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Bolivian Ram Not Eating


DougAdel
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  • 2 weeks later...

Well neither the flubendazole or levamisole treatments seemed to have any affect on Olivia (although the cories are back to their usual ways).

I moved the tetras to the main tank as I thought maybe there was too much activity in the 20gal for her.

I got a dimmer light thinking she might be too stressed by that.

I gradually increased the temperature (80 degrees) for a little bit hoping to stimulate her appetite, but it seemingly had no effect. I dropped it back down after (77).

After the medication treatments I now do twice a week pwcs to keep nitrates under 10

She still sits in the back under her anubias with her sunken belly and stress colours. I think I've done everything I can and perhaps it's just time to wait it out to see if she decides to get better on her own.

Big thanks to everyone who chimed in with their help and suggestions and a big thanks to Jayba who sent the flubendazole my way.

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No, I never saw the worms get pooped out. The Angelfish in the main tank is where I noticed them first while the Ram was still in there. It was treated with Levamisole and the red threads protruding from the Angelfish vanished. The main tank was a gravel bottom though so they could have been passed and vacuumed up.

I have never seen any of my other fish display the same red worms protruding out the anus like the Angelfish though. I know this doesn't mean much as they spread quickly, but I haven't had a recurrence of the worms with the main tank after the treatments.

What would you consider a "wide spectrum" antibiotic? I have some kanaplex left after a swim bladder problem with a platy. Or do you mean products like StressGuard?

Edited by DougAdel
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  • 2 weeks later...

Things have finally come to a head today.

Olivia appears to be on her last legs. I found her squirming on the bottom of the tank this morning. She can't even swim without flopping side to side. I'm guessing the worms inside her have caused a major infection. She's in quarantine now.

The original tank also contained a dead platy this morning. I thought I had beaten cammallanus, but out of curiosity I did a little fish autopsy only to find more worms than fish insides.

I followed the directions. Symptoms went away and retreatments were done.

Are my tanks too far gone? Should I tear down, sterilize and start over?

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Rip out all the substrate as the eggs lay in it. Boil or bleach it. Treat a couple more times and start again. Or uthenize everyone, and start over. Sorry to hear about your troubles. These things are very efficient parasites.

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Thanks for the support everyone. She passed this evening.

I think tomorrow I will do the substrate boil. I might even get new substrate. Does anyone know where to get eco complete in Edmonton?

Jay, what are your thoughts on FENbenzadole? I've read about it, but it seems a little more dangerous for the fish...

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Thanks for the support everyone. She passed this evening.

I think tomorrow I will do the substrate boil. I might even get new substrate. Does anyone know where to get eco complete in Edmonton?

Jay, what are your thoughts on FENbenzadole? I've read about it, but it seems a little more dangerous for the fish...

Sorry to hear about.your bad luck ac stocks.it most of the time

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Honestly sterilize everything! Had these nasties and took forever to kill otherwise. I have used flubendazole and found in my experience was easier on the fish than levamisole. When I used it my tank did a mini cycle, so sterilizing your filter might not hurt. Could see if anyone has some established media to lessen your cycle time

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Well that was a long process, but I think I got everything out. There were a bunch of worms in the filter media so I sterilized it too. I'm in for a lot of water changes in the next few days, but hopefully it's for the best.

This thread has kind of taken a new turn so I'm going to stop updating it. I'll hopefully post some positive news in a different category once all the treatments are done.

Once again I'd like to thank everyone for their input and support. This community here on AA is fantastic and I'm glad to be a part of it :)

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