Does my molly have internal parasites?
- Thread starter abrage22
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OK now my zebra danios have red bellys and redish gills. Water parameters are great. It's a new tank, but it's cycled. I'm slowly moving my fish from my old tank to this new one.
I've done two dosings of tetra parasite guard, it's been about 4 days now. I'm guessing it's not a good idea to move any more fish over until it's gone. So do I just wait? Anything I can do?
I've done two dosings of tetra parasite guard, it's been about 4 days now. I'm guessing it's not a good idea to move any more fish over until it's gone. So do I just wait? Anything I can do?
Mumma.of.two
Aquarium Advice Obsessed
Can you post a picture? Are there red worms/threads hanging from their anus?
I've tried getting a good photo but I can't, and yes, it looks like tiny little threads.
Mumma.of.two
Aquarium Advice Obsessed
They are red? Look up some pictures of camellanus worms and compare.
Well I don't know, from what I could find it may be camellanus worms but I'm still thinking some sort of parasite. Heres a quick video I just took...
IMG 03311 - YouTube
IMG 03311 - YouTube
Mumma.of.two
Aquarium Advice Obsessed
Camallanus worms are parasites. I'm sorry I can't really see anything in the video.
What country are you in? If your in the US I think angelsplus sells a medicated food. If your in the UK or Aus you can buy a bird wormer called Avitrol Plus and dose the water. Both contain something called Levamisole which IME is very effective at ridding fish of these worms.
What country are you in? If your in the US I think angelsplus sells a medicated food. If your in the UK or Aus you can buy a bird wormer called Avitrol Plus and dose the water. Both contain something called Levamisole which IME is very effective at ridding fish of these worms.
Ok, I'm going to move the 3 infected fish out of the tank tomorrow into a hospital tank, so that I can move my other fish into this new tank that the infected fish are in right now. Will the worms or whatever other parasite it might be, still be in the tank? If so I won't move the healthy fish into it. And if there are, is there something I can do to the tank while there's no fish in there to kill them off, like put in aquarium salt or something?
Mumma.of.two
Aquarium Advice Obsessed
Yes they will be in the tank. They can even be transferred from tank to tank via shared equipment.
DragonFish71
Great white snark
Having battled the worm many times, here's what I did to get rid of it and I suggest it to anyone who has it in their tanks.
First off, this is a very hardy parasite and very hard to kill. It takes more than treating the tank, the fish have to ingest the meds to kill off the worm.
Levamisole or fenbendazole both are good meds. I use fenben myself but have heard good thing about leva.
Get frozen, not freeze dried, blood worms (all fish love blood worms). Put a cube (or two depending on how many fish you are treating) in a non porous dish, like a coffee cup. Let the cubes melt and add some of the medication. Let the blood worms soak up the meds for about half an hour. Feed the fish this twice daily until you see the parasite change color. The blood worms will turn color too while soaking up the meds, that's fine.
After the first 2-3 feeding, you will notice the worms in the fish turning gray/brown. They aren't dead yet, but are pretty much paralyzed. The fish will start pooing them out. Since they are still alive, they get into the tank. Do a good water change and gravel vac. Get some Jungle Anti-Parasite fizz tabs and use them at half strength over a longer period of time.
Example; the package says use 2 tabs per 10 gallons, 30 gallon tank, for 3 days, that would be 18 tabs. To avoid stressing the fish out more because of the meds, use 1 tab per gallon for 6 days.
After the first round of fizz tabs and medicated food do another water change and vac cleaning. Wait a day or two, then start the whole process over.
The first process is mainly to weaken the adult worms and try to kill any eggs/young that they have produced. The second round is to get rid of the rest of them. You can do it a third time if needed, just be sure to do water changes in between.
First off, this is a very hardy parasite and very hard to kill. It takes more than treating the tank, the fish have to ingest the meds to kill off the worm.
Levamisole or fenbendazole both are good meds. I use fenben myself but have heard good thing about leva.
Get frozen, not freeze dried, blood worms (all fish love blood worms). Put a cube (or two depending on how many fish you are treating) in a non porous dish, like a coffee cup. Let the cubes melt and add some of the medication. Let the blood worms soak up the meds for about half an hour. Feed the fish this twice daily until you see the parasite change color. The blood worms will turn color too while soaking up the meds, that's fine.
After the first 2-3 feeding, you will notice the worms in the fish turning gray/brown. They aren't dead yet, but are pretty much paralyzed. The fish will start pooing them out. Since they are still alive, they get into the tank. Do a good water change and gravel vac. Get some Jungle Anti-Parasite fizz tabs and use them at half strength over a longer period of time.
Example; the package says use 2 tabs per 10 gallons, 30 gallon tank, for 3 days, that would be 18 tabs. To avoid stressing the fish out more because of the meds, use 1 tab per gallon for 6 days.
After the first round of fizz tabs and medicated food do another water change and vac cleaning. Wait a day or two, then start the whole process over.
The first process is mainly to weaken the adult worms and try to kill any eggs/young that they have produced. The second round is to get rid of the rest of them. You can do it a third time if needed, just be sure to do water changes in between.
and would this be what you're talking about:
Safe-Guard 4 Canine Dewormers - Dog - Sale - PetSmart
1,2, or 4 grams?
Safe-Guard 4 Canine Dewormers - Dog - Sale - PetSmart
1,2, or 4 grams?
DragonFish71
Great white snark
You'll need to treat the entire tank. Once one fish has it, it can spread like wildfire.
I use the 4gram packets
I use the 4gram packets
Lifeoffroad
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2011
- Messages
- 526
Want a better way to get rid if this worm. From my personal experience this was the only thing that worked and ut worked fast!
Levamisole. I found it on ebay. Used a quarter of a teaspoon in a 50gal tank and they were gone the next day!
Of course you want to do a good gravel clean and then one more dose about a week later just in case.
Seriously no offense to anyone else posting advice but if you gave camallanus worms this is the only cure.
Can't say if it is something other than camallanus but the red strings hanging out would be it.
Levamisole. I found it on ebay. Used a quarter of a teaspoon in a 50gal tank and they were gone the next day!
Of course you want to do a good gravel clean and then one more dose about a week later just in case.
Seriously no offense to anyone else posting advice but if you gave camallanus worms this is the only cure.
Can't say if it is something other than camallanus but the red strings hanging out would be it.
well since both of you recommended the Levamisole i'll try that, which one one of the two one ebay right now should i get?
Levamisole | eBay
I haven't seen any actual worms, just tiny little threads in the fish (which may be the worms), but I'm guessing Levamisole would kill just about any parasite it could be...
Levamisole | eBay
I haven't seen any actual worms, just tiny little threads in the fish (which may be the worms), but I'm guessing Levamisole would kill just about any parasite it could be...
Lifeoffroad
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2011
- Messages
- 526
abrage22 said:
Im sorry I didn't even notice Levamisole was recommended. If you are seeing little red hair like threads coming out of the anus of the fish sometimes going away (cause they retract back into the fish) than it is callamanus. This will without a doubt work for you, however, it does not work against all parasites. The good news is it is harmless to the fish and you can use it as a preventative.
Not sure which one to buy. When I bought mine it came in a big pack of just powder. I would suggest maybe starting another post or searching online as to which one to buy. I prefer a powder as you can be more accurate with dose. I guess you can crush down the pills.
Mumma.of.two
Aquarium Advice Obsessed
The bird wormer I used was in pill form so I crushed it into a powder then added it to the tank and it worked well. Levamisole can be safely combined praziquantel - another anti parasitic medication - to kill of other parasites.
Lifeoffroad
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2011
- Messages
- 526
Mumma.of.two said:
Levamisole Hydrochloride is what you want. Its not a bird dewormer its a dewormer for livestock, pigs, goats, etc.
I wouldn't get those pills you found on eBay I would keep looking for a place to buy Levamisole HCL. The reason I say that is I thin the real stuff is way more expensive. I paid 68 bucks for my bag and I see similar prices from people buying it and posting their experience online.
So I moved the sick ones to the hospital today. And in place put in the healthy fish, after I put in a couple of the fizz tabs in the tank. Should that be enough to kill what may have been left behind? I hate to risk the healthy ones catching the worm, but it was kind of an emergency to get rid of the tank they were in.
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