# camallanus worms??



## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

Ok I notice for the past couple days theres a little red thing poking out of my platys anus.. its not long at all and i dont see it moving... but its in the same spot. its so small poking out, and she hasnt been eating or anything... im scared that this is a worm..my other 3 platys are fine.... if i treat her, do i have to treat her in another tank, or can i treat her in the tank shes in now with the other fish in there? im scared that it already spread in the tank.. i read about it, and they lay larvae and stuff ...


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## DKRST (Jan 11, 2011)

I just got finished with the first round of treatment for Camallanus worms. They are a major pain. I'm assuming the projection(s) look kind of like paint-brush bristles, but reddish? I tried the medicated fish food from Jungle, that didn't work at all. I received some powdered Levamisole HCL from another forum member and treated my tank. That didn't kill the worms either. I finally had to use a dog dewormer - that got rid of them, but I'll be repeating the treatment at least twice more. Here is the info from my recent posting. I had to feed all the fish in the tank, absolutely treat all fish in the infected tank to break the parasite life cycle:



DKRST said:


> I am making definite progress. Here is what has happened to date. My Camallanus apparently is somewhat resistant to the Levamisole. I found another thread on this forum
> http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...eating-internal-parasites-fenbendazole-19108/
> 
> That link above has a recipe for using 22.2% Fenbendazole granules (Safe-Guard Canine Dewormer, purchased from Petco). I modified the recipe slightly. I ground up, using a spoon, 1/4 teaspoon of the fenbendazole granules and mixed that well with about 10-20ml of water (3-5 teaspoons). I let a serving of frozen bloodworms soak in that mix for one hour. I did not have any of the Seachem Focus on hand, but would recommend it to help the medicine delivery. I kept the tank dosed with a 2% Levamisole concentration. The Levamisole seemed to greatly increase my fishes appetite. They consumed the treated bloodworms without hesitation. I did not dump the entire mix into my tank, but spooned out the bloodworms, with a small amount of mix, to feed. After the treatment yesterday afternoon, no worms are visible as of this AM. I followed that up with a third treated feeding this evening. I'll repeat this medicated bloodworm feeding cycle two or three more times at 7-10 day intervals. Based on my research, that should break the Camallanus life cycle (approx 30 days) quite nicely.


Unfortunately, it won't help the one not eating, sorry. While it may seem a complicated recipie, it's pretty easy actually. Make sure you purchase a new 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon - don't return it to the kitchen after use! You can always try the Jungle anti-parasite food first. It may work for you.


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## ruby716 (Feb 24, 2011)

DKRST said:


> I just got finished with the first round of treatment for Camallanus worms. They are a major pain. I'm assuming the projection(s) look kind of like paint-brush bristles, but reddish? I tried the medicated fish food from Jungle, that didn't work at all. I received some powdered Levamisole HCL from another forum member and treated my tank. That didn't kill the worms either. I finally had to use a dog dewormer - that got rid of them, but I'll be repeating the treatment at least twice more. Here is the info from my recent posting. I had to feed all the fish in the tank, absolutely treat all fish in the infected tank to break the parasite life cycle:
> 
> 
> 
> Unfortunately, it won't help the one not eating, sorry. While it may seem a complicated recipie, it's pretty easy actually. Make sure you purchase a new 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon - don't return it to the kitchen after use! You can always try the Jungle anti-parasite food first. It may work for you.



do you think the other 3 platys have it already? they will all def get it eventually? i dont see anything coming out of the other 3, but i do have 2 shrimps in there so idk if any medication would affect them. So what do you recommend I do? Should I put her in the 2.5 gallon tank? If she isn't eating, do I just treat the water with something?


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## DKRST (Jan 11, 2011)

From what I read, the Fenbendazole does not seem to hurt inverts (in small doses), but I don't know for sure. It did not bother my snails. If you use the treatment I used, just don't dump the entire mix into the tank, spoon out the bloodworms to minimize the amount of medicine in the water.

It's very likely all other fish in the tank are infested. For the one not eating, I don't have a good suggestion, sorry!


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## zof (Apr 23, 2010)

Dog dewormer will actually kill snails, I was messy with my clean up with my infection and didn't do it properly or fast enough. 99% of the snails in the tanks died, from months and months ago their populations are now just starting to come back, if you follow the directions closely and keep it clean you shouldn't lose any or much though.


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