Good worms and bad worms?

[RHS788]

I have been told that it is a good idea to de-worm cacatoides with levamisole. Unfortunately I can't find a good source. Any ideas?

Also I currently have two females and a male in a 10 gallon. One of the females has wiggler/fry in a clay pot cave.

I noticed thin white worms on the glass just above the water level. They are all over and up to 3/4" long. I noticed one the other day swimming. I have not been feeding worms, but did introduce some rain water from the gutter recently. I am wondering if these would be parasitic in nature, or something the fish will eat if they get below the water surface. I don't want to worm them with the fry present, as I have heard it might kill them.

Any ideas what these worms are and whether they are harmful?

Lastly, I would like to thank those setting up this forum, as it has been a big help the past month.

Thanks,

Randy

 

[fishgeek]

quite possibly planaria

and as far as worming your fish... if it is captive bred and has lived it's ife in a glass box then the chnaces of it having worms are slim in my opinion

healthy animals dont require regular worming

wild caught studies show only single figure percantages of fish with worm burdens... this to me suggest that 90% of healthy fish sort out simple things

the problem arise's whne fish are ntted helf shipped and sold again... all this is tressful and suppresses the fishes natural host reponse allowing worms to be a bigger problem
ideally you should collect afaeal samle from your fish and do microscopy
if there are worms or egg's present then yo may choose to worm with levamisol in food

 

[tjudy]

One USUALLY true rule of thumb is that if you can see the worms out in the water or on the glass, they are probably not parasitic... just unsighlty. There are probably exceptions to this.

Non-parasitic worm infestations are usually a result of over feeding. Cut back on food (especially flake/pellet foods), increase water changes with gravel sweeps and the populations will decrease.

Levamisol is effectnig against a wide range of worms, but there is no commercially available product made for the aquarium hobby (that I know of). I have heard rumors of a guy in Missouri who produces one, but I have not been able to sonfirm that or get a contact. When I need it, I use sheep dewormer that I buy at a farm supply store. I use the bolus pills, which are really big, so I grind them up in a mortar and pestle into a powder and use 1/4 tsp./10 gallons for 'preventative' deworming and quarantine of wild fish (if I suspect worms) or 1/2 tsp/10 gallons for known worm infections (such as camalanus (spelling?)). My system is totally based upon trial and error... use it at your own risk. I took the chance when I had a camalanus infection to deal with and figured the fish would die without treatment anyway, and the dosage I used worked.

 

[apisto-nut]

Here is where I purchased my levamisole

http://www.inkmkr.com/Fish/ItemsForSale.html

 

[Cathy G]

Yep, Dr Charles Harrison's site is great. I recommend it all the time, he also sells fenbendazole or flubendazole which is great stuff to have on hand. His background is a chemist? I think and he has some technical papers on the medications he's used and results. His med's come with complete directions for dosing.

Cathy

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Two years back I bought some levamisole from Hunter Nutrition, Inc., in Indiana (phone 765-589-8568). I paid about $18 for 52 g of medication including shipping. Trade name was Tramisole/Levisole. Hunter Nutrition is a farm supply store, and I don't know for sure if they are still in business.

 

[RHS788]

I am in St. Louis, and met Charles briefly at a local club meeting. I am finding there are a lot of good resources right here. I also appreciate the input from all of you.

Cathy, I am not sure if you recall but you gave me some good information on German Rams last summer. Unfortunately I lost the female, and then shifted to Cacatoides. Looks like I am having better luck with them.

Randy

 

[jose_vogel]

RHS788:

The thin white worms you saw are the result of overfeeding and don´t siphoning. They´re not a big problem.


Cathy G:
I read your article on breeding M. ramirezzi a lot of times. As far as I know, nobody had bred them in my country. Three months ago I bought 10 juveniles and I´m trying to breed them, but it´s difficult (they´re wildcaught).