Does levamisole hurt nitrogen cycle bacteria and/or plants?

Can treating with levamisole have adverse effects on your nitrogen cycle and/or plants? Or is it fairly safe?

 

I found this that may be relevant: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25423406/

Levamisole does seem to affect nitrification on a dose-dependent basis, i.e. the higher the dose, the larger the effect. I have not read the article though, so don't know exactly what the details are. I think it might be worth a read though.

 

I found this that may be relevant: Short-term Toxicity of Various Pharmacological Agents on the In Vitro Nitrification Process in a Simple Closed Aquatic System - PubMed

Levamisole does seem to affect nitrification on a dose-dependent basis, i.e. the higher the dose, the larger the effect. I have not read the article though, so don't know exactly what the details are. I think it might be worth a read though.

Hmmm, with this in mind, is it worth it to treat every fish with levamisole(because camallanus worms suck), or is it not worth destroying the beneficial bacteria in my QT tank and better to only treat ones that show symptoms or are prone to worms(ie guppies)

 

Hmmm, with this in mind, is it worth it to treat every fish with levamisole(because camallanus worms suck), or is it not worth destroying the beneficial bacteria in my QT tank and better to only treat ones that show symptoms or are prone to worms(ie guppies)

I don't qt, so I can't answer that question sorry.

 

I've never dealt with camallanus worms and hate that you have. You have to treat all fish in the tank since they are highly contagious.

Good luck!

 

I have never had an ammonia or nitrite spike while treating a tank with levamisol. When you treat your fish will be slightly tranquilized, any snails will be more so, but with careful dosing everyone should survive. It is still possible to lose a fish that was heavily infected as there is other damage that accompanies the parasites that will have already been done. The only negative impact I have run into is a quick die off of detritus worms and other microbiome, but it all levels off and comes back eventually. Make sure to vacuum your tank well after treatment, and remember levamisol is light sensitive so store it wrapped in foil/in a dark cool place.

 

The following types of meds can have effect on the cycle: Antibiotics, Antiseptics, Disinfectants.
Examples: Erythromycin, Trimethoprim, Nifurpirinole, Amoxicilin, Formaldehyde, copper sulphate, high dosages of Methylene Blue and high doses of Metronidazole.

 

I've dosed with levamisole - the medicated food, not the powder - and there were no problems.

 

Hmmm, with this in mind, is it worth it to treat every fish with levamisole(because camallanus worms suck), or is it not worth destroying the beneficial bacteria in my QT tank and better to only treat ones that show symptoms or are prone to worms(ie guppies)

Is it worth it to treat every fish that QT's for parasites....yes. 100%. Absolutely.

 

I've never dealt with camallanus worms and hate that you have. You have to treat all fish in the tank since they are highly contagious.

Good luck!

No I'm talking about when quarantining new fish. I don't currently have an infection.
I was thinking I'd just treat every fish that comes in because camallanus worms suck, but I also don't want to have wreck my nitrogen cycle in my QT tank.

 

I had a 55 planted tank. I'm pretty sure the Camallanus came in with a pleco. Long story short. 6 months of treatment and I pulled the plug on the tank, euthanized the livestock, took everything out, bleached it and started over. Now I qt everything. I was successful treating a dozen mollys in my 29 gal hospital/qt tank but by the time the worms were gone, too much damage was done to the fish and I euthanized them as well. If one fish has the worm, they all do. It takes 6 weeks for the lifecycle of the parasite to occur. Throughout the cycle they are dropping babies like crazy. It's too late to treat when you see them. I post mortem examined all the euthanized fish and they were all infected and damaged.
One word: quarantine. For 8 weeks. No short cuts.

I don't worry about cycling a qt tank. The meds will screw it up. Water change and monitor the parameters.

 

I had a 55 planted tank. I'm pretty sure the Camallanus came in with a pleco. Long story short. 6 months of treatment and I pulled the plug on the tank, euthanized the livestock, took everything out, bleached it and started over. Now I qt everything. I was successful treating a dozen mollys in my 29 gal hospital/qt tank but by the time the worms were gone, too much damage was done to the fish and I euthanized them as well. If one fish has the worm, they all do. It takes 6 weeks for the lifecycle of the parasite to occur. Throughout the cycle they are dropping babies like crazy. It's too late to treat when you see them. I post mortem examined all the euthanized fish and they were all infected and damaged.
One word: quarantine. For 8 weeks. No short cuts.

I don't worry about cycling a qt tank. The meds will screw it up. Water change and monitor the parameters.

Ok. Long quarantine with meds. What about the Black Neons in the main tank that I'm trying to fish-in cycle? Obviously I don't want them to have worms and it takes a long time for worms to show up, but also will levamisole mess up the tank I'm trying to cycle?

 

I wouldn't prophylactically treat for parasite. The quarantine is for observation not treatment. Once the 8 weeks is up and there are no signs of issues, you are good to go. I don't do fish-in cycling, fishless cycling using ammonia is what I use. No short cuts.
I don't have experience with black neon. I have had experience with rainbow neon, they are temperamental and like to die for what seems like no reason at all. They are very sensitive to water change and are ph specific to the environment they were bred in.

 

I wouldn't prophylactically treat for parasite. The quarantine is for observation not treatment. Once the 8 weeks is up and there are no signs of issues, you are good to go. I don't do fish-in cycling, fishless cycling using ammonia is what I use. No short cuts.
I don't have experience with black neon. I have had experience with rainbow neon, they are temperamental and like to die for what seems like no reason at all. They are very sensitive to water change and are ph specific to the environment they were bred in.

Bleons are known for being very hardy, so not like rainbow neons(Btw what's a rainbow neon?). Both cycling methods have pros and cons and I'm not gonna spend hours arguing about it. Also yeah QT is an observation period, but oftentimes when fish show symptoms of camallanus worms it's too late, which is why I was thinking of treating them preemptively, but I also don't want it to destroy my nitrogen cycle.