# callamanus worms



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

My nannacaras have what is almost certainly callamanus worms. Vent wide open, rec colored striny worm like hanging out. Is there a cure? If not (the nannacaras are pretty well gone) how do I sterilize the tank without killing off the good bacteria? There are a bunch of corys and neons not showing signs yet, but I am sure it is a matter of waiting and they will show up. What to do?

Thanks!


----------



## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Try praziquantel (PraziPro or Jungle Parasite Clear). Start with a massive water change, and vacuum the substrate extremely well during and after treatment.

It also looks like Levamisole is also recommended for callamanus worms, but it's a little harder to find. With an extensive outbreak, I don't know how effective a medicated food will be, but after you get it cleaned up, it may be worth trying medicated food for a bit.


----------



## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

triscuit said:


> Try praziquantel (PraziPro or Jungle Parasite Clear). Start with a massive water change, and vacuum the substrate extremely well during and after treatment.
> 
> It also looks like Levamisole is also recommended for callamanus worms, but it's a little harder to find. With an extensive outbreak, I don't know how effective a medicated food will be, but after you get it cleaned up, it may be worth trying medicated food for a bit.


Jungle Anti-Parasite Medicated Food contains levamisole. Bit of a pain I've found since it floats.
Edit: Also, I'm not sure it's a high enough concentration for callamanus.


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

Praziquantel won't touch callamanus it only works on flatworms.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I have this saved from a recent fish healty article FWIW:

General parasite cures will not eradicate them. Instead, a special anthelmintic drug is required, such as Fenbendazole or Levamisole. Fenbendazole can be added directly to the tank as a long-term bath, redosing every seven days for a total of three weeks. The whole tank must be treated in order to destroy Camallanus in the water. Ã‚Â

Note: The anthelmintic Ivermectin, which is used to treat cattle parasites, is not suitable, being toxic to fish.

It was spelled differently in the article, is it the same worm?

Camallanus worms


----------



## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I've always spelled it callamanus, but after some searching, there are far more results for camallanus.
Also, Flubendazole is another alternative reported to work against 'you-know-what' 
I think they're all equally difficult to find. Try a friendly vet.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I see this on the list as available from fish-room suppliers: Fenbendazole.


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

fenbendazole is a common dog de-wormer and comes in a granulated form (most commonly) I talked to Steve at Angels Plus and he said to feed the fish food treated with fenbendazole--that it has to be injested for it to work; he never said anything about putting it into a tank. I am leery of that because I do not know the proper way to mix it and the ratio of water to medicine even if it did kill larva and eggs. If anyone has had experience with this I would love to know. I am feeding a flake treated with the med (Angels Plus has them)...the ones that I want to eat it the most just spit it out and the red ceibel and the baby krobia gobbled it up. If it is not consumed within a matter of seconds then the effectiveness is lost to the water per Steve. So my plan is to let the fish go for a whole day with no food (except for the fry of course) then feed them every other day and hope they injest enough of this med to kill the worms internally. then do massive water changes and wait a week or so and repeat for a few months until I know this parasite has been eradicated. What a nightmare.


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

Hey DJRansome

Did that article tell you how to mix the fenbendazole for the bath to kill the eggs/larva in the water? What I have is 3 1 gram packets of the medication. Should it be predissolved before putting in the aquarium? It won't touch the internal worms. I am using fenbendazole treated food for that.

Also do you know how much to use in how much water to soak freeze dried foods before eating?

Thanks! Bruce


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

No, sorry, it was an A-Z Fish Health article and had just the couple sentences on each item.

I don't know if it applies, but when soaking food in metronidazole I use the full dosage for the tank size, add food/water and soak, and dump the whole mess in the aquarium. Some penetrates the food and the rest medicates the water.


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

My tanks range in size from 10 gallon to 75 gallon. Of course there are no directions on the packet because it is for dogs. the packets are 1 gram packs. How much will that treat? Will the med kill young fry? I have oblongum and Krobia sp. Xingu with young fry that I do not want to lose.

Thank you for your help!

Bruce


----------



## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I've read that the dosage is roughly 3 grams per 100ml, to which you add the food you want to use. 100ml seems like a lot. I might try 1 gram per 33ml and add food.
No information discovered regarding fry or eggs. Apparently it will kill nerite snails however.
Links:
http://tgvas.com/Forum/showthread.php?1 ... 7#post9237
http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/154/
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/memb ... post151532


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

Thank you, I will try that dosage. :thumb:


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

what is the correct dosage (grams per gallons) to dose the water column? The little buggers are back. Now I have a female oblongum with the worms. I am dosing with the fenben 3 grams per 100 ml and adding food to it to soak and then feeding one bloodworm at a time--and it is working. I just need to know how to dose the water column to kill the larva. These apparently are live bearing nematodes and the larva can be killed this way. Anyone venture a guess?


----------



## londonloco (Mar 31, 2011)

I know where to get panacur, pm me for the site.


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

I already have the fenben. I just need to know the dosage for treating the water column.


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

I found this post that helps. Hope the author doesn't mind me hijacking his post.

1.	You may have trouble locating Levamisole, but Panacur (Fenbendazole) de-wormer is good as well and widely available (also used in Safeguard).

I would start ASAP, and repeat the treatment a few weeks after the first round is completed. Panacur comes in 1 gram packets, and 1/10 gram will treat their food plus a 20 gallon tank, so you'll have to divide the gram into equal amounts accordingly.

Before treating, do a partial water change, vacuum gravel, and remove any activated carbon from filter. It doesn't mix well with water, so grind the powder as fine as you can then shake in a container with a small amount of tank water. I use 1/8 cup in a baby food jar with a tight-fitting lid. Soak some food in the container for at least an hour with a pinch of garlic to make it more palatable and for its anti-parasitic properties. My fish spit out pellets and flakes, but ate bloodworms heartily, so I used them exclusively in further treatments.

When ready, pour entire contents into tank. Mix up little batches to medicate their food for the next three days, but don't add more medication to the water directly. After the three day treatment, do another partial water change and vacuum gravel. It's important to repeat this same treatment in about three weeks time for complete eradication. After both treatments, I fed frozen peas (shelled and thawed) to help them pass any dead worms, along with Jungle brand anti-bacterial pellets for a about a week, all soaked in garlic juice. The worms will perforate their intestines, and I did lose 2 Rams who were badly infested, but one who definitely had them hanging pulled through, much to my surprise. Also treated a BN pleco and ghost shrimp, who are still doing well. Good luck!


----------



## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Thanks for sharing- please keep posting to let us know if it works. :thumb:


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

I just ordered some FOCUS by Seachem to help bind the medication to the food. My female oblongum has even more worms protruding then she did yesterday...the med must be upsetting them. She would only eat very little today...I will starve her for a day and see if she will eat then. The others are eating the food OK, which suprises me. I read that fenben is toxic in the water column, but it is not and I added quite alot to the oblongum's tank yesterday and nothing died or even appeared stressed. I am treating every tank just in case.


----------



## Bruce Haynes (Sep 8, 2010)

I just located levamasole if anyone is interested pm me and I will give you the website.


----------

