Camallanus worms gone (I hope), a mini cycle, now what?

HI

I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice. I saw that there are a few of you here who have had the dreaded camallanus problem and hoped we could all help each other.

I've had my 54 litre tank set up 3 months, well cycled, with 5 cherry barbs, 6 harlequin rasboras and 5 Armano shrimps. Three weeks ago I noticed red threads coming from one of my cherry barbs anus. Then I found a second cherry barbs also had it. After looking on google found out it was camallanus worms, yuk!

After lots of research I went down the route of treating with the tank with levasimole hydrochloride as it is supposed to be effective against the worms without killing shrimps. Here in the uk you can't get powder so I ended up using liquid bird wormer and treated to the recommended 2 ppm which equates to 2mg/litre. I left the treatment in for 3 days and left he lights off as this breaks down the levasimole. I fed daily and added some mushed peas as a laxative to help the fish pass the worms. Then I did large water change and gravel vac to get rid of any dead/paralysed worms and eggs. I then added API melafix and Pimafix daily for 5 days to help with any bacteria problems the fish may have had due to the worms.

A week after the first treatment one of my cherry barbs still had a visible worm. So I retreated. This time I used a new product specifically meant for dealing with camallanus worms called 'Esha NDX' which is basically a 20ml bottle of levasimole hydrochloride where you use one drop per litre of aquarium water, they recommend leaving in 24 hours before water change. I left it in for 3 days as I did the first time as the worm was still visible. Then large water change and gravel vac as before. The next day there was no outward sign of any worms, hooray! All fish and shrimp seemed fine and water parameters good (ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate minimal). All equipment has been sterilised to stop contamination. The plan was to retreat with levasimole in two weeks to get rid of any eggs/larvae left behind.

So so far so good. Then I read that the best way to get rid of all the eggs/larvae/worms still hanging around inthe tank was to get rid of the gravel. It sounded like a good idea at the time. Because I had a sponge filter and a corner filter and lots of ornaments and plants I figured they would have enough beneficial bacteria to cope with removing the gravel until I was 100% sure all the worms were gone. So I removed all the gravel. All in one go. Oops.

Moving out the gravel out didn't take too long and the fish and shrimps don't seem bothered. This is going to become a quarantine tank anyway because I have a new 200 litre tank waiting to be set up. However, it seems like I took most of my beneficial bacteria away with the gravel as I've been having a minI cycle for the past week. I've been doing twice daily water changes and adding a bit of API quick start to help with the levels, currently ammonia 0.5 - 1, nitrite 0.5 - 1, nitrate 0 - 5, they've been like this a few days now.

Sorry for long post but it makes more sense if you know the full story.

Questions:
1). Will the water parameters recover soon with regular water changes or should I get some tetra safe start to speed up the re-cycling process?

2) can I do final dose of levasimole while the tank is having a cycle again or should I wait until water levels good again?

3) will I be able to take my filters and plants into my new tank after the final levasmole treatment or will they infect my new tank?

Any advice/comments greatly appreciated x

 

I have used both Tetra Safe Start and Stability, I think stability is easier to use especially if tank already had some seeded filter material since it is compatible with prime. You can't use TSS for at least 24 hours after dosing Prime or other chloramine remover. Doesn't hurt to dose stability if you are worried about it.

I don't think it is a problem to dose Levimasole while cycling tank, just more things to keep track of.

I didn't change the gravel in my tank, hopefully the worms don't come back!

 

I agree with bigdreams in using seachem stability. As long as you have some bacteria, it will help boost it. I used it recently when I upgraded tanks and within the weeks time of using it as directed, my cycle was back on track.

 

Thanks for the reply bigdreams. If I use stability do I continue with regular water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite down or do I need to give it time to work?

Thanks hacksgirls. I've ordered Seachem stability, I'll hopefully get it tomorrow and can start getting my cycle back on track.

 

Still do your water changes if your ammonia and nitrites get too high. Just to give you an idea of how fast it worked for me, I went from a 45 to a 125. I followed the directions on the back of the bottle exactly. You basically double dose on 1st day and normal dose for 7 days after. Mine was on track just after 5 days! Not saying you will have the same results but it shows how well it works. I did complete the 8 day dosing anyways. If yours doesn't get where it should be in the 8 days, continue to dose.

 

Ammonia 0.5 - 1, Nitrites jumped up to 5 today, nitrates still minimal. Two times water changes done today. Thankfully Seachem stability arrived so I put the first double dose in as per instructions. I hope this helps speed the cycle up. The fish and shrimps still seem okay but I'm worried about the high nitrite lasting a long time. Poor little fishes. I'm going put off giving the last dose of levasimole until the water levels are better and when I feel more happy about reducing water changes, because it needs to be in the water at least 24 hours. On the plus side I haven't seen any further evidence of worms.

 

Do you have seachem prime?

 

I've not used prime before because it is so much more expensive than the other dechlorinators and I've never had a problem with raised ammonia/nitrate before. I'm happy to keep doing regular water changes as long as needed to keep the levels down. I'm hoping by using the stability that you recommended the cycle will speed up anyway. The ammonia was down to 0.25 today and nitrate is still about 2 or 5 (hard to tell, they both look the same!) with minimal nitrates 0 - 5. Is it worth paying the extra money for prime?

 

It is definitely worth the extra cost. It's super concentrated so you use a whole lot less. One capful treats 50 gallons! I just really trust the seachem products and I know a lot of people also agree. If you go to Amazon you can read what it does for your tank and read reviews. Plus amazon is a lot cheaper. You get a huge bottle for around $12. There are a lot of benefits with using a quality product for your aquarium. I hope everything gets straightened out in your aquarium quickly so you can get back to enjoying it!!

 

Prime costs about £18 for 500mls in the uk so it works out more expensive than in usa. But now that I've looked at how much water it treats I think it will last me forever compared to the other brands I've been using. And if it detoxes ammonia and nitrite as well then it is worth the extra money. I'll get some ordered. Thanks for all your advice!

 

You're welcome!! I think you'll be happy with it!

 

Update; I did final dose of levasimole (Esha NDX) at the weekend and we still appear to be worm free still hurray!

I've continued daily water changes and have been dosing with Seachem stability for the past week and the minI cycle seems to be coming to an end, ammonia 0 nitrite 0.5-1 nitrate 0-5. I've used prime every couple of days to help detoxify the ammonia and nitrite. All fish and shrimps have survived and look healthy and are feeding well.

I feel that I've learned loads about fish keeping from this experience. Hopefully it will set me in good stead for my new adventure with my 200 litre tank which we set up on Sunday - fishless cycling of course! Finding this forum has been great as it is the only place I've been able to get actual advice about my specific issues and be able to share my own experiences. And everyone is so helpful and friendly. Thanks everyone

 

Glad to see you are having sucess again. Nobody likes dying fish. Also, frankly I'm glad to see levimasole works. People have reported much more sucess with it than other dewormers, most of which flat out don't work.

 

Glad to see you are having sucess again. Nobody likes dying fish. Also, frankly I'm glad to see levimasole works. People have reported much more sucess with it than other dewormers, most of which flat out don't work.

Thanks for you comments. I think I'm lucky that I caught the camallanus early enough so that my fish weren't symptomatic which I think has helped them withstand the medication treatment. Also, I got away with treating successfully at the lower dosing level of levasimole. I'm considering using levasimole pre-emptively when quarantining new fish in future since it can take so long to show up. Anything to avoid going through this again!

 

I was just about to ask you about this lol.

I believe (hope) I am in the same boat as you and have caught it early.