# Random fish deaths



## Kimchi24

In the past two days, I've have a female guppy, yellow rainbow, and a cheery barb die on me. I check all my parameters and everything seems fine. There is literally nothing it of the ordinary that would have made these fish die. I figure after being in this hobby for 3 years, I can still find out what happened but all my test show normal signs of nitrites and 0 ammonia and nitrates. I'm thinking on of my fish are being aggressive at night. It's the only conclusion I can come up with.... Ugh, it's infuriating. I hate having to see dead fish in my tank.


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## BillD

When there is nothing obvious, I do a very large water change, to remove as many pathogens as possible from the water. This gives the fish a better chance of recovering or fighting off whatever the problem is. If the issue is caused by a pathogen or toxin, the regular tests won't tell you much.


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## Kimchi24

Yeah, but it makes no sense. I lost the guppy about three days ago and I did a 30% water change. Now. Found my yellow dead his morning.


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## solarz

Sometimes fish die for no discernible reason. I've lost albino cories, otos, a siamese algae eater, and golden white clouds this way. Those are only fishes that I've seen the remains. I've had fishes and shrimps simply vanish.

I think what Bill said makes sense. When in doubt, do a water change.


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## pyrrolin

Any movement of plants in the last few days that could have released bad gases?

Any new fish lately that could be aggressive?

Sometimes its just coincidence and sometimes it's something you just can't figure out.

a large water change usually won't hurt like someone else mentioned


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## Kimchi24

Yeah, i did a big water change. no new fish. She was actually the most recent fish and that was about a week after the tank was set up! I talked to the guy at Big Al's North York and he was as baffled as i was.


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## Fishfur

Stuff happens. Fish are bred in huge numbers and there are genetic defects we can't see that may not kick in until later in the life of the fish, along with the more obvious defects, like bent spines and the like.

From all the reading I've done, the number one cause of mystery fish death is exposure to ammonia or nitrites. This does not mean they were exposed in your tank, it may have happened before you got them; potentially in shipping, potentially in the store. Some fish manage to last a fair length of time after exposure, depending how severe the exposure was, but it always does some amount of permanent damage, which may not be easily observed by the fish keeper once the fish has recovered from the initial symptoms.

If that's not it, well, there are a few tougher to diagnose diseases around too, not that I think that's necessarily it either. But I read an article not long ago when researching, which said tests had shown that, IIRC, at least 20% of fish coming from just one farm in Taiwan were infected with fish TB. That's one farm.. imagine what might be coming from other farms.. and wild caught fish usually come with parasitic infestations which may or may not be dealt with before they are sold to the end consumer. Depending what they were infested with and how it was treated, that might affect their life spans as well. 

You'll probably never know why the fish died. All we can do is maintain the water properly and feed as best we can, and isolate new fish, which is one thing many do not do. Chances are it's not anything you did or could have prevented.


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## bob123

Sorry to hear of your losses. When something like this happens a big water change means 80 - 90%, a 30% change of water is a weekly thing. Also when you purchase a new fish or plant it is a good thing to quarantine them for a couple of weeks so as to watch for problems. Good luck and hopefully no more deaths.


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## Kimchi24

bob123 said:


> Sorry to hear of your losses. When something like this happens a big water change means 80 - 90%, a 30% change of water is a weekly thing. Also when you purchase a new fish or plant it is a good thing to quarantine them for a couple of weeks so as to watch for problems. Good luck and hopefully no more deaths.


yeah, i quarantine everything i get for a week in a spare ten gallon i have


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## SwimmyD

Sorry you lost your fish kimchi24! It always sucks to lose fish!
Fishfur is right- there can be damage to a fish from transit/breeding etc that may not show up until a few weeks after you bring them home, and it's not your fault. We tend to quarantine for a least one month- especially from the LFS - just to make sure there are no unseen internal and external parisites lurking. Sometimes it takes a while before things show up. I can't risk infecting a healthy established tank. 

Just recently I had some clown killies from the LFS in quarantine for a month before a few showed signs of an IP. I culled the sick ones, and dosed the tank with paraguard a few times over about 10 days. When I thought the coast was clear - I added them to my community tank. Within another couple of weeks I saw that another one had an IP. I pulled him out then waited. One week later one more came down with it. So I ended up adding levamasole to the tank. It seems to have done the trick. But I'm keeping a really close eye on things.

If I personally know the hobbiest fish keeper, and know they keep a really clean tank- then I will put their fish into an already established tank if I don't have a quarantine tank ready to go. That said- it's always a good idea to quarantine anyways. 

Just curious- how long do other folks here quarantine their fish?


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## Kimchi24

Ok, so i found another corpse in my tank. It looks like a small fish but unidentifiable. I think one of my fish are killing off everything. Looks like this fish was dead for a while though. Weird considering my ammonia levels are still 0

EDIT: I cannot see my endlers anymore. all but one. :/


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## pyrrolin

I never quarantine fish which is a very bad idea and I really should do it and I have no excuse because I have plenty of spare tanks. So far I have been lucky and never had any problems, but its just luck and sooner or later I'm going to have a huge problem.


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## Fishfur

My practice was to QT for a minimum of six weeks.. but then my Q tank broke. I really must set up a new one.. it's beyond silly not to have one. My only excuse is that I haven't much room for new fish so I'm not really buying any. Shrimp yes, but not fish. 

But the last new fish I got ended up in the 5G shrimp tank I keep the mini fan shrimp and some fire reds and stone shrimp in. Only baby cherry shrimp would be in any danger and not much at that, the rest need brackish water, so there're no babies to risk. It was the closest I had to a QT on hand.

The sad fact is, some things that are out there don't show up in one week, or two, or even four, as SwimmyD experienced. It can take longer than that.. so I think six weeks is the most sensible minimum and longer doesn't hurt. I should resume practicing what I preach !


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## Kimchi24

Well i think i figured out the disappearance of my small fish and im disappointed to say its my bushynose pleco. I found him munching on my fifth neon tetra this morning. UGH! i still dont know what happened to my yellow rainbow but now i know what happened to the guppy. Anyone want a bushynose? haha


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## solarz

Kimchi24 said:


> Well i think i figured out the disappearance of my small fish and im disappointed to say its my bushynose pleco. I found him munching on my fifth neon tetra this morning. UGH! i still dont know what happened to my yellow rainbow but now i know what happened to the guppy. Anyone want a bushynose? haha


I've kept 2 BN Plecos with dozens of tetras, and have never seen it attack anything. Yours was probably just eating carrion, a normal behavior. It's highly unlikely that the BN, with its sucker mouth, is able to hunt down live fish.


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## Kimchi24

dang, i saw the tetra yesterday and i did take out 30 gallons of water from the 46 and did a massive water change. he has been showing some agression though so i dont want to rule it out. For all i know its my upsidedown cat that i NEVER see!


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## Fishfur

Upside down cats are more likely to be aggressive. They're not always ideal community fish, and it can depend which species it is. There are a few sold under that common name.

BN plecs do eat dead things but they're just not known for attacking other fish.


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## Kimchi24

Fishfur said:


> Upside down cats are more likely to be aggressive. They're not always ideal community fish, and it can depend which species it is. There are a few sold under that common name.
> 
> BN plecs do eat dead things but they're just not known for attacking other fish.


ok so hes probably not the one to blame. ill search for the upside down cat and separate him


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## bob123

I agree bristlenose plecos will eat dead fish and eggs but I have never seen them attack live fish.


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## Kimchi24

HA, well. I'm sick as of right now but I know im not delirious. I went berserk looking for this catfish when finally i decided that a replanting job was long over due anyways. I took out all of my stem plants which cover the hiding spots of the tank and took the tank to a place where every place can be seen. No upside down catfish. I feel like my tank is the Bermuda triangle. WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON LOL? All i can really do is laugh at whats going on because its got me stumped. somehow my fish are dying, somehow my fish are disappearing, and there seems to be no culprit. I've counted my remaining livestock and found that a lot of my fish are missing. Not including the deaths of the tetra, guppy and yellow rainbow... I am missing and upside down catfish, a cherry barb, 4 endler males and 3 endler females, and another neon tetra. These are fish that disappeared without even leaving a corpse. Maybe i have a carnivorous plant? hahaha. Well, this makes no sense. I dont think this is solvable guys.


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## pyrrolin

do you have a cat?

maybe you should list every type of fish you have and someone might have an idea


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## Kimchi24

pyrrolin said:


> do you have a cat?
> 
> maybe you should list every type of fish you have and someone might have an idea


LOl like a house cat? Naw, id like one though . Ok so my fish list is as follows:

6x dwarf neon rainbows ( 3 male, 3 female)
4x neon tetras
4x boesmani rainbows (2 males, 2 females)
2x cherry barbs
2x madagascar rainbows
2x orange sailfin mollies
1x bushynose pleco
1x black and white angelfish
1x SAE
1x otto
1x red eye tetra


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## tom g

*thought !!!*

looked at your list , I have had angels eat all my cardinals before and I thought they were dieing ....just an idea . also I would look around the tank as I have found some of my fish behind the tank or on the floor .

cheers 
tom


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## Kimchi24

tom g said:


> looked at your list , I have had angels eat all my cardinals before and I thought they were dieing ....just an idea . also I would look around the tank as I have found some of my fish behind the tank or on the floor .
> 
> cheers
> tom


Hmm, i really hope its not my angel. Hes the original fish that started the whole planted tank craze! also i have a glass cover so no jumpers would really get up behind the tank. I have checked though. Also checked the filter just incase.


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## Kimchi24

Ok so i did a search of paracites because i noticed some things coming out of my angel and my cherry barb's anus. I found the culprit of the killings... Camallanus worms or nematodes. Oh my god... im going to lose all my fish... I saw a lot on my angelfish so im sure hes going to die soon as well. I have to go and buy antiparasite medication soon. UGH! What should i do with the fish that are totally infected. On site told me to just euthanize them, thats half my stock...


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## greg

Kimchi24 said:


> Ok so i did a search of paracites because i noticed some things coming out of my angel and my cherry barb's anus. I found the culprit of the killings... Camallanus worms or nematodes. Oh my god... im going to lose all my fish... I saw a lot on my angelfish so im sure hes going to die soon as well. I have to go and buy antiparasite medication soon. UGH! What should i do with the fish that are totally infected. On site told me to just euthanize them, thats half my stock...


The only sure cure for camallanus worms is Levamisole. There is a lot of confusion about proper dosing with some sites indicating 10ppm and others 2ppm. I've read some scientific studies which concluded anything above 2ppm has no additional benefit, so why subject your fish to it.

Treatment is to dose tank to 2ppm which works out to approximately 1/4 tsp per 500 litres. Vacuum the substrate thoroughly after 24 hours and do a large water change. Repeat after one week and then again after two weeks. Most aquatic life including plants are not visibly affected by Levamisole.

The only problem is that it's not available in Canada, other than as an additive to flake food, and this form is not very affective. You would need to buy it online from a site such as eBay and have them send it to you via mail.


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## Kimchi24

greg said:


> The only sure cure for camallanus worms is Levamisole. There is a lot of confusion about proper dosing with some sites indicating 10ppm and others 2ppm. I've read some scientific studies which concluded anything above 2ppm has no additional benefit, so why subject your fish to it.
> 
> Treatment is to dose tank to 2ppm which works out to approximately 1/4 tsp per 500 litres. Vacuum the substrate thoroughly after 24 hours and do a large water change. Repeat after one week and then again after two weeks. Most aquatic life including plants are not visibly affected by Levamisole.
> 
> The only problem is that it's not available in Canada, other than as an additive to flake food, and this form is not very affective. You would need to buy it online from a site such as eBay and have them send it to you via mail.


oh man, tahst probably going to take a while. Crud.


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## pyrrolin

Maybe you will get lucky and someone in the GTA has some to spare.

On the bright side, you have figured out the problem.

If you have a spare tank, you can attempt to move the fish you don't think are affected but I would treat that tank also once you find some meds. But worst case, it might save some of your stock.

Also make sure the parasite can't live out of water or it could be on things like nets, buckets, siphon and so on and reinfect later on. Also, if you have given anyone plants or fish lately, you should warn them.

Assuming you are going to order that one med, while you wait for it, maybe try some other cure that you have access to faster just in case you can at least slow it down until the good meds come. Try the other so called cures that might help. That way you can be sure that you did everything possible and you won't be kicking yourself if all goes very bad.

I don't know anything about the parasite in question, but I'm sure others can give you tips on what might help for now


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## Jackson

You can check out the medicated food angelfins sell I think they have a levaflake

Or you can try flubendazole it's said to treat them. From what I remember kills the eggs not the actual worm. Angelfins has kusuri wormer plus.
Look into it for more info

The worms don't live too long out of its host but the eggs do

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## SwimmyD

Hi Kimchi, sorry to hear you have callumanus.
Callumanus are hideous creatures. Nematodes that eat fish from the inside out. They produce spores that fall to the bottom of the tank and hatch weeks to months later as little worms. Then snails and fish ingest them because they look like food. Once they get inside the fish they start eating. By the time you see them sticking out of their anuses they have been in your tank a very long time. You can be sure that everything in that tank is infected with spores. One female nematode makes hundreds of spores a day. These are the ones that hang out. They are busy releasing spores. It is totally gross.

I wouldn't bother moving anyone out. You will only bring it to the new location. It will get on hoses, nets, buckets, EVERYTHING. It can decimate an entire fishroom. Levamasole is the only trick. Then bleach the crap out of all your equipment. You can try paraguard while you wait for the levamasole by mail. You may still have time- especially if your fish are still eating. You can euthanize if you have a fish that you don't think will make it, but you won't be protecting the others much. Levamasole works VERY quickly. It kills in 24 hours. That's why you vacuum the next day. Picking up dead bodies. Then you repeat in a week to get the next hatch out of nematodes. And so forth. Then forevermore you will stare at your fishes' anuses looking for this dastardly creature. 

Good luck. PS You can get callumanus from plants. Important to dip your plants in potassium permagamate or hydrogen peroxide before you put them in your tank. Also always quarantine your new fish for a month if you can. This gives things like callumanus time to show up.


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## futurezach

I used the medicated flake food from angel fins and it worked like a charm


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## bob123

If you contact Angelfins and ask for the medicated flake food, its about $9 and they can put it in the mail tomorrow. Check their web site.


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## Kimchi24

I'm going to try the medicated food. if that doesnt work i dont even know what im going to do. i guess ill break down the tank and let it dry and start all over but that is far too much money. UGH! ill contact angelfins tomorrow and ill look for the levi what-cha-ma-call-it on ebay


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## Kimchi24

the death toll increases with my madagascar rainbow. Oh my god, this is killing me, seeing all my fish die. UGH! Is it possible tha these wroms can survive without anything to eat? By that i mean, i want to move my livestock to a barebottom tank so i can siphon better. That being said, i want to keep the plants going in my main aquarium. Will the worms eventually die off without any livestock in the tank?


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## SwimmyD

Here is the link to the eBay website with levamisole. It says "may not ship to canada", because that is what it is supposed to say. Contact the seller(s) and they will send it thru regular mail in a tiny little ziplock bag that fits in a regular envelope. Angel fins has the levaflake food- which will work only if they eat it. If they are not eating- it won't work. Jackson is right, the flubendazole can kill the eggs if you can find some. But the best way is levamisole. It is fast and effective.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk....TRC1.A0.XLevami&_nkw=levamisole&_sacat=20754

Yes I agree it is very distressing to see your fish die, and maybe you won't be able to save them. But I would not recommend that you leave the tank as is - even with no fish for several months. The nematode has spores that can withstand a lot of time, and also uses snails and small crustaceans as a vector to re-infect fish down the road. I'd highly recommend that you either nuke the tank, or you treat it with levamisole so you can keep your plants and set up without too much loss. Even then, if I lost every single fish- I would be tempted to tear down and start over. As far as I know- callumanus is THE WORST tank parasite there is.


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## Kimchi24

SwimmyD said:


> Here is the link to the eBay website with levamisole. It says "may not ship to canada", because that is what it is supposed to say. Contact the seller(s) and they will send it thru regular mail in a tiny little ziplock bag that fits in a regular envelope. Angel fins has the levaflake food- which will work only if they eat it. If they are not eating- it won't work. Jackson is right, the flubendazole can kill the eggs if you can find some. But the best way is levamisole. It is fast and effective.
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odk....TRC1.A0.XLevami&_nkw=levamisole&_sacat=20754
> 
> Yes I agree it is very distressing to see your fish die, and maybe you won't be able to save them. But I would not recommend that you leave the tank as is - even with no fish for several months. The nematode has spores that can withstand a lot of time, and also uses snails and small crustaceans as a vector to re-infect fish down the road. I'd highly recommend that you either nuke the tank, or you treat it with levamisole so you can keep your plants and set up without too much loss. Even then, if I lost every single fish- I would be tempted to tear down and start over. As far as I know- callumanus is THE WORST tank parasite there is.


Worst case scenario, do i have to get rid of my substrate as well? I hate how this is happening to me. Right nearing finals as well.


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## Jamblor

So sorry to hear about your loss and infection.

My girlfriend had a similar problem to you with her tetras dying. I also noticed those nasty red worms coming out of the keyholes.

Luckily, the problem has appeared to have disappeared and resulted in no loss of fish other than the tetras.

Here is what I did:

1. Dose the tank with some of the fizzy anti-parasite tabs that any LFS carries. (I'm not exactly sure if this did anything though)

2. Exclusively feed the fish with Jungle Labs Anti-parasite medicated food. 
• Contains: Metronidazole 1%, praziquantel .5%, levamisol .4%

3. Manually remove the worms from the fish using tweezers. (I was hoping it would not harm the internals of the fish by doing this so I was extremely careful.)

I think the most effective methods were the 2nd and 3rd. No apparent ill-effect came from method 3 as they all swim happily and eat without a problem now. I suspect the medicated food is what killed off the parasite in the tank.

Hope you can solve your problem.


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## Kimchi24

Ok, so a lot has happened since my last update. So far I have lost another neon and a dwarf neon rainbow which was in my breeder tank. Not good. I was generously given some Levamisole and started medication today. I'll do a siphoning tomorrow and i hope i dont lose anymore fish


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## pyrrolin

You will probably lose a couple more fish, don't be surprised if some more die. But since you got the good meds now, you should be able to save most of the remaining stock with luck.

Be sure to follow the directions to make sure it works it's best.


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## Mykuhl

I really hope you do kill those worms. Those things are dealdly and as mentioned very hard to get rid of. The the poor fish suffer, getting skinnier and skinniner till they die. I had to watch my poor electric blue rams die this way, one by one. I tried treating them with. 3 treatments of flubendazole and it did nothing to kill them. I also tried Kanaplex and finally Polyguard after that and they did not recover


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## Kimchi24

Ok, so another update... One of my female boesmani rainbows died. I'm worried now that the remaining female will be bullied by the 2 males. Funny thing is, that fish showed no real signs of the camallanus worms. strange. My angel (who had it the worst) has had all of the worms out of his anus! its still buldged up a bit an injured but the worms have dissipated. The levamisole is working. I also just got levamisole flakes from angelfins and gave them the flakes recently. Hopefully i save some of my fish.


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## pyrrolin

Sounds like you are doing everything possible, I wish you luck


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## Kimchi24

Unfortunately, my breeder tank was not dosed with levamisole, but given the flakes and all three dwarf neon rainbows have perished . is there a way to sanitize the tank now that it is empty? im thinking vinegar in a 1-5 solution


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## Jackson

Bleach and hot water

Rinse and you're good to go

Even dip or soak your decor in a bleach solution to be sure.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Kimchi24

Jackson said:


> Bleach and hot water
> 
> Rinse and you're good to go
> 
> Even dip or soak your decor in a bleach solution to be sure.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


whats the ratio for bleach. it was just a temp 10 gallon so. also do i do this for the sponge filters in there as well? i guess i'd have to re-cycle them


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## pyrrolin

I'd say about 1 cup per 10 gallons, run the sponge filter in the tank with the bleach. Stir up the substrate to be sure the bleach gets it all. Anything that could be contaminated should be put in the tank with the bleach. I would just run the filter in it over night just to be sure.

Next day, rinse the sponge very well and then squeeze it out many times in a bucket with double dechlorinator. Dechlorinator removes bleach which is chlorine. Rinse the tank and substrate well. If you can, leave it to dry out completely, bleach just turns into harmless salt when dry. When you set the tank up again, put in double dechlorinator just to be safe.

To get the sponge filter cycled again, after you are sure all the bleach is gone, just put it in your main tank to run and it will get seeded. I recommend two weeks at least. Then when you are ready to try breeding again, just move the sponge filter over.

This is what I would do for standard sanitizing of a tank. I don't know if this will kill the parasite you have but it probably will


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## Kimchi24

can i save the moss in the tank by dipping it in there for a a couple seconds and the putting it in extra dechorlinated water for quarantine?


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## Mykuhl

I am sorry to hear that you lost all of your fish.

With a parasite such as that worm I would not risk it by re-using any gravel or even the sponge part of the sponge filter. I would replace the sponge and sterilize everything that came in contact with the infected tank with a strong bleach solution 1 part bleach to 10 parts water) and let that soak for an hour or more. When you start again be sure you aren't using any media from a tank that may have been infected by that one tank, or you may find somewhere down the road that you will have to deal with those worms again.


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## Mykuhl

Kimchi24 said:


> can i save the moss in the tank by dipping it in there for a a couple seconds and the putting it in extra dechorlinated water for quarantine?


Don't risk it with those worms. Its not worth it.


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## mistersprinkles

Mykuhl said:


> Don't risk it with those worms. Its not worth it.


Definitely not.


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## Kimchi24

so toss the moss? ok


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## pyrrolin

well, one method of removing hair algae is to put plants in diluted bleach for 2 to 4 min. shorter for thinner plants, longer for bigger plants.

So, you can try to bleach the moss for 2 min, then rinse and then put in water with extra dechlorinator. With luck it will survive.

I have bleached plants before with good success, the vals didn't like it much and took a while to recover.

But unless the moss is really hard to get, I wouldn't risk it.


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## Kimchi24

pyrrolin said:


> well, one method of removing hair algae is to put plants in diluted bleach for 2 to 4 min. shorter for thinner plants, longer for bigger plants.
> 
> So, you can try to bleach the moss for 2 min, then rinse and then put in water with extra dechlorinator. With luck it will survive.
> 
> I have bleached plants before with good success, the vals didn't like it much and took a while to recover.
> 
> But unless the moss is really hard to get, I wouldn't risk it.


Eh, its a big lump of flame moss. I'm more proud that i grew it from a small 1 inch ball into a massive softball size. yeah ill toss it.

This is what i don't understand. If i treat my main tank with levamisole, does it make my tank free from the parasite after the entire treatment and all my fish survive? is there a slight chance it could come back? is it better to take all my livestock after they have survived the treatment, keep them in a temp tank, dump all my plants and bleach the dickens out of my main tank? I feel as if even after the dosing, there is no solid answer to what i do afterwards. I'm really confused.


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## greg

Kimchi24 said:


> This is what i don't understand. If i treat my main tank with levamisole, does it make my tank free from the parasite after the entire treatment and all my fish survive? is there a slight chance it could come back? is it better to take all my livestock after they have survived the treatment, keep them in a temp tank, dump all my plants and bleach the dickens out of my main tank? I feel as if even after the dosing, there is no solid answer to what i do afterwards. I'm really confused.


Do a further two treatments one week apart, as we discussed. Vacuum and a good size water change after each treatment. Callamanus worms should be eliminated. Personally I wouldn't tear your tank apart. Just keep a close eye on your fish over the next several months.

I don't know what your budget is like, but having had the worms once, I would suggest keeping Levamisole on hand. It has a shelf life of about two years. You could get more than you'll ever need for about $30 including postage. Perhaps you could find someone who will split the order and the costs with you.


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## Kimchi24

greg said:


> Do a further two treatments one week apart, as we discussed. Vacuum and a good size water change after each treatment. Callamanus worms should be eliminated. Personally I wouldn't tear your tank apart. Just keep a close eye on your fish over the next several months.
> 
> I don't know what your budget is like, but having had the worms once, I would suggest keeping Levamisole on hand. It has a shelf life of about two years. You could get more than you'll ever need for about $30 including postage. Perhaps you could find someone who will split the order and the costs with you.


yeah, im trying to figure out how to get it first. I was told to talk to a guy on ebay. As a guy who has never used ebay for anything, i dont even know what im doing haha. This is a separate tank from my main one. its just a bare bottom temporary breeding tank so i figure why not sanitize this one.


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## Mykuhl

Hey Kimchi, if you are going to buy some online: I am willing to go in on an order with you and split the costs. I want to keep some on hand.I had an infestation and lost all my rams, so I am concerned that I may have contaminated some of my other tank. PM me if you find some and want to do this.


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## greg

Kimchi24 said:


> This is a separate tank from my main one. its just a bare bottom temporary breeding tank so i figure why not sanitize this one.


Yes go ahead and bleach the extra tank. I use a 10:1 solution for cleaning aquarium equipment. It is both effective for sterilizing equipment and safe as it breaks down into salt and oxygen fairly quickly. Wear gloves and use bleach in a well ventilated area.

...and looks like you already found someone to split the costs of the Levamisole!


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## Kimchi24

Mykuhl said:


> Hey Kimchi, if you are going to buy some online: I am willing to go in on an order with you and split the costs. I want to keep some on hand.I had an infestation and lost all my rams, so I am concerned that I may have contaminated some of my other tank. PM me if you find some and want to do this.


Oh yeah! certainly will! I'll go on and look for ways to get it. I'll PM you with the results


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## Mykuhl

Great..thanks.


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## Kimchi24

Ok so i have a very interesting update. Since my last update, my last madagascar rainbow fish perished. Very sad because they were one of my favorites. I dosed the tank with levamisole as this is the second week and i will vacuum the bottom tomorrow. All my fish seem to be doing ok with the exception of one of my cherry barbs and my SAE. Hopefully they make it.

The interesting part is not in my main tank but in my breeder. Turns out my female dwarf neon rainbowfish is not dead, was just hiding. I was examining the tank because i was going to do the bleach cleansing as discussed earlier. Not only did i find my female... BUT LITTLE FRY! my first breeding attempt (although ending with camallanus worms) is an actual success! Now im really motivated to find some levamisole so i can dose that tank too. I dont want the fry to die of camallanus worms. Oh god, im so excited. I saw five so far but didn't get a really good look. im shaking in excitement. I dont know if i can get levamisole shipped to me but i am going to try calling my local vets to see if they have any. I read on the internet that people got levamisole from their vet. Anyone know of any dealers of levamisole who can ship to canada? OH THE EXCITEMENT!


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## Kimchi24

So i nabbed some photos of the fry. I hope they are not going to be affected by the worms.


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## pyrrolin

great news. At least you have accomplished getting fry, I can't even get that far with my breeding attempts so far. Even if the fry don't make it, it was still a great success.


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## Kimchi24

Ok, so i think this is going to be my last update here. I dosed the last bit of levamisole yesterday and did the water change today. I had no deaths since the last update and all the fish seem to be fine. I think i beat this thing. I'm still going to give my fish the levamisole flakes simply due to the fact that they suggest feeding one a day, twice a week every other week. seems very weak. So, ill continue that but i see no signs of the worms, any pissed off fish , or any strange looking poop. YES!


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## pyrrolin

great to have a success story, so often things go very bad. Feeding the food for a while longer would probably be a good idea just in case.....

Sounds like you are all set now. I would wait a few weeks before adding any new fish though just to be 100 percent sure


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## Kimchi24

Oh, i've learned my lesson. I already have 3 otto cats and 3 small BNPs to add. they are in quarantine though. Never adding fish without quarantine again


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