Callamanus Treatment Not Working?

[Spookie]

I discovered some of my fish had Callamanus worms, so after research I ordered Levamisole in Vermisol pigeon dewormer powder. I began this treatment about 24 hours ago. I gave my 36 gallon tank 5 grams to get the correct dosage recommended by some sites, turned off the lights, removed carbon from the filter, and added aeration. I was planning on doing a massive water change tonight and vacuuming gravel to get rid of lingering medication/worms, then waiting a week to follow up, but some of the fish STILL have the worms! They are hanging out farther than before, and there are less, but two fish definitely still have live bright red worms. Should I vacuum and do a water change and retreat them tonight, or wait a few days, or what? From what I read they should have all died within hours of treatment, so I'm not really sure what to do now... My fish are pretty angry with being treated already, it sucks that it didn't work like I thought it would! I tried the method of soaking blood worms in Fenbendazole earlier in the week, and they just wouldn't eat them. Any advice would be great!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I would try the Lemamisole again if your still having issues. Make sure to do a large water change before dosing again. From my understanding the worms arent acually killed by it but rather paralized then expelled. If a fish is heavily infected it might not be able to pass the worms. Try feeding their favorite food during treatment to encourage a bowel movement. Good luck!

 

[aptom203]

Shelled, crushed/finely chopped peas are also an effective laxative for fish.

 

[DragonFish71]

Soak the food in the medication. The fish needs to ingest it to kill the worms.

I use blood worms because fish go crazy for them and fenbendazole, but have heard levamisole works just as good.

Get a small, non porous dish, like a clean coffee cup, put in some frozen blood worms, put in the medication, let the blood worms soak in the med for at least half an hour then feed. It doesn't work as a tank additive. It has to kill these parasites from within. Do this twice a day. If the fish don't take to the worms, try adding a little garlic juice. Don't use freeze dried bloodworms, go for the frozen.

Now, for the tank itself. Get Jungle Anti-Parasite fizz tabs, enough to do two treatments. Start with a water change, then add the tabs at half dose for a longer period of time. Meds are harsh on fish, so by doing it this way, there's less stress. After you've completed the first dose of tabs, do a water change and a good gravel vac. Mumma is correct, the worms are paralyzed after they drop out of the host fish, but can become active again, which is why you want the fizz tabs. Give it a week, then do your next dose of tabs followed by another water change and vac. Make sure you are feeding the fish daily with the soaked blood worms. In between the water changes, you should start seeing the worms turn gray, that's a good thing.

 

[Spookie]

Thank you! I left the Levamisole in my main tank for three and a half days and finally all of the worms are now gone, but I'm not sure if I will use that method again. While all 20+ of my fish in my tropical tank survived through treatment and were totally fine, the goldfish tank that I also treated with Levamisole was catastrophic. All seven of them became lethargic and died from the medication suddenly. They had been exposed to a fish that I had moved from my main tank into theirs, so I had treated them before they became overly infested, I had no idea they would be so sensitive to it. When I retreat my tropical tank in a few weeks I'll do the Fenbendazole method instead. I'll look for frozen bloodworms instead of freeze dried and get some tablets. Thank you!