Help!!

[Mishtay]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum. I have been recommended to this site by the Petsmart out in Kanata. About a month ago my boyfriend and I noticed red strings coming out of my female betta's bum. I called Big Al's in Kanata to ask them about it and they had no idea what it was. Telling me that it was my betta's poop. We didn't think it was poop so we spent about a week trying to diagnose her through the web. We finally figured out it was Camellanus Worms (of course!!) and have been since looking for ANYTHING in Canada that could help. About a week before we noticed the worms protruding we had put another female betta in the tank because Peach was looking kind of sad and alone but took the new girl out after (maybe less then an hour) because they didn't look like the were getting along. We put Aurora in our 30 gal with all the other fish. Now Im worried about the state of my big tank. Poor Peach passed away due to the fact that it took so long to find out what it was in the first place and also due to the fact that once we did find out it was Camellanus Big Als in Kanata has sent me away twice with medications that do nothing for Camellanus. I am frustrated and helpless. So far my big tank does not look like the worms have spread but I don't think it is worth it to take a chance and wait and see.

We have not been successful finding Levimasole in anything other then the Anti-Parasite Fish Food by Jungle Labs. And so far the tank is on week two of four of the feeding treatments. If there was any worms in the tank would I be seeing the fish expel them? And also how do the even get these nasty little buggers anyways?!? My boyfriend and I are very anal with our tanks checking Ph and ammonia daily. The Ph is usually comfortably around 6.2-6.5 with zero ammonia. The tank is heavily planted with huge amounts of driftwood as well. We have 1 female betta, 2 hatchfish, 5 glowlight tetras, 2 bolivian rams and 1 pencil. *There was 5 pencils but we had to Panda cichlids that were little nasties in the tank and they killed the other 4 off and 2 other tetras... I will replace when and if I can get rid of the worms.

[magnosis]

Levimasole is regarded as the cheapest & most effective dewormer for Camellanus, at least from what I've read.

Keep in mind it's is not a product specifically designed for aquarium use, so you'll have better luck finding it at PetSmart in the Dogs sections.  We use is for our horses and usually get it from Apple Saddlery (on Innes rd) or GreenHawk (on Slack rd)

[Mishtay]

I have been doing the feeding with the Jungle Anti-Parasite food for a little over a month now. The fish seem to be doing well. They are on the week of normal feeding this week and then back to a month on the medicated food just to be on the safe side. I haven't noticed any of the fish acting the same way Peach was in the betta tank so I am pretty sure the big tank is safe. Harsh lesson learned but from now on fish will be quarantined.

[daworldisblack]

Whew! Massive catastrophe averted! I got a few bags of levamisole all the way from BC but it was worth it in the end. Like you i was freaking out but I think i narrowly missed the hit so none of my tank inhabitants were victims. Only the new fish that had the worms! Lesson learnt: quarantine any and all new fish before introducing to the main aquarium. Levamisole is still part of my quarantine treatment just in case.. Camallanus worms are no joke and worth the effort!

[Mishtay]

Very true... I am shocked at the fact that most petstores or fish stores for that matter have no idea about Camallanus Worms or how to treat them. They should have more meds to help people treat their fishies. :@

[Greatwhite]

Very true... I am shocked at the fact that most petstores or fish stores for that matter have no idea about Camallanus Worms or how to treat them. They should have more meds to help people treat their fishies. :@

Lots of pet & fish stores don't know a lot about LOTS of stuff.  It's always good to share our own experiences with the employees there, so that the next time someone asks them for help - they may have an answer for them.

[HappyGuppy]

Did you solve your callamanus problem or do you still need meds?   Dog deworm tablets (vetscriptions) containing mebendazole work great and are available at petsmart.  Search Ovas for my username and callamanus and you should find the thread where I posted the dosage and regimen.  Tip : act fast.

[Mishtay]

Im pretty confident I somehow missed passing it to the other tank. *Knocks on wood* None of the other fish are showing any signs the betta had. They are all eating and pretty active. No rubbing against anything and none of them seem to be hiding or even schooling. We are still on high guard for any signs showing any parasitic action. I did actually go to Petsmart last night and picked up the dog dewormer. How will it affect my shrimp?? Im not quite sure if I should wait to treat the tank if I know for sure they do have the worms or if I should just treat it to be safe. I don't want to stress them out for nothing, but I also don't want to loose any more fish.