Hello everyon! Its been a while since I've posted but I need some advice and I'm hoping those of you that have dealt with Camallanus worms will be able to reply:
Basically I had a pretty bad fight with Ick a while ago and treated it successfully in my 55 gallon, but since then I've decided to upgrade to a 120gallon for my clown loaches and my black ghost knife.
Tank Stats: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 20 nitrates and I've recently purchased a buttload of java moss and java fern to help with that since the frequent water changes dont seem to make a difference. ph 6.5. Sand substrate for the barbel fish and banjo cats, a large drift wood covered in recently attached mosses/ferns, some river rocks and LOTS of fake plants and caves, 2 filstar rena xp3 canister filters and 1 fluval 300watt heater, a couple bubble wands and UV sterilizer that came with this tank (not sure if the bulb is good or if it's even necessary but it's on right now)
Occupants: (and I realize that this is a bit much even for a 120gallon and I plan to purchase a 200gallon+ for all other occupants and give the 120 to the ghost knife for himself)
9 very healthy clown loaches (ranging from 1inch-4inch)
10 cherry barbs 2 males 8 females
2 banjo catfish (2 inches each)
2 dwarf gouramis
1 blue gourami
1 gold gourami
1 dwarf blue ram
2 baby angelfish
1 snowball inspector pleco
1 chocolate zebra pleco
6 khuli loaches
1 rainbow shark (3inches)
4 goofy cories (2 skunk 2 peppered)
and 1 healthy 6 inch black ghost knife
So about 2 weeks ago I noticed my gold gourami starting to get swollen. I wasnt sure if she was gravid or sick because my male blue keeps trying to make bubble nests and chases her around a lot lol but about 10 days ago I noticed tiny red strings protruding from her anus and after some research discovered it was the "dreaded camallanus worms"
I then thoroughly inspected all other fish and it appears that almost all the cherry barbs have 1 to 2 worms dangling from their anus as well. If I understand this parasite at all, odds are, everyone in the tank is infected by now, but so far only the 1 gold gourami and cherry barbs have visible symptoms. Everyone else looks fantastic, no bloating, no swollen anus, no lethargy etc.
10 days ago I began treatment with Fenbendazole aka Safe-Gaurd for dogs and I've fed them 2x's a day for the entire 10 days and am beginning to second guess my approach on this. For AM feedings I soak pellets, wafers, and flakes in about 1/10 a pack of the dewormer (which is powder form) with a small amount of tank water. I let it soak for 30mins-1hr then dump entire contents into tank. PM feedings I soak frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp (2 cubes each) refridgerated for 1-2 hours then dump entire contents into tank. The fish definately HATE the taste of the meds, but eat it anyway. So far I have seen very little improvement. The barbs eat, but after eatting return to the corner of the tank where they bunch together and sit there motionless. The gold gourami (the most heavily infested) eats voraciously the medicated food, but swelling remains the same, as do the worms protruding from her.
I'm a very patient person by nature and I have zero problems continuing this for weeks so long as someone here can attest that this method works... I know Levamasole (sp?) hcl is the best approach but I'm hesitant to medicate my black ghost knife and I can't find anything on the internet about whether or not it's safe for them or my clown loaches... I take very cautious approaches to the way I handle illnesses with the fish because of the sensitivy of those 2 groups. Aside from the worms, I'm not having any other issues with the fish and it's a shame to think I might lose all of these fish. I treat them with so much care and diligence, the idea of starting over is devastating to me (I know that sounds rediculous). Does anyone here believe there is a chance for me to save the majority of my babies
Thanks for any help/advice!!!
Basically I had a pretty bad fight with Ick a while ago and treated it successfully in my 55 gallon, but since then I've decided to upgrade to a 120gallon for my clown loaches and my black ghost knife.
Tank Stats: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 20 nitrates and I've recently purchased a buttload of java moss and java fern to help with that since the frequent water changes dont seem to make a difference. ph 6.5. Sand substrate for the barbel fish and banjo cats, a large drift wood covered in recently attached mosses/ferns, some river rocks and LOTS of fake plants and caves, 2 filstar rena xp3 canister filters and 1 fluval 300watt heater, a couple bubble wands and UV sterilizer that came with this tank (not sure if the bulb is good or if it's even necessary but it's on right now)
Occupants: (and I realize that this is a bit much even for a 120gallon and I plan to purchase a 200gallon+ for all other occupants and give the 120 to the ghost knife for himself)
9 very healthy clown loaches (ranging from 1inch-4inch)
10 cherry barbs 2 males 8 females
2 banjo catfish (2 inches each)
2 dwarf gouramis
1 blue gourami
1 gold gourami
1 dwarf blue ram
2 baby angelfish
1 snowball inspector pleco
1 chocolate zebra pleco
6 khuli loaches
1 rainbow shark (3inches)
4 goofy cories (2 skunk 2 peppered)
and 1 healthy 6 inch black ghost knife
So about 2 weeks ago I noticed my gold gourami starting to get swollen. I wasnt sure if she was gravid or sick because my male blue keeps trying to make bubble nests and chases her around a lot lol but about 10 days ago I noticed tiny red strings protruding from her anus and after some research discovered it was the "dreaded camallanus worms"
I then thoroughly inspected all other fish and it appears that almost all the cherry barbs have 1 to 2 worms dangling from their anus as well. If I understand this parasite at all, odds are, everyone in the tank is infected by now, but so far only the 1 gold gourami and cherry barbs have visible symptoms. Everyone else looks fantastic, no bloating, no swollen anus, no lethargy etc.10 days ago I began treatment with Fenbendazole aka Safe-Gaurd for dogs and I've fed them 2x's a day for the entire 10 days and am beginning to second guess my approach on this. For AM feedings I soak pellets, wafers, and flakes in about 1/10 a pack of the dewormer (which is powder form) with a small amount of tank water. I let it soak for 30mins-1hr then dump entire contents into tank. PM feedings I soak frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp (2 cubes each) refridgerated for 1-2 hours then dump entire contents into tank. The fish definately HATE the taste of the meds, but eat it anyway. So far I have seen very little improvement. The barbs eat, but after eatting return to the corner of the tank where they bunch together and sit there motionless. The gold gourami (the most heavily infested) eats voraciously the medicated food, but swelling remains the same, as do the worms protruding from her.
I'm a very patient person by nature and I have zero problems continuing this for weeks so long as someone here can attest that this method works... I know Levamasole (sp?) hcl is the best approach but I'm hesitant to medicate my black ghost knife and I can't find anything on the internet about whether or not it's safe for them or my clown loaches... I take very cautious approaches to the way I handle illnesses with the fish because of the sensitivy of those 2 groups. Aside from the worms, I'm not having any other issues with the fish and it's a shame to think I might lose all of these fish. I treat them with so much care and diligence, the idea of starting over is devastating to me (I know that sounds rediculous). Does anyone here believe there is a chance for me to save the majority of my babies
Thanks for any help/advice!!!
