# De-worming medicine?



## Zapins

I have recently noticed the presence of small ~.5cm red worms projecting out the anuses of several of my angel fish. They appear to be ridged and do not wiggle around, but rather look like small reddish spikes.

Other than these visible symptoms the fish are eating hungrily and have just recently spawned (wrigglers now  ).

Can anyone recommend a good, relatively inexpensive internal de-worming medication? 

I found several but they all seem to run at 34$+


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## Tonka

Your fish have cammelanus worms which are usually introduced with live black worms and propagated by the existence of crustaceans in your tank that the worms need as hosts for one stage of their life cycle.

Cammelanus worms will eventually kill your fish so they must be eliminated from your tank. Unfortunately, the cure, fenbendazole, will also eliminate your shrimp.

Most fenvendazole products come in paste form that would be a mess if used in an aquarium. Fortunately, Intervet sells Safeguard, a 222 mg/g fenbendazole granule. It worked for me using two 5 g treatments spaced out over a week with a 50% waterchange after two weeks.

Safeguard granular was available online from Stateline Tack, but not any more. I don't remember what I paid, but I think is was about $20.


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## bigtroutz

You might want to read this thread:

FishGeeks :: Tropical fish - Marine Fish - Aquarium Fish - Pond Fish - Aquatic Plants


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## trenac

There is a medicine called _Gel-tek_ that is used for internal parasites. It works well but it has to be injested, not just put into the water. I usually soak the food in it about 10 minutes before feeding.


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## Zapins

I looked at the Intervet, Inc. site, and found the medicine you mentioned but the site says:

"Safe-Guard® GRANULES 22.2% (222 MG/G)
(fenbendazole)

The contents of one packet will deworm a horse weighing approximately 500 lbs. Each packet contains 1.15 g fenbendazole. Fenbendazole fed at the rate of 2.3 mg/lb controls the listed parasites. Sprinkle the appropriate amount of drug on a small amount of the usual grain ration. Prepare for each horse individually. No need to withold feed or water.
Ascarid infections are most common in young animals. The dose for foals and weanlings (less than 18 months of age) is two packets for each 500 lbs body weight.
Regular deworming at intervals of six to eight weeks may be required. "

So... is this the right stuff you used? You said use 5g/dose but it says 1.15 g is enough to de-worm a 500 lb horse  Did you mean 5 mg?

If this is the right stuff, do I need to order it by phone or is there a link that I can order it from?


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## Tonka

Thats the stuff.

Well I can't say for sure how many 500 lb horses are in one 120 gallon freshwater planted tank, so I swagged when I used one 5.2g packet per dose. Like I said, this eliminated the worms, but also killed my shrimp. 

I think that this stuff is very toxic to crustaceans, so even a lesser dose may prove fatal. But actually, since the shrimp harbor a sub-adult form of the cammelanus worm, probably getting rid of them is part of the cure.

I got it online from Stateline Tack, but they now only carry the paste version. I'd call feed stores in your area to find out who is your local distributor for Intervet and order from them. Or call Intervet direct and pretend you have a horse.....


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## JanS

Here is a tried and true recipe that many people use with good success.
Deworm recipe


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## star rider

there are several treatments for internal parasites.

it does sound as if you have camillanus..fenbenzadole is very effective .it is also known as panacur and is available from your veterinarian.

levamisole hcl (water soluable) also works but is no readily available in some places
it is also known as ergamisol, levasol(sheep wormer)

I use a cocktail mix especially when the fish are not eating.

I use metro, prazi and levamisole hcl..it can be mixed with the food(best) but can also mixed in the water..it will be taken up slowly this way..it may get the fish to a point where they are eating(when not eating) once the fish start eating you can feed them by lightly dusting the wet food.

btw, jungle labs anti parasite food(in US) contains metro, prazi and levamisole.


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## Zapins

Ok guys, I was able to find fenbendazole in a common dog dewormer. Its safe-guard for dogs, will this be ok? I can buy about 6 grams of the stuff, will this be enough or do I need more if I sprinkle it onto food like JanS suggested in her link?


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## Tonka

Make sure that the inactive ingredients in the formulation won't foul your tank. If there are no insoluable inert ingredients, like in the horse formulation, you are good to go.

Again, you know what dose I used in my 120.

OK, my understanding is that cammelanus (or camelanus) will not be eliminated by merely ridding the fish of the worms. There are several pre-adult free swimming larval stages that have to be eliminated too. That's why IMHO you need to treat the whole enchilada.

If you got six grams of the same concentration as the equine version and a 72 gallon tank, you can exactly repeat what I did. If you have 6 grams and all your going to do is mix it in your fishes feed, you have gobs too much.


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## Zapins

Oh I actually forgot to mention that I don't have any crustaceans in my tank at this point (and not for the last year or so). I just have a few angels, some otto cats and those pesky pond snails (and not very many of them under 10 in total). 

So, will they still be a problem if there are no intermediate hosts in the tank? 

Also, I was also hoping to treat the fish by soaking their food in the medication so as to use less medicine and avoid getting too much of it into the tank water.

What do you think?


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## Tonka

Ok, no shrimp.

How do you think the cammelanus got into your tank? Did you feed your fish with live worms such as tubifex or black worms (essentially the same thing by a different name)? If so, then you might be able to teat the individual fish because of the parasite's need for an intermediate host. OTOH, the snails may also serve the purpose - I just don't know.

If I were you, I'd treat the entire tank.

Let us know how you make out....


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## Zapins

I am really not sure how the worms infected my fish, since I have never fed them live worms, and the last shrimp died off about a year ago.

Perhaps they were infected in the pet store they came from.

By the way, how much do you think I should add to their food, or doesn't it matter that much?


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## Tonka

Zapins, I just don't know. Maybe you should follow one of the recipes provided and hope for the best. Starve them for a week and then present the saturated food. They'll eat it.


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