# Deworming Tetra - Safe for Assassin Snails?



## drella (Mar 22, 2011)

Hello, I just ordered some Levamisole HCL in hopes of deworming my cardinal tetra. I thought at first it was anchor worms and my LFS advised API General Cure, which I used with no effect. These are long white worms (as you can see in the pics) that go in and out of his body, protruding from around his fins, etc, and it's just getting worse. Now I'm thinking it's some kind of roundworm or nematode parasite, so I ordered the Levamisole...

I have him isolated in a 3 gallon but I've already noticed tiny white worms on the fins of his tankmates, and I think I have to treat them all in the main tank...

My questions are - a. has anyone encountered these worms, and was Levamisole effective in treating them? b. do you know if it's safe for assassin snails?

I probably have 50 babies of various sizes in the substrate of the 30 gallon, where the rest of the cardinals live... it's impossible to remove them as they hide really well... and I don't want to kill them!

Also, the same tank has danios, a guppy, and panda corydoras. Will they be OK with the Levamisole HCL?

Any advice and insight will be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!!


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

Those are some intense parasites:shock:. IDing them would be pretty difficult without a microscope, but I've never seen anything like that before. Without a proper ID you risk the Levamisole HCL not being effective. As far as the snails go, I would not expect them to be effected by the medication. I've used levamisole many times on new fish and my ramshorns, MTS, and pond snails never seemed to be bothered by it. As far as that tetra goes I'm pretty sure he is a lost cause in the end, but its likely the tankmates are at an earlier stage and can be saved. Levamisole is a really great med, its very easy on the fish but very effective on the parasites giving it a very short treatment time. Once you use it there is a pretty immediate effect. With heavily infested fish like that cardinal tetra the sudden loss of such a large parasite load within a few hours can often end in the death of the fish. Its due to the large number of open wounds on an already weaken fish. 

Main issue I see with the snails is once you first add levamisole HCL the treatment is done 24 hours later. Most the worms should fall off and/or be passed out of the fish. Due to how levamisole works you are REQUIRED to clean the substrate, filter, decor, ect very well and do at least a 90% water change. Levamisole doesn't kill all of the parasites, most are simply paralyzed by it. So cleaning the tank thoroughly is key, then repeat the treatment a few times with about a week between each treatment.


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