# Sticky  Experiences with Callamanus worms and Solutions



## Mykiss

As it was a sticky in the previous BCA server, I thought people would want this back up....

I thought I'd post one of my articles which I had written for the Vancouver Aquatic Hobbyist Club news letter. The reason I thought it was worthy of posting is because lately people have been experiencing these nasty worms (nematodes). Anyways, enjoy!

*Parasitic nematode: callamanus worms*

Many years ago I received a handful of angle fishes from my cousin which I placed in a tank of their own. It wasn?t until a month after I got the fish that I noticed that they had little red worms sticking out of their vent (anal opening). I was surprised since I had never had them before and I really thought nothing of them but just to keep them on their own. As I further did some research on the worms, I soon found out that they were callamanus worms, or more specific, a parasitic nematode.

These nematodes are contagious and should be eliminated when sighted. By the time you notice that the worms are protruding from the vent of a fish, the worms will have been in their reproductive stages and may have already released microscopic larvae into the tank.

As an experiment, I threw in a few smaller fish with the infected angels, and I observed. After a month or so I noticed that a few of the introduced fishes had only one or two worms sticking out of them. After about 4 months all the introduced fishes in the tank had it and eventually a few died and the rest I had to put down since they didn?t look so good. And all this time the adult angels didn?t seem affected by the worms. So what did I learn here: first, smaller fishes are more prone to deaths than larger ones and second, they are infectious and quick to reproduce. The results are based on a single experiment and may mean nothing, but I took the results seriously and was not willing to kill more fish to find out. I had to decontaminate my tank and angels of these parasites.

I found that a medication which claimed to work very well was called Levamsole HCl. This particular medication was specifically for larger animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep. However, a few sites demonstrated that the medication can also be used in fish with great results. I had to get some medication as soon as possible.

Upon purchasing the medication, I treated the tank. I dissolved 5 grams of pure Levamsole HCl with 88 ml of water. For every gallon of fish tank water I added 1 ml of the dissolved Levamsole HCl. Most of the angels fishes had the worms sticking out of their vents, however after a few hours of treatment, more worms were protruding out of the fishes. The next day, even more worms were protruding and a few almost completely out dangling a good centimeter out. It is often difficult to tell the amount of infestation by just looking at the vents of the fish until treatment was conducted. When they were infected I only saw at most 2-3 worms sticking out of the fishes. After treating the tank, I saw as many as 12 worms sticking out at once and was soon to be released from the fish. Every day I did water changes (to remove the feces and any worms) and fed the fish lots of food. I noticed that after the second/third day, the aggressiveness of the fish towards food was greater. They were more eager to eat and less shy. It seems that there was a change in behavior and that the worms really did affect the fishes. By the forth day, all the worms were no longer present (sticking out of the fishes) and I even got a pair of fish to start spawning. The results may vary but I certainly would agree with anyone who would think that removing the worms is better than just leaving them in the fish. I find through experience that smaller fishes don?t do well when infected and will not last long. Compared to larger fishes, such as angels, I find that they can tolerate the worms and seem to look okay, however, the behavior is a bit more shy. For smaller fishes, I noticed that once infected, they only last for about 4 to 6 months and possibly 7 months. In my angels they have lasted for about 1 year without mortalities. Keep in mind, you should always be doing water changes when treating your fish making sure that you take out any fecal matter since possible worms and larvae may be within the feces. As for the parasitic nematodes, I have not seen them since and I?m keeping my fingers crossed!

Here is a photo of a few nematodes which I pulled out from an apistogramma:









Here's one from a live fish:








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## fisherman

i think i might have this. but not for sure yet because the worm is so tiny its just sticking out by like a milimeter.


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## Mykiss

The worms don't have to stick out as far as what you see in the above photo. Sometimes they won't even stick out at all and sometimes they stick out a tiny bit and then retract back in.

When you see them stick out, that means that the worms are at their reproductive stages.

Well, if you know for sure that your fish has the worms, feel free to contact me as I have Levamisole HCL to help treat the problem.


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## thefishwife

Agreed Pat should be stickied.


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## fisherman

its a good thing pat had some of this. i picked some up and didnt see the worms right after i dosed it. and from what i've read, you cant get these in canada or something. going to give another dose in a month.


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## Mykiss

Thanks guys.

I though I'd also share a few useful tips:

When using the medication, try not to keep the lights on too long as it may be photo sensitive. Just turn on the lights when feeding and turn them off when you're done.

Also, please make sure that you remove your carbon before you dose the tank.

Another useful tip is to do a large gravel vac/water change before dosing the tank and then do it again 3-4 days after the treatment. That way you suck up whatever worms you missed in the gravel and also you pick up the extruded worms from the fish.

Finally, after dosing the tank, the worms don't come out of the fish right away. It takes time and it may even take up to 4 days for a fish to pass out all the worms. So, don't be surprised to see worms coming out even after day 4.


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## Mykiss

Another useful tip...

It's also a good idea when dosing the tank to also have your fish nets in there as well just in case you 'may' have worms on your net. That way you're also treating your net just in case as these worms can easily infect your fish from one tank to the next.


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## Mykiss

I've had a few people ask me on how to use the medication so I'll post it up here:

For each 5g packets (pure levamisole HCl which I have) you can treat it in 88-100 gallons of fish tank water. One thing I have learnt is that it is better to go a little over then under dose in case there's some sort of resistance to the medication the worms can build. My suggestion:
-If it's a fully planted tank or has gravel, each packet should treat 88 gallons
-If it's a bare bottom tank, each packet can treat 100 gallons

I say this because in a tank with gravel, worms can hide in between cracks and may not be fully exposed to the treated water. Plus there's likely more organic material in a tank with gravel than that without so perhaps the medication doesn't work as well in a tank with lots of organics?

Please make sure that you take out (and throw away) any carbon from your filters. The carbon will take out the medication from the water. Also, DON'T reuse it just in case there may be worms in it. Also, when you treat your tanks, it doesn't hurt to have your nets in the water as well so it gets treated with the medication.

Also, please leave whatever filter or aquarium related items in the tank that you are going to treat and DON'T take it out. If it was in the infected tank, make sure that it gets treated as it may spread the worms from tank to take or reinoculate the tank.

Ok, so here's the instructions if you have a planted tank (5 grams for each 88 gallons of water):

1) do a major gravel vacuum/water change. Even if it's a planted tank, try to clean out as much of your gravel as possible.

2) mix 88ml of water to the 5 gram packet. Each 1ml of water treats 1 gallon of tank water. Dose your tank accordingly.

3) continue the regular feeding but try to keep the lights off or only use the lights when you have to as the medication may be light sensitive.

4) wait for 48-72 hours before you do another major gravel vacuum.

5) on the 2nd to 5th day you may continue seeing the worms drop out of the anus of the fish. That's ok. I'd suggest doing another gravel vacuum after a week just in case.

6) After 3-4 weeks, you can treat the tank again just in case.

I hope this helps. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Thanks


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## RD.

A couple of interesting articles that Patrick et al might be interested in reading with regards to the dosage rate suggested when treating fish for worms using Levasimole HCl.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa091

http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/levamisole-hydrochloride-1

It appears that the scientific community considers 2ppm of Levasimole HCl to be an adequate dosage, which works out to 1gr per 100 gallons, _not_ 5gr per 100 gallons.

The 5gr dosage rate originates from Charles Harrison, who is a chemist/ fish hobbyist, that sells Levasimole HCl, not a VMD that specializes in treating tropical fish. (such as Dr. Roy Yanong) Dr. Yanong's bio/credentials can be found in the following link. http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/Yanong/Yanong.htm

It appears that Charles Harrison got his dosage rate years back from an apisto hobbyist (Ken Laidlaw), that as far as I could gather also has no real qualifications for treating fish for disease beyond the hobbyist level.

Dr. Yanong also suggests that the treatment duration be 24 hrs, then repeated 2-3 weeks later to kill any remaining eggs/larvae that may have survived the initial treatment. Most de-wormers work very quickly, and you should start seeing worms being excreted within the first few hours post treatment.

The good news is a 5g packet will actually treat 500 gallons worth of tank water, which should mean a few $$ being saved over the long haul. (and less stress on your fish)

HTH


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## Mykiss

I've had more people asking about Levamisole HCl again so I thought I'd bump this to the top.


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## ibenu

RD. said:


> The 5gr dosage rate originates from Charles Harrison, who is a chemist/ fish hobbyist, that sells Levasimole HCl, not a VMD that specializes in treating tropical fish. (such as Dr. Roy Yanong) Dr. Yanong's bio/credentials can be found in the following link. Roy P. Yanong
> 
> It appears that Charles Harrison got his dosage rate years back from an apisto hobbyist (Ken Laidlaw), that as far as I could gather also has no real qualifications for treating fish for disease beyond the hobbyist level.


Considering his information/dosage was determined with and by the Veterinary services director Dr. Martin G. Greenwell (chicago aquarium) and this along with other references is viewable in his papers Id back off on the smack talk regarding him having no real qualifications to advice beyond hobbits levels.

The Site you are referencing dr yanong, said that dewormers should be effective, yet many anecdotal evidence suggests this nematode is resistant to other treatments besides levamisole HC.

What pat has works and I think members would be best served using a proven method versus a dewormer in general. Best of luck to everybody dealing with this nematode as it can take months to show it's self ( and we sell buy and trade fish amongst ourselves) looks like we are in for other course of seeing the nasty bugger in out tanks. Its extra tough that you can do QT for even 8 weeks and see no evidence of these guys lurking internally...

Pat is there a way to diagnose this prior to the nematodes protruding? Would faecal slides show anything?


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## RD.

I never implied that Levamisole HC, doesn't work, there is no argument that for the nematode in question it is _absolutely_ the treatment of choice.

If you would like to question the dosage rate, and qualifications of Dr. Yanong from the U of Florida that's certainly your prerogative, but the reality is his dosage rate (2ppm of Levasimole HCl ) has been proven to be very effective, and IME (and many others) it is much safer on aquatic life.

BTW - referencing someone else's work (or credentials) doesn't make one more qualified in an area such as this. I meant no disrespect towards Charles Harrison, I was merely pointing out the fact that he his a chemist by trade, not a VMD. I certainly don't consider myself qualified to suggest dosage rates for this type of treatment (or any others), but the Dr. that I linked to is considered by his peers to be an expert in this field. If you don't agree with his suggested dosage rate, feel free to take it up with him.

Cheers


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## Morainy

You know what would be a great science fair project for an inspired and brilliant young hobbyist? A dip stick test for nematodes or capillaria or bacterial infections. It would be so useful to be able to just stick a strip of paper into the water and know if it's likely safe or caution is advised.


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## ibenu

Did not mean to come across so harsh, again hopes we can get on this before it is many of out tanks AGAIN.. as we had an outbreak throughout many hobbists not too many years back and it was tragic..


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## Mykiss

ibenu said:


> Pat is there a way to diagnose this prior to the nematodes protruding? Would faecal slides show anything?


That's a good question. I'm not sure as I don't know much about the live history of the parasite. My guess is that there isn't a way in the faecal matter as from what I have read, when you see the worms sticking out of the fish's anus is when the worms are in it's reproductive stages. So, while still inside the fish before it reaches reproductive stages you'll likely not see any worms or signs of it unless the worms somehow looses it's grip inside the fish.

Also (since I don't know much about it's live history), I'm not sure if it's live birth of baby worms or if the worms lay eggs. Either way, I'd think that it would be release into the water when they are sticking out of the fish and not while still inside.

Perhaps when the fish is infected it releases some sort of hormone in the water? or maybe the worms release something in the water (besides eggs/babies) that we can test with? If this is true, it would be quite expensive to do this as you'd need VERY sensitive tests as they are such tiny organisms in a VERY large tank.


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## RD.

There are numerous Camallanus nematode species, so a lot of the info surrounding this worm will depend on the species involved. Gerry (Gobies et al) put together a good write up on this subject over on AA. (last post)
One fish dead, another on its way - AlbertaAquatica

Gerry had also experienced some serious stress issues in her fish when using the larger dosage rate (as in it killing fish), as have myself & others, hence the reason why I posted the previous info regarding Dr. Yanong's recommended dosage rate. (2ppm) It doesn't matter how effective a medication is, if it not only kills the nematodes, but it also kills the host. (as in your fish)

I've only had to deal with this once when importing fish from overseas, but it's nasty business, and very deadly if not treated immediately.

Hope the info in the link above helps.


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## InfraredDream

I just want to add something from the experience I just had.

I treated all my tanks with Levamisole HCl - 1 ml per gallon. The adult fish seems fine, even the one that was very infected, he has 4 worms sticking out of him for several hours after the treatment. So far I lost no fish, but 2 tiny babies.
What I didn't expect was that almost all my cherry shrimps died  I lost about 10 (out of 20) in the first 12-18 hours and the rest of them 36 hours later look bad, hardly move at all, so I suspect I will lose them as well 
So, just according to my experience, treat the shrimps with care as it doesn't seem it is safe for them as expected.


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## K0oKiE

I just noticed these buggers in my tank again 

Im wondering if I should consider the eggs that one of my females is holding toast? Also I have 5 1.5" youngens in there as well, will they be ok?

Thanks!


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## InfraredDream

I lost just 2 tiny babies during the initial treatment. The big fish and bigger babies were OK.
Good luck!


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## vic

*worm problem*

just seeing if you still have any de worming medification thanks vic my email is [email protected]


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## Mykiss

PM sent...


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## Mongo

*Also looking for meds*

Hi - I'm also on the hunt for meds for callanus worms. Could you please PM me. Thanks so much.


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## Mykiss

Sorry for the late reply. PM sent


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## BigFatLyre

Hey, Pat, Chuck, Dave and the rest of the bcaquaria gang. I'm getting some self appointed expert on another thread saying that Camallanus worms can survive on an intermediate host like snails, etc. etc. I think he's full of it but can't seem to find any scientific sources. Can anyone on this "real" fish site do an update? FYI I have just planted nano at the time but it looks like two guppies brought something in, so I'm going to let the tank stand for a couple months with just invertebrates. A few pond snails show up occasionally and I have two Amano shrimp in one tank. Thanks, guys, and hello from the bush!


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## Mykiss

Hi, thanks for bringing this up. Unfortunately in the aquarium trade the actual name of this parasite is camallanus worms and to be precise it's a nematode (round worm). It's often called the callamanus worm in the aquarium trade but it was likely an attempt to spell camallanus. Unfortunately I used the name which most aquarists go by but the actual name is camallanus.

There are several species of camallanus nematodes and like many parasites they will have multiple hosts. There are lots of literature which indicates that some species will require an intermediate host such as a copepod, while other species of camallanus can reproduce without the copepod. I was looking up references for snails being an intermediate hosts but I wasn't able to find any scientific literature on it but there are a few people who have 'experienced' their snails passing along the parasite but no controlled experiment was conducted. I'm sorry but I wasn't able to find 'hard evidence' that states that snails can be a host for this parasite, BUT any copepods which may have piggy backed a ride in the bag of fish or snail can be.


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