Camallanus Worms in Catfish?

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mistern2005
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Camallanus Worms in Catfish?

Post by mistern2005 »

I am trying to figure out if plecos in particular are susceptible to camallanus worms? Has anyone had, or know of, any type of pleco or catfish that contracted these worms? If so, I'd sure like to know about it.

Also, any information about any other type of fish infected, treatment provided, etc. would be greatly appreciated!!!
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eklikewhoa
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Post by eklikewhoa »

I think it could be possible with any fish but that's from reading it off the net. I had a guppy that had it but I didn't treat it and it died.

Here are some links I found while doing a search on the worm



http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/154/
http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/CamallanusTr ... ience.html
[url]http://tropheusfanatics.invisionzone.com/[/url]
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Post by Des »

Hi

Almost 2 years ago,I had bought a pair of Royal whiptails (Sturisoma) that exhibited the signs, a few days after purchase, of these dreadful worms. Unfortunately I had introduced these fish into one of my Zebra tanks. I treated the tank with Levamisole. Unfortunately the Sturisomas didnt survive for too long, I presume due to the internal damage caused by these worms, but the treatment worked causing no visible signs of these worms, soon after treatment and no other fish were infected.

Regards,
Des.
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Post by McEve »

I've have a second hand account of a Golden Nugget that was infected
Toppcats
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Camallanus

Post by Toppcats »

Regarding camallanus nematode infestation.
I have spoken via e-mail with and read the report by Mr Charles Harrison at the inkmkr link noted above. The following is a culmination of what I have found in various readings, posts, and Mr. Charles Harrison.

It appears that the camallanus nematode can be one tough and nasty critter to get rid of once established in an aquarium. It is identified in its' adult form by the presence of reddish strands protruding from the anal vent of the infected fish. These strands may appear as one single larger entity at times. Livebearers appear to be the most susceptible to acquiring this nematode but other fish types have also been reported as susceptible. > I have not seen any first hand/confirmed reports of this parasitic infection in plecos so I don't know if they are susceptible or not to acquiring this parasite (the infection in plecos may also be hard to spot as they are not usually the most visible of aquarium fish)>(anyone??) NONE of the current LFS medications appear effective in eradicating this parasite.

The good news is that the drug - Levamisole - appears very effective against the camallanus nematode as well as other internal/external parasites. Other good news is that most (but not all) reports I have read show that Levamisole is well tolerated by most fish. There appears to be a rather wide tolerance curve for the drug which means one does not have to absolutely precise with the dosing ( in a tank with a lost of gravel/furniture this may be important since a stocked 55 gallon tank will not be holding 55 gallons of water).
In addition the reports are pretty consistent that Levamisole does NOT kill the nitrosomal bacteria critical for your cycled tank.

The bad news is that infected fish may still not survive AND dosing the tank with the medication is only the first part of a muti-step treatment plan that is needed unless one is willing to nuke the tank, destroy all the infected fish, and quarantine all exposed fish for several months! The infected fish you see have a substantial bioload of worms a number of which are securely fastened within their lower intestinal track. Once the nematode is killed by Levamisole it is STILL present and attached within the affected fish's body. The affected fish needs to pass the dead worm or be able to withstand the breakdown of the dead worm within its body.

The nematodes life cycle involves a number of steps with multiple life forms and here is where the real work comes in. It is recommended that large volume water changes of 70-100%!!! are made pre-treatment and post-treatment with Levamisole. This is done to significantly reduce the bioload of all of the nematodes' life-cycle forms present (and copepods) within the tank (disturbance of all substrate areas should be aggressively done with the water removal to mobilize any 'cysts' which are present). The pre-treatment water change is also to reduce the presence of any other medications within the tank (as per Mr. Harrison) to prevent any unexpected drug interactions (the suggestion was also made that if you have recently placed a full treatment of some other medications to the tank that you wait 3 days after the pre-treatment water change prior to the addition of the Levamisole to the tank). The post-treatment water change is NOT done in order to remove the Levamisole ( as I have seen stated in a post elsewhere) but rather to reduce the threat of primary infection or re-infection via any of the pre-nematode life-cycle forms which could be present despite the Levamisole and to remove the dead nematode life forms. This point to me is critical because if a re-infection does occur at this point you could wind up with a Levamisole RESISTANT camallanus infection at which point you would have no choice but to nuke.

Following all of the above it is recommended to repeat the whole treatment process after about two weeks time. This second treatment is to eradicate any nematode life-forms which managed to escape the first treatment - the time factor allows any surviving pre-worm forms to have moved into another stage where they can now be killed by the Levamisole. Following all of the above one can only continue to be vigilant for any return of the infestation. If one does occur - your choice- retreat from square 1 or nuke. My feeling is that if the reinfestation occurs within six months - nuke with total cleaning of the tank and replacment of the substrate; if more than six months I would opt to go with the tank re-treatment.

Note that the above mentioned water changes WILL stress fish, especially those already dealing with the effects of dead but not passed nematodes. This may/will also add to overall fish mortality but as the water changes are currently a recommended part of the treatment plan, this stressor does not appear to be avoidable. >I would appreciate any feedback on this area from those who have treated a tank with Levamisole AND not done the large water changes which are recommended>

All nets used for this tank should also be sterilized to prevent re-infection and cross-infection. Hands should also be washed prior to and after dealing with an infected tank.

Based on all my reading on the topic I would have to recommend a Levamisole treatment be used as a part of a quarantine plan prior to introducing anything into your established tanks.
Levamisole is NOT a readily available medication. If you decide to acquire some please use the link provided in a posting above to inkmkr (Mr. Charles Harrison). His pricing is quite reasonable and he responds to e-mails fairly quickly.

Gary
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mistern2005
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Post by mistern2005 »

read my article in the article section...it at least summarizes my expereince.

to give an update, it has been alomst two months and I have not seen any re-infestation in my fish. :D
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