nanmer Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 At the last CAS meeting Dan Gross gave an interesting talk on Discus. He talked about fish health and making sure you purchase healthy stock. He purchased some Asian Discus and they were full of worms. This lead to an early demise. This got me thinking that perhaps many species of the Asian imports have worms. I have quite a few Betta and am concerned about them. Apparently the fish do great for a while and then start a slow decline as the worms take over. How can I go about getting rid of intestinal worms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quetzalcoatl Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 has any of your fish passed away under suspicious circumstances? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanmer Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 No, I have only really had the betta for 4 months. They do seem to suffer from quite a few stress induced maladies that can't really be explained. I only wish I was as stress free as my fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sierra Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 It would be better if you could identify the specific worm. However if you're really paranoid you could try a general dewormer (wouldn't recommend) I wouldn't worry too much it could be many other things. I would recommend: isolate them and be careful for cross contamination Keep a close eye on them and pay attention for visible worms. Other really good signs: are they loosing/not gaining any weight? do they have a good healthy appetite? Look at them from the top down for a better judgement on weight. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanmer Posted March 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) I was just being pro active. Dan lost quite a few of his discus and would not want to chance loosing any of my betta. especially if it can be prevented. I know that Asia is well known for parasites. I watch "Monsters inside of me" lol. If there are parasites present, he mentioned that there is really no clue until the "fishopsie" and the gut is quite full of tapeworms etc. I was mostly bringing the topic up as personal interest and to get some of our experts feedback. Edited March 20, 2012 by nanmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 maybe Levamisole would work? They use it in cattle and sheep to deworm them...so maybe as a general dewormer. I've used the stuff before and there was no effect other than killing worms. I can only guess that it would do the same for all worms? idk...I might be way off on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 There are a few guys on PlanetCatfish that use a couple of meds on all of their new plecos. I can't remember what they are off hand, but it'd be worth a search over there. If I get some time this afternoon, I'll see what I can dig up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprucegruve Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 i would appreciate it j ^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanmer Posted March 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 took a look on planet catfish and really did not find anything on preventative worming. Seems Jungle Parasite Clear comes up quite a bit to rid internal parasites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisher Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 (edited) Levamisole HCL came to mind right away. Does anyone know what distinguishes JPC from levamisole? Edit: Yes, I'm too lazy to look Edited March 21, 2012 by Fisher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanmer Posted March 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Any more feedback? Very interested to know general opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayba Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 (edited) I have supplied Levamisole for Fairdeal, Angel Al, a major importer of Arrowana's and some other big ticket fish. They all get doses as a preventative process, so the worms don't propagate in your tanks. Levamisole is used on all my fish as part of my QT regime. Many fish stores have worms, but frankly it is not worth the time or money for them to treat them. Just sell them fast, and get the next shipment in. If dosed at 1g per 100 gallons, there is no noticeable stress. The problem with worms is once you can see them, the internal part of the fish is ravaged. It's not being paranoid, it's being proactive, just the reality we have to deal with. Once you have say cammalus worms, they can be very hard to rid your tank of it, and it is so easy to cross contaminate all of your tanks. Been there, never want to do it again. Edited March 22, 2012 by Jayba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgd Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Yeah. I'm just getting over an outbreak. It took a full tear down to bare bottom and repeated treatments of levamisole to get all the worms. Levamisole doesn't kill the worms, you have to remove them manually. The med stuns them so they drop to the bottom and you vacuum them out. If they are in your filters and gravel thy come back after about 4 months. Ask me how I know. I will be euthunizing any fish that isnt prized if mine as the rest are scarred and look terrible. Worms cause the fish to develop all sorts of open wounds, etc. From now on I will be treatin any new fish with levamisole hcl. Besides deworming it is also supposed to help boost the immune system. So it helps any other infections be prevented. It's also very hard to overdose and doesnt affect plants or shrimp or other hard to treat fish. Google it and there is a great article on loaches.net or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisher Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 (edited) Thanks for the thread on Levamisole HCL dosing Jayba! One of the links you shared contains an article on loaches.com written by Shari Sanford, although her bibliography link wasn't working the last time I tried. Shari mentions that inverts can be part of the callamanus life cycle. She also mentions an alternative treatment called Flubendazole, which she says, "will kill snails." I compared this to Diflubenzuron that appears on the ingredient list for Jungle Parasite Clear (yes, I got unlazy). JPC advises against using the chemical with crabs or shrimp. Hmm. As expected, there are plenty of web opinions about whether or not these are the same chem, but I couldn't find a single web fact positively linking the two. However, I did find both chemicals listed on aquafolie.com under the collective warning "Do not use with invertebrates" (all in French though). It makes for a strong case to deworm during QT (imo). After that... Do you have inverts with your bettas Nanmer? Edit: mispelled French Edited March 22, 2012 by Fisher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nanmer Posted March 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 Looks like I may try Avitrol Plus. It contains levamisole and Praziquantel (effective against tapeworm). I have seen it at UFA and have used it in the past when I raised chickens. I may do a test case to make sure it is safe. Here is an interesting article I found while scanning loaches.com: http://www.loaches.com/disease-treatment/levamisole-hydrochloride-1/?searchterm=%20levamisole In particular one statement caught my attention "Internal parasites that can be treated effectively by levamisole are endemic. They are everywhere. Fish are also susceptible to these parasites." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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