click

Camallanus Worms - That's a name I wish I never knew what means. I will track my battle with this pest in this thread.

My fish experience is not that long; started my first tank in October. The first fish in were 6 male guppies. Out of them, one in particular was a bit bloated (my black & white tuxedo, there's a pic of him somwhere), and everyone else (including myself) thought it was constipation. I fed the whole gang peas, they all ate it including the "fatty" one. I never gave much thought to his larger belly, thinking it was just the way he was. He was eating and pooping and looked happy. Peas were added to the regular diet and they were always devoured.

This morning I noticed he had an awkward postion (vertical at times, heads up) so I immediatly thought he must be constipated again. Took him out of the tank and put him in a 2g bowl with a live plant and tank water and some gravel.. I fed him some pea and he ate it. I was planning a day or so with no food till he gets back on track. I was constantly checking to see if he poops. After a few hours, he looked like he was trying to poop, but instead of the expected strain of (excuse me) poop, I see this red pointy thing. I was terrified. I immediately started to to a web search and learned about this horrible worm and that there seems to be a wide spread problem in my province and many local aquarists complained the local fish stores have worm problems ( I wish I kew this before). Apparently these worms might even by-pass quarantine since it can take up to 6-12 weeks before any symptom can be observed.

After reading some more about the symptoms, I made a connection with some wierd behaviour I noticed in the other guppies. From the first week I had them, I noticed every now and then they would scratch their belly on leaves. I inittialy thought they might have ICH and I kept a close eye to see if they develop the well known white granulles. No trace of that so I concluded they don't have ICH and they must be playing with the leaves. They didn't. Apparently this is a symptom of Callamanus Worms, since as they move in their belly they give the fish some ich sensation.

So I have to conclude all my fish are now either infected or at risk to get the worm. I am now reading and I've learn some good news that there have been success stories in treating this parasite, so I am being optimistic. I just hope Darth Vader pulls it through. I have to buy him a small filter and an air pump since I was not prepared for a hospital tank yet. I was waiting for the XMass sales to get all that.

Looking now for the required medication in my area (Fenbendazole). Apparently that might be the biggest challenge, since it seems to be unavailable in Canada.

Anyway, I will keep you posted. Fingers crossed for Vader.

aquarist48

Hello Click. Here is a link to another thread recently posted with another treatment other than Fenbendazole. Maybe it will be another option for you as well.
Best of luck. So sorry to hear your fish aren't feeling up to par.
Ken
Camallanus Worms...

Tony G.

I remember this little guy, was he the one that was getting stuck on the filter? or the one that was confused as a female? Poor little guy that really sucks... the store could have problems for selling infected fish too. I hope everything works out for you, fishy prayers going your way.

click

I found a picture of Darth Vader. He is not as bloated as in this pic, but still not the way he should look. Yes Tony, this is the guy that was thought to be a female. I guess now I know why he was grumpy at times and chased the other guppies. In the past few weeks he calmed down and was getting along with all of them. He still eats, so I guess he is not giving up, and neither am I.

Thank you for the link Ken, I have noted that chemical too. I am now eagerly waiting for my husband to come home. He works in a lab and who knows, maybe he is familiar with these 2 chemicals and he might have some handy.

Attached Images

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Tony G.

I remember him. Hope he goes through it unharmed.

kcarmartinez

My fish were treated with the Levamisole only 4 days ago so I can't say for sure that it is definitely gone. But I saw two worms come out and their holes are definitelty smaller. Mine are girls so I just thought they were pregnant.
If you decide to go with the Levamisole HCL I recommend the http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ItemsForSale.html. I don't know what the rules are about chemicals and shipping to Canada though. It was relatively inexpensive and very helpful. 1- 5 Gram pack treats 100 gallons (instrucions on how to treat less are easy) and you only have to treat once then once again in three weeks incase camallanus eggs MIGHT not be killed by it.
I was talking to a friend who was a Walmart manager for their fish section several years ago. She told me the horror story of finding "red worms" and having to get rid of 5 tanks because there was no cure and the water was shared between the tanks. I have been very careful with bleaching my net and syphon for fear of contamination. It is a shame these meds are not more accessible.
I would say if you get meds, put your fishy back with his friends and treat them all. Even my snails are fine.

click

I've found a supplier close to Canadian border that ships here and I ordered garlic flakes with fenbendazole as active ingredient. It was really cheap and I have heard others on other forums saying they're effective (as long as the fish eat them). My fish still eat (even the sick one) so I am confident it will work.

I have also found a private supplier of Levamisole salt in the area but I am a bit nervous to buy from a stranger since I have to rely on him that he gives me the right dosage and that it won't end up killing all my fish. Plus it feels like I'm buying illegal substance...I don't know, feels awkward.

Trying to be safe, I will go with the providers then, and as last resort, try to contact the local supply.

...left my sick fishy all alone home, hope he's doing OK by himself.

switty22

Hi Click, how are your fish doing? I just discovered that my platies I've had since September have cammalanus worms. After seeing this thread I decided to try treating my tank with Levamisole. I used the link from kcarmartinez's reply and the Levamisole is being sent out today. Hope your fish are getting better!

kacie

Hi, I treated my fish with levamisole and I do have some survivors. I also ordered from Guppies Plus in Florida some flake food with Fenbendazole just to be sure that I've kicked the worms. Started treating the tank today.

click

Hi,
My fish are still doing well. The one guppy with major problems is still fighting in the Q tank. I've found some food with levamisole at my LPS and he's been eating it since Sunday. He looks more lively lately, but he doesn't seem to eliminate the worms yet. My Q tank is bare bottom so I'm analyzing everything that comes out He still has his apetite and there's one more day of treatment so I'm optimistic.

I've decided to try some new garlic flakes with fenbendazol that I found online. They should arrive today or tomorrow. I have heard people saying they're effective. I will feed them to my guppy and see how he's feeling after.

If all else fails I will get the levamisol salt from a private person that's elling it in my area. As I said before, since Levamisole is not allowed to me marketed here, I'm not very confortable buying from a private person, since it feels illegal to me.

click

The garlic flakes with Fenbendazole have arrived and I started feeding the fish yesterday. They seem to like the food. I have to feed them every other day for a total of 5 feedings. I am hoping my guppy in the Q tank will eliminate those parasites since it's getting annoying. He seems to be doing fine and seems to look better every day but I still did not find any culprits sitting on the bottom of the tank. I can still see one every now and then hanging out of his anus.
Fingers crossed those *******s die.

Edit: oops, I just hit some curse filter. I didn't know that was a bad word

Fishies-for-me

I had these worms in a male guppy I bought. I tried to get levamisol but had no luck. I used the jungle labs anti parasite food. The fish hated it. The only way I could get them to eat it is to crush it to a powder and then feed it to them only...You are supposed to feed 3 days of meds and 4 days of regular food. If I did that they just starved the 3 days holding out for the real food. I fed them the med food for a month straight and had no losses in fish and a complete cure of the gup with worms. I also had no one else get them out of th 2 tanks of fish and 3 bettas that I had at the time. That was 1 1/2 yrs ago and no reoccurance of this worm.

kcarmartinez

Maybe I didn't wait long enough for the Jungle Labs food to work (and I wasn't alternating regular food either). I am glad to see that it worked for you after a month. It did seem to be helping the female who just had an enlarged anus. But my female with the visible worms didn't seem to be getting much better and I wanted them gone. I didn't know they sold food with Fenbendazole.

click

They do at AngelsPlus and it's very cheap. I got an 8oz package and I could feed a whole pond with it . Apparently is something new. I'm mid treatment so I can't tell yet if it's working or not. I can still see the bad guy hanging out from time to time so it is not dead yet. The good thing about this food is that is made with garlic flakes and the fish seem to love it. I did try the Jungle product till the other one got delivered but the fish would just spit it right out and not eat it. I guess it doesn't taste that good.