat
all wild-caughts with anti-helminthics, but it's possible that the drugs
they are using are not catching all the various types of worms found in the
fish. Anti-helminthics vary in their relative toxicities to fish.
There is an article in the July edition of FAMA on Thorny Headed worms.
Quite frustratingly, the author did not mention any medication that can be
used to treat this parasite. (Hence my search for more information)
Apparently Mebendazole is successful at eradicating this parasite, but
again, I will be doing more research. The reference book authored by Edward
Noga, listed by the author in his bibliography, is maddeningly out of print
despite the fact that it was published in 1996.
BTW, how are the imports from Rio Negro doing? We have not heard much more
about them than their initial 'photo ops'. Any breeding happening?
G. Kadar
I KNOW I didn't miss any lectures in microbiology, but this is the first
time that I have read about a species of ameba that lives in human mouths.
It's not a bad guy, just eats dead cells and such, but it's there. So, be
careful who you kiss. A very large percentage of people with healthy mouths
have this as well. Gag.
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by "gkadar" <gkadar/idirect.ca>
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000
To: <apisto/majordomo.pobox.com>
Simon,
Ken Laidlaw's offer of levamisole is right on. These are livebearer worms
and in all likelihood the've infected the other fish in your tank as well.
It'll be only a matter of time before you see them hanging out of the
others.
They can be difficult to erradicate even with levamisole, and there are
other drugs you can use, but the margin of safety of those drugs is not
high. I'm sure Dionigi Maladorno will put in his 2 cents worth on this one.
You should never assume that one course of treatment will do the trick.
One of the signs of an infected fish (behaviourally) is that it acts as
though it were paranoid and gets very aggressive. It's quite possible that
the pair you purchased would have been fine together would it not be for the
worms. I guess we'd be pretty miserable if we were full of those parasites
as well.
The thing that really gets me is that a fish, fed a 'survival only' diet at
an lfs will not show any worms. But as soon as you get it home and give it
decent sized meals, the worms pop out. I purchased a pair of wild caughts
last year about February and they'd been at the store for about 6 months.
No one wanted them. I didn't even know what species they were although I
did know that the label on the tank was wrong. Well, wouldn't you know
it......3 weeks after they started to eat a good diet, out came those worms.
Stupid me had put them in a community tank sans quarantine. Three months
later the fish in the community tank were all sick. I lost two female
borelliis because they were just too small to cope with the infestation
despite the use of medication. The larger fish came through fine. However
I had to treat the tank for a duration of 3 weeks, first every third day and
then finally in desperation, daily for three days. I could tell when the
fish were all fine because they started to eat again.
Meanwhile the 'typhoid Marys' were quarantined as soon as I saw trouble.
They underwent treatment and after three months were placed into their own
tank. A week later what did I see? More b....y worms. Two more treatments
and they have been 'clean'. What a miserable experience. Just because
they'd 'survived' 6 months in the store with no visible sign of infestation
meant absolutely nothing.
Gabriella
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by "gkadar" <gkadar/idirect.ca>
Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2000
To: <apisto/majordomo.pobox.com>
Simon,
Now you see there are several nematodes that infect fish. Although Ken had
some quotes from a book, I tend to trust the information in a university
text book on Parasitology over a hobbyist fish book. Even the Dwarf Cichlid
book by Richter recommends that fish with worms be destroyed.
If you use the levamisole, the tank water pH must be below 7. Then you
leave the drug in for 24 hours after which you are supposed to do as big a
water change as possible. I was doing 90 percent and on a 120 gallon tank,
that's an arduous chore and a half.
The drug itself is very safe. It won't harm your otos or any other fish in
the tank. It won't even kill snails. It's specific to helminthic
organisms. Levamisole is used in humans for treatment of immune compromise
in AIDS patients and it's also used to treat some cancers. So it's not just
a veterinary medication.
Chances are your otos are already infected and being vegetarians, their
reserves are not very good. If they go off feeding, it doesn't take all
that long for them to perish. Corys and such are much tougher beasties and
can go for a couple of weeks without food. Return of appetite is not an
indicator of parasite elimination. It only indicates that there is
improvement. Also, keep offering food to the fish. If they take it, great.
If not, syphon it up so it won't pollute the water.
>From my own experiences, capillaria seems to be easier to erradicate than
cammallanus. We had a dozen or so super emaciated clown loaches that the
store was going to dispose of. Poor things looked like coathangers covered
in skin. Really really awful. One dose of levamisole was enough to cure
them. However, because the capillaria does hook itself into the bowel wall,
we did have 2 deaths via perforation of the gut and abdominal wall.
Regardless, sick fish are at a disadvantage. Using the proper medication
responsibly is still your only logical option. I read somewhere that
feeding the fish large worms (like red wrigglers or earthworms) can help to
force parasites out of the gut. Tried it. Doesn't work.
When you have a community tank wherein there are fish with varied diets,
trying any diet approach, i.e. garlic, is iffy at best. Chances are, not
all the fish will eat this and you'll be left with a reservoir of infection
in one or the other of your fish.
Seeing as how you live in Australia, the levamisole capital of the world
with all those sheep and cattle, but especially the sheep, if you can easily
obtain the drug, that's great for you and your fish.
Gabriella
p.s. The woman at the farmfeed store was convinced that I was growing out
lambs. :):) I didn't want to disabuse her of this notion seeing as how
she'd in all likelihood look at me majorly askance if I told her it was for
my tropical fish.
>Thanks very much Ken, and everyone else who has responded so quickly . I
>love this group !!! I do have one more question though - one of my texts
say
>that sometimes the treatment of nematodes can be worse than the disease and
>the purgative effect of the medication can cause other secondary infections
>and tissue damage ( caused by the hooked head section of the worms ( the
>scolex if I remember rightly )). When you treated your fish did they go
>straight back onto normal food or did you follow up with some antibiotic in
>case of secondaty infections ?
>
>
>Regards,
>
>Simon Voorwinde
>
>=========================================================
>svavev@hunterlink.net.au
>http://thecichlidtank.cjb.net
>=========================================================
>
>
>
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by "Bolton Museum, Art Gallery & Aquarium" <bolnathist/gn.apc.org>
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2000
To: apisto/majordomo.pobox.com
I have had bad experiences with
> trichlorphon and these fish when treating a fluke infestation once.
But if I remember rightly Trichlorphon is an organophosphate and
therefore best avoided anyway.
> Another question - do you think it is possible for me to have infected all
> my tanks with the nematode by using the same net ?
Unfortunately yes. I know some textbooks refer to intermediate hosts with
Camallanus but in my experience it can transfer directly.
As an aside, some Madagascan cichlids here were treated with
Levacide prophylactically due to their value from a conservation
point of view. Following this, they were fed large amounts of live
chironomid larvae to condition them up for breeding. When a fish
was subsequently sent for p.m. following some aggression an
infestation of nematodes were found in the intestinal tract( the fish,
a female was shown to have died from heavy internal bruising
probably caused by a rival female). While not conclusive, this
suggests that the live food was the source of infection, as no new
specimens were introduced in the interim period.
However, in spite of the prescence of nematodes, the fish was
described as in good condition. This of course, may not be relevent
with dwarf cichlids which have much smaller reserves. If at all
possible we should remove all such problems to maximise the
potential for success.
Pete Liptrot
Bolton Museum Aquarium
Le Mans Crescent, Bolton BL1 1SE
01204 332200
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by "Simon" <svavev/hunterlink.net.au>
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2000
To: <apisto/majordomo.pobox.com>
The trichlorphon didn't seem to work ( they won't have any gill flukes now
though ! lol ) so I got a product from the vet called Avitrolplus which is a
woming solution meant for avairy birds. It is meant to be added to their
drinking water so I assumed that it would be in such a form that would allow
ready absorption for the fish too. It contains 10mg/ml levamisole
hydrochloride ( equivalent to 8.4mg/ml levanisole base ) and 2mg/ml
praziquantel and I added it 1ml/7.5 litres. This morning - NO WORMS ! I'll
keep an eye out over the next few days and think I'll do a water change
tomorrow and redose again in three days time. Thanks everyone for their help
regarding this problem. No casualties among the bristlenose, otocinclus or
sturisoma either and the infected male A. 'neon head' is swimming aorund
really well and eating again 8-)))).
Regards,
Simon Voorwinde
=========================================================
svavev@hunterlink.net.au
http://thecichlidtank.cjb.net
=========================================================
by Sarah LeGates <slegates/yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001
To: apisto/listbox.com
Hello all,
I have a few points to add to the lovely worm discussion, having
recently gone through the eradication process myself:
1) Levamisole HCl in a liquid form is the easiest to use. I had to
use the oblet version, in the form of a sheep de-wormer (oblets being
very large tablets), since no liquids were readily available to me.
It is possible to overdose this medication, so be careful with how
much you add. I can't remember the figure that was quoted as being a
"good dose"; I accidentally dosed at 10 mg/L, which will kill your
fish if you don't monitor it carefully or if you leave it in too long
(which I did, and it did kill the fish, yikes).
2) Camallanus are highly communicable. Within 2 months of the first
signs of infection of a fish in my tank, all the other fish were
carrying the worms. When I added new fish, they showed signs of
infestation within two to three weeks. In your case, I would assume
that all the fish that were in that tank are carrying the worms, and
you should treat the tank, not just the fish. From what I
understand, there is some stage of the life cycle where eggs or
free-swimming larvae are released into the water, and that is what
the other fish ingest to pick up the parasite. The worms in one
infected fish can infect all the other fish in the tank. Also,
practice careful hygeine when using common equipment (nets, tubing,
etc.), as they can carry the worms from one tank to another.
The sooner you treat your tank, the better. You may want to plan on
re-treating in 2-3 weeks to be certain you've eradicated the
parasite. I was successful in removing the worms from my tank (the
fish loss was a bummer, though).
Sarah LeGates
--- steev ward <steevward@mac.com> wrote:
> Bonny;
> Cammallanus worms were a hot topic a while back. I noted
> this page:
> http://www.thekrib.com/Diseases/nematodes.html#11
> The general opinion seemed to be that Levamisole was the best
> treatment.
> Piperazine SEEMED to work in some cases from what I've seen,
> though others have been less enthusiastic about it's
> effectiveness (I think you need to keep the treatment up for a
> considerable period of time and possibly retreat after a month
> or so).
> I recently tried Fluke Tabs® on a case with disappointing
> results.
> The idea that the worms REQUIRE an intermediate host or
> that the likely source of infection would be a crustacean does
> not seem to hold true for infections in the aquarium and
> transmission from fish to fish through ingestion seems to be
> the most common mode (but only in my opinion).
>
>
>
by Biplane10/aol.com
Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2000
To: apisto/listbox.com
I just wanted to mention there is a better form of levamisole available. It
should be near the oblets available for sheep, and is a packet of powder,
called Tramisol. I recall it may have been something like 11-12 G to one
packet. It's somewhat difficult to break down into small portions for the
tanks, but easier in the long run than the oblets, I think. I bought one
packet and treated all my tanks 2x. This was for approximately 100 G. I
think I may have used 5-10 mg./l. There was no discomfort noted in any of the
fish during treatment, or after.
Sylvia
> your eunotus may have worms (specifically nematodes). I say this
> only because I've been battling an infestation of these little
> nasties in one of my tanks for the last month or so and they were
> showing symptoms similar to what you've listed. Do your fish have
> reddened anal openings or small threadlike bits of material
> protruding from their anuses? Keep an eye out for these signs as
> possible indications of nematode infestation. Check out the archived
> disease postings at the Krib for helpful treatment information.
>
> As a side note, I was finally able to find a product containing
> Levamisole at a farm and feed store last weekend. The product was
> Tramisol, a sheep wormer, and it was in the form of "oblets" about
> the size of my thumb! The archives at the Krib do not contain
> extensive dosing information for levamisole, so I had to guess. Each
> Tramisol oblet contained .183g active levamisole HCl, so I worked out
> my tank volumes in liters and dosed on a mg/L basis. I dosed my 35
> gal. tank at approximately 6 mg/L (numbers not in front of me right
> now, so these are only the rough numbers I can remember), and my 56
> gal. tank at a little over 10 mg/L. The archived postings on the
> Krib are accurate in their descriptions of the treatment process: the
> water turned yellow (presumably from the dye in the oblets), and
> clouded after about 24 hours. Unfortunately, work intervened and
> prevented me from doing a full water change on the larger tank.
> Early in the morning of dose+2 day (approximately 36 hours
> post-dose), I found the barbs in the 56 gal. in respiratory distress
> and sucking air at the top of the tank. The H. bimaculatus in the
> tank did not seem affected. I was only able to change about 30% of
> the water at that time, but it alleviated the distress until later in
> the day when I did a full water change. Since the fish were showing
> no visible distress at the end of the dose+2 day (when the effective
> dose of Levamisole in the tank was still at least 7 mg/L and the
> water was still clouded and yellow) I am assuming that I had a pH
> drop during the night, and that was what caused the distress. There
> are, however, no more worm signs in any of the fish in the infested
> tank! The fishes' appetites are back, their fins are no longer
> clamped, and no one seems to be showing any signs of secondary
> bacterial infections. The treatment is a pain, but it seems to have
> been effective.
>
The Krib
Fish Diseases
The Krib