problems after treating w/ levamisole

[monlov]

well i finaly got the chance to dose my tank with levamisole to get rid of the nematodes in my tank. this is what i did, first i removed my carbon filters from my penguin 350, and replaced them with regular filter pads. then i dosed the tank following the istructions on this page
http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/CamellanusTreatment.pdf . right after i put the levamisole in i noticed all of my snails pulled themslevse about halfway into there shells. which i thought was odd. then my upside down catfish started swiming around like crazy and hits the sides of the tank(very odd because he never comes out during the day, if he does hes is realy cautious and slow). then my molly, two zebra danios and my remaing bolivian ram sat/layed down on the bottom. when i saw this i started to do 20% water change, and put the old filters back in. now only the molly and one zebra danio are on the bottom. a couple snails have started walking around again too. what did i do wrong? im think im to scared to try to treat it again even though i have noticed dead worms floating.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

When did they start acting odd? Was it right after you added the levamisole? It could actually be the dying worms exacting their last revenge. It could also be something else in the levamisole preparation the caused irritation. I'm not sure what effect levamisole has on snails.

 

[monlov]

yes it hapened right after i added the levamisole, everything i read online said it was perfectly fine to use with snails. it also said its nearly impossible to over dose, so i dont know what i did. i lost one danio, he seemed as though he had a swim bladder issue, after he died i looked him over and his stomach was all red. im going to try and move the snails to a different tank.

edit: i checked the ph and its normal. amonia 0, nitrates 0. i moved the snails and the few that came out of there shells seem like there drunk? moving sluggishly, falling over ect. it looks like they dont have the natural "stickyness" on there foot anymore, could that have burnt off? the bolivian ram has become extremly dark. the mollys looking better and swiming around a little.

 

[Devilishturtles]

What brand levamisole did you use? Does it contain any other medications/chemicals like methylene blue or malachite green?

 

[monlov]

the brand name is agrilabs, its marketed as a soluble pig dewormer. the bottle says that it is pure levamisole hydrochloride.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Did you do the very large water change that the page reccomends? Or just the 20%. I don't know what could have been the problem. Sorry. More water changes may help incase your levamisole was...tainted in anyway (though I really don't see how that is possible).

 

[fearlessfisch]

Wow, it is very interesting to read this. The very first time I put levamisole in the tank, my fish appeared to freak out, too. I ended up doing a 50 percent water change because their behavior scared me so much. They were racing around the tank and several were hanging at the bottom.

I dosed it a second time at half dose, just because I really, really wanted to kill those worms. No problem. Since then I have dosed several more times at a normal dose, and never had a problem or a reaction from the fish again. I don't understand it, but that first time seemed really traumatic for them. I wondered if I accidentally had something bad on the spoon that time, but could not for the life of me figure out what could have gone wrong.

I have also read that it is almost impossible to overdose.

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

I go back to my idea. Maybe the worms start thrashing around or digging in more, causing lots of stress for the fish. Even the parasites detaching from their feeding site could cause some internal bleeding.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Sure makes sense. Good theory A_G.

 

[fearlessfisch]

That makes sense, Apocalypse Gold. Interesting thread.

 

[monlov]

thanks for all the responses, at this point all is well and i didnt loose any fish the bolivain ram started swiming more yesterday, and today he looks fine again. im thinking Apocalypse_Gold's theory is right, even as how the snails reacted. i had moved the snails into a tupperware container and a few hours lated i noticed a clump of fecal matter that had dead worms in it. so im guessing the snails had worms.

thanks for the post fearlessfisch, i was to scared to try the levamisole again, but maybe ill do it at half dose and see what happens.