Help! camallanus infestation of A. Eunotus

[natczer]

Hi,

Am fairly sure I have a camallanus worm infestation of my Apistogramma Eunotus. There are a few tiny threads hanging out of the fish's anus, but they are white not red. He is still eating well and is not inflamed. He is in a tank with a female and many young fry, so am also worried about them. Could it be anything other than camallanus? Have read advice on using levamisole (spelling?). Any other options? Help!! Live in Australia so treatment options may be more limited.

Natalie

 

[fishgeek]

likely to be other worms
camallanus is definetly red
cestodes/acanthocephala/nematodes are the likely familes of gut worms

generally cestodes are white to yellow in colour, generlly have a complex lifecycle which should make their spread about a tank slower(not always my experience)
clinical signs of infestation may just be bloated abdomen and malaise
praziquante is useful against adult life stages, repeat treatments will be required

acanthocephalans are infrequently pathogens in aquaria , treatment is often reliant upon cotrol intermediate arthropod hosts, piperazine has been suggested

nematodes , agan complex lifecycle which in theroy makes them a smal threat in aquaria(not the experience of many here) either white or red
clinical signs anaemia(gill palour) emaciation and lethargy, mucoid feaces are often seen with gut lining damage caused whilst worms are feeding
only adult lifestages are susceptible and treatments will therefore need to be repeated
levamisole/flubendazol/fenbendazol/piperazine

andrew

 

[natczer]

re

Hi Andrew,

Yes, the worms are red so probably camallanus. Have done the 24 hr bath you suggested to Sime in the previous subject. Used the same bird-wormer he used. At what point would you suggest repeating treatment? The fish's anus is no longer swollen but can still see a couple of worms hanging out.

Natalie

 

[fishgeek]

if you have used a sufficent dose then repeat treatments need to be some weeks apart

the actual product will only treat free living adult life forms

camallanus is supposed to have a complex lifecylce and use small arthropods as intermediate hosts
encysted or unhatched egg's will not be affected either

saying all this i usually repeat treatment only twice 2 weeks apart , i do not suppose this eliminates totally the infection rather just allows the host fish to recover a normal balance (unless the biology for camallanus is altered in aquaria)

do you know the final % solution you had of the levamisol dissolved in your water ?
i think you need about 1.5% or 15mg/litre( not the 1-2mg/l i wrote previously)

if the fish are still eating you are likely onto a winner , occasionaly inappetance will be seen with the medication, though the worms themselves often make the fish inappetant and chances for recovery then are lesser

good luck

 

[natczer]

re

Okay...the stuff I've got it called 'worm-enda'...used for birds.

On the bottle it says 8.48mg/ml...not quite sure how to dilute it.

 

[natczer]

Link

Here's a link to the product info....under a different brand name. Not the 'plus'...just the normal avitrol.

http://www.mavlab.com.au/fidos_worming.html

 

[fishgeek]

says 10mg/ml so about 1.5mls per litre of tank water should work out fine
sounds as though you guessed ok
what volume did you put in as i have another list member who has had quiet a disaster with levamisol on one applictaion, i believe it to be due to some other factor and would be interested if you overdosed with few side effects

andrew

 

[natczer]

re

I just used the whole bottle (30ml in my 2ft tank, probably about 40 litres)....so probably wasn't really a high enough dose. However, I have read at The Krib that you can overdose at up to 500 per cent without any casualties, so think you're probably right about it being something else

 

[natczer]

extraordinary

Another fish I recently obtained had the same worms. I recieved another treament suggestion...using the worm-enda in a less diluted form as a shorter term bath. The dosage was 10 ml per litre for three hours. At the three hour point the worms were falling out of the fish...wow! I have lost fish to this before...and am thrilled (fingers crossed) that I've found a solution.

 

[EuJin]

Hi Natalie,

Is it possible to obtain some Levamisole for my apisto nijsseni? I have huge problems trying to get it from the vet I have seen, an exotics vet is charging ridiculous prices to consult fish.. I hope you can help or email me as to where I may find some of that medicine. I think my nijssseni has camallanus. I'm in the northen beaches btw - Sydney.

Yu Jin

 

[fishgeek]

jin try the link that was above , it is a bird wormer and is likely to be available through any pet shop that sells birds , perhaps even online

all vets will be able to sell you levamisol , it depends whether they are prepared to do you any favours and breach prescription laws
the exotic vet will be working onthe basis that he has specialist skills and can sell those skills at a premiun(ie diagnosing your fish probs!)

andrew

 

[EuJin]

Thanks Andrew!

Will try to get it off a pet store, but somehow I think I will not medicate. Anyway, my nijsseni pair have eggs after blood worm feeding. Yes!

rgds
Yu Jin

 

[natczer]

update

Hi all,

Just wanted to update...had major problems with my treatment afterall. I treated my 4 ft tank as well as my 2ft tank. Did the (almost) 100 percent water change after 24 hours...and all was going well. Treated my 4ft tank and left it longer than 24 hours (but was using a much lower dosage of 1 ml per 7.5 litres) (argh!) went back to the tank after about 36 hours (stupid me). I had killed 4 barbs and a catfish and other fish were gasping at the top of the tank...I was able to save all of my apistos (thank goodness) but am feeling very stupid for being so careless. I found the bath method (about 10 mls in a litre of water, floating in the top of the tank with the affected fish) worked, with the worms falling out and the fish not really distressed. The affected fish are now all doing well. This is a reminder to be very, very careful with medications.

Natalie