# Camallanus/Levamisole/Frustration



## Merman (Nov 23, 2009)

Hello All,

I would have put this under 'General Discussion' but felt it possibly would get overlooked by those that could possibly be able to help me or offer advice.

I've been breeding Angelfish for awhile and have five tanks total (30/75/45/45/10 gallons each) each tank planted except for the 10 gallon and each with mostly Angelfish at various stages of development.....everything was pristine and then.... 

A few weeks ago I noticed worms hanging out of one of my mature Angelfish and quickly got on the net to find out what new thing I had...turns out it is Camallanus. With a little further digging I found an individual in MO in the States who has a web page and was offfering to sell and send it out to people as required. (this occured before I registered here, in fact it was what led me to join this site)

I sent him a money order on the 20th of November, the same day he stated he sent the Levamisole....he told me it would take 7 to 10 days to get to me - so far I haven't rec'd. anything: assuming that is 'business days' (and it's the holiday season) I've waited until now to send him an e-mail asking if he rec'd. the M.O.

I know I'm sounding a little impatient and rattled but seeing more and more of my fish come down with this is certainly making me squirm. 

As I'm sure nobody in my household wants to hear me going on any more about fish/aquariums/worms/medications...I've turned to you for opinion...


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I think a member here had ordered a bunch. I was going to jump on it myself but i've been hit hard with the christmas pinch. 

You could PM Cory and see if that was him...

I am soooo sorry about the worms, they are indeed a nightmare to deal with. Will you be treating all of your tanks?


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

I believe this is the post:
http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10680&highlight=Levamisole


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## Merman (Nov 23, 2009)

Thanks Ciddian and Calmer and I have been in touch with Cory.

I'll definitely be treating all my tanks including nets, siphons, tubing...everything. Apparently Callamanus spreads very easily through water droplet transmission.

Makes me wonder how many people may have this and not even know it. A lot of fish don't necessarily show the worms but just simply slowly waste away and then die - not what you want if for example you're looking for good, large healthy specimens of Angelfish. I'm sure a lot of pet shops simply shrug this off as they see freshwater fish as disposable and cheap anyways - in their tanks for maybe a couple of weeks and then gone - next!!!

I know Big A's in Mississauga have their tanks interconnected; they share a common water system (I would assume all Big A's are like this), great for the spread of these bugs...

From here on in I'll be buying fish less frequently and treating them for Camallanus (whether they show signs or not...and they usu. don't) with Levamisole in quarantine.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I will agree with you fully there merman, I had picked up some nice female bettas and the worms didn't crop up till months later. I don't usually go out and buy new additions often so I was really stumped on where they could have come from.

These worms are really getting common..


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## DaFishMan (Dec 19, 2006)

Sorry to hear of the worms, hope your fish are well soon with minimal loss.

Angelfish are one of my top fave fish. Would love to know what strains you have. I will be looking for some Silver Zebras (with the bluish on the fins, and red eyes) when my 75g is set up.

I'm betting fish you most recently added may have been carriers. I know discus folks quarantine and treat with levamisole and praziquental for quite some time before goes into their established tanks. I NEVER buy fish at BA anymore. Too many horror stories, 'super-ick', internal bacterial infections, all on a shared water supply.... And a crap guaranty.

If no-one in here can get you some Levamisole, pm CichlidSam at pricenetwork.ca he might still have some. There's also meds at the fishstore that contain same, although I'm not sure how effective they are.

Hope that's of any help and best of luck


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Ciddian said:


> I will agree with you fully there merman, I had picked up some nice female bettas and the worms didn't crop up till months later. I don't usually go out and buy new additions often so I was really stumped on where they could have come from.
> 
> These worms are really getting common..


I've been reading up on Camallanus worms. It can take 10-12 weeks for the worms to appear at the vent. Meanwhile they've been shedding eggs and reinfesting the fish until the gut is so full the worms start hanging out. This parasite uses copepods (a group of almost microscopically small crustaceans found in just about every aquarium) as an intermediate host.

Camallanus cotti originated in SE Asia and has spread world-wide with the ornamental fish trade. It's gotten into natural waters in several parts of the world, notably Lake Biwa in Japan, and nobody has any idea how serious a problem this is going to be for fish in the wild.

It's important to vacuum the substrate when treating, and re-treat after several weeks because the eggs in dead worms can continue to develop and start a new infestation. This is one tough parasite! We're lucky that something as relatively non-toxic as levamisole works on it. Let's hope it doesn't develop resistance.

Don't try to pull worms out of an infested fish. The head end is hooked into the intestinal wall with some really vicious structures, and tearing it out will do even more damage. Besides, if there are worms visible, there are plenty that aren't.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

I just wanted to mention that I've been getting A LOT of pms for the levamisole recently. The worms seem to come up in big crops every now and again so I guess we're in one of those phases. Right now, unfortunately, I'm pretty much out of it but I am ordering more for anyone that needs it. I'm trying to get a better rate on it as well so everyone can save costs. In the mean time, I do have some flubendazole for anyone who wants something immediate. It works on the worms as well but it clouds the water pretty good and kills snails (and therefore possibly other inverts). Otherwise, my fiance has got in touch with the supplier and I should have more camallanus-killer in a short while. In the mean time, I suggest people avoid buying fish from Big Al's as this is where the worms seem to be coming from (all locations).


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## okoolo (Nov 1, 2009)

do those worma attack all fish? I was considering buying neons and hopefully pygmy cories from BAls Mississauga .. now I'm concerned ..


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Cory said:


> In the mean time, I suggest people avoid buying fish from Big Al's as this is where the worms seem to be coming from (all locations).


There also seems to be a lot fo Neon tetra disease incidence in BA tanks of late - I've seen it every visit to BA in the last few months.

As far as I know, all fish are succeptible to callamanus worms.


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## okoolo (Nov 1, 2009)

what would be a safe place to buy neons and pygmy cories from (other then local hobbyists ofcourse)


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## Merman (Nov 23, 2009)

Okoolo,

...try Dragon Aquarium next to Big A's in Mississauga, I think they've got nice neons in right now - they're tanks are much cleaner.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

okoolo said:


> what would be a safe place to buy neons and pygmy cories from (other then local hobbyists ofcourse)


Don't be fooled into thinking local hobbyists are guaranteed to be safe either. Better chance that they are but you should always quarantine fish no matter who they're from.


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## dchow (Oct 30, 2009)

Are there any other symptoms other than protruding worms?

I've had a guppy for a while now (3 months+) that is really thin compared to others purchased at the same time. I figured it was just a result of genetics, and the fact that the fish has always been more timid than its tank mates. Yesterday I noticed that it had two short thin orange colored things protruding from its anal region. Is this camallanus? If so does this mean the entire tank is likely infected? They all seem active and healthy. How would I treat these worms and how do I know that treatment is successful?


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

Here is a link to some pictures of camallanus worms
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/callamanus-worm.html
If this is what your fish have then everyone in that aquarium is infected and if you share nets, gravel cleaners, filters etc. with other aquariums then they should be considered infected as well.
You can use levamisole or panacure (fenbendazole).
Panacur information:
http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/154/


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

dchow said:


> Are there any other symptoms other than protruding worms?
> 
> I've had a guppy for a while now (3 months+) that is really thin compared to others purchased at the same time. I figured it was just a result of genetics, and the fact that the fish has always been more timid than its tank mates. Yesterday I noticed that it had two short thin orange colored things protruding from its anal region. Is this camallanus? If so does this mean the entire tank is likely infected? They all seem active and healthy. How would I treat these worms and how do I know that treatment is successful?


Sure sounds like camallanus. It also explains why you are doing everything right, but your fish keep getting these columnaris infections. I suspect that despite your excellent water quality your fish are debilitated by the camallanus infestation you've just discovered. The worms are red because they are full of fish blood, and they are damaging the fish's intestine as they attach and feed.. By the time they are visible at the vent, there are a lot of them in the fish.

I think that once you get the camallanus under control, treating the columnaris will be more effective, or even unnecessary. All the fish in the tank are likely infested, and fish in your other tanks may well be too. This is a real awful parasite, especially because it can take months for specific symptoms to appear. Meanwhile it has spread everywhere.

Levamisole is the drug of choice for these worms. Do a lot of gravel vacuuming because eggs will mature even in dead worms. Treat again after several weeks. While the drug is not very toxic, sometimes if a small fish is heavily infested, the dead worms can block the intestine or the open wounds in the intestine left as the worms drop off can get infected, so you may lose some fish. But it's important to treat as soon as you can.

Btw, I said in a previous post that these worms use copepods as an intermediate host. I recently found another paper that tested this. In the absence of copepods, this particular species, or at any rate, the strains that have spread world wide in ornamental fish, can go for a direct lifecycle, and infest fish even without an intermediate host.


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## Merman (Nov 23, 2009)

...just an apdate re. my own situation: I am presently treating with levamisole and remove the medication with an as-close-to-full water change as possible tomorrow. My fish (mostly angelfish) are acting 'drugged out' on the meds/not reacting to my approach/sitting close to the bottom, I am also treating a tank of two and a half week old baby angels and they seem a little more 'drugged out' than the older angels (it was either treat them and risk losing them or risk re-infection of all of my stock via this tank)...other residual fish (rainbowfish/tetras/corydoras) acting as usual but none of the fish seem to have much of an appetite/little or no response to food.

I had only seen actual worms in one or two of over a hundred fish. I had noticed odd behaviour in some of my fish (some not showing worms): thin and sunken in belly area and not growing at same rate as others of the same species, tendency to hide though still exhibing only a little territorial behaviour.

I am on day two of a three day treatment and will post follow-up. 

I think it is important to note that this situation seems so dire due to it's not being all that obvious to most individuals and it's onset and progression can be so gradual coupled with a high degree of contagion. If any of this is noticed in any of your fish then most likely it is present in all of your fish whether they are in different tanks or not. If levamisole were readily available this would not hold nearly as much weight as it does.


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## dchow (Oct 30, 2009)

Jungle Anti-Parasite Pond Food

After some googling I found the active ingredients to be these:
Same stuff, only lists active ingredients. Check under more information tab

Contains; Praziquantel, lavamisole and metronidazole.

Question: Why does the pond version of their anti-parasite food contain lavamisole? Why does the aquarium version not? Apparently I just misread. I checked several other links and they are all listing lavamisole. It also appears the pond and aquarium varieties are exactly the same.

Question 2: Assuming the fish ate the food, would this medication work?


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

> Question 2: Assuming the fish ate the food, would this medication work?


It's hard to get the fish to eat the food to begin with and no it does not get rid of camallanus although it says it does. I believe the levamisole comprises .5% of the active ingredients and if the fish doesn't ingest a ton it won't kill off the worms. I've tried it the 3 times I've had the worms and it hasn't worked once.


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## Merman (Nov 23, 2009)

I agree with Cory. I tried the Jungle Anti-Parasite food too while I was waiting for my levamisole. It is a very low grade fish food, the main ingredient I think being soy, the fish just spit it out and I too questioned the low amount of levamisole which was around .5 or .4 %

I ended up soaking half of a 28g bottle in water then mashed it up and added it to a beefheart/shrimp mixture and fed it every couple of days to my fish - no change.


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