# Cockatoo Cichlid, 2 spikes portruding from anus area*inflamed* help please.



## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

I have a orange flash cockatoo cichlid with 2 orange black tipped spikes protruding from his anus area, and it looks inflamed, ive been watching it and it hasn't changed. The female isn't in the tank anymore as a dragonfly larvae killed her, is he just ready to breed or is it a parasite? if so please identify and list the treatment method i should use to rid of it. Hes my best fish  
Pics:

























best pic of it: 









Please help


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## mbkemp (Jul 4, 2015)

Camallanus worms. Levimisole is your best best


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

mbkemp said:


> Camallanus worms. Levimisole is your best best
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


GREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT JUST WHAT I NEED WHEN THINGS START GOING SMOOTHLY

Where would they have even come from!??!?!
Will levamisole hurt plants and other fish?
How much do i dose in this 40b for how long?
Can you give me a link to the specific product i should buy?


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Ok so this is the product i just bought
https://www.amazon.com/Agrilabs-Pro...TF8&qid=1524276485&sr=8-1&keywords=levamisole

I need to know however how much to dose in my 40b, for how long, etc.

Read an article that said this Lovely totally calming quote:
"If you no longer have fish in your tank, or they have been moved to a quarantine tank for treatment, the eggs that hatch or any still living worms will die without a host, so you could simply wait two months and then restock or return the original fish. The gravel should be vacuumed very thoroughly and the water replaced and the filter rinsed. Even with all that, the cycle should still be intact, but the biofilter will be small and have to be regrown.
A severe method of assuring the tank has virtually nothing pathogenic in it is to start over, bleaching or brining the tank is almost foolproof, but messy and the tank environment would have to be regrown. Unless there have been a number of intractable infections, this level of cleaning probably isn't necessary."

_Greeaaaaaaatttt_


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

This will tell you how much
https://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/levamisole-hydrochloride-1

The infection is from infected live food. I'm not sure if your fish is new or you fed it something.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

mistergreen said:


> This will tell you how much
> https://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/levamisole-hydrochloride-1
> 
> The infection is from infected live food. I'm not sure if your fish is new or you fed it something.


No i have never fed them live food, haven't added ANYTHING in the last 3 weeks other than DHG (in vitro) which i doubt could be the cause of the issue. 
Im pretty stumped, i just feed them the same dry food, nothing fancy. No the fish aren't new they have been in the tank for months no sign of these worms.

also i read this on your link, _"Dr. Roy Yanong, V.M.D. recommends the following for treating fish with internal parasites susceptible to Levamisole HCl:
"In answer to your question, the dosage rate for levamisole in a bath is 2 mg/L (2 ppm) for 24 hours (followed by 70-100% water change, and siphon the bottoms of the tanks), with repeat treatments necessary--retreat in 2-3 weeks, and probably one more time after that. This is regardless of size of fish." 
The 2 mg/L dosage rate (of the active ingredient Levamisole) is currently (2007) the level being used by the scientific community. It effectively paralyzes Levamisole susceptible parasites at that concentration. Increasing the dosage level does not seem to have any greater effect. (Another good reason to avoid overdosing.) Paralysis of the worms takes place when that level of Levamisole is present in the host--your fish. Dr. Yanong recommends, whenever possible, trying to diagnose what parasite your fish are harboring prior to treatment. Work with an 'exotic pet' veterinarian, or a fish health specialist to insure you are treating with the right medication. " _

And i suck at math, im _*VERY stumped on how much i should dose.*_

also i cant siphon the substrate cause its dirted, what do i do then??


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

The fish might have been infected months before. It takes a while for the worms to grow large enough to protrude out the fish.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

mistergreen said:


> The fish might have been infected months before. It takes a while for the worms to grow large enough to protrude out the fish.


Wow that's interesting.

hey i found this on subaquaria • 40 Gallons Of Water = 1.3 Grams Does this sound accurate? 
http://subquaria.com/Levamisole-HCl-Powder

And do i just pour the powder directly into the tank or do i have to pre mix it? if i must pre mix it, how much water do i use with 1.3g?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

go with 9 mg/Gallon


1 teaspoon = 4 grams 
.5 teaspoon = 2 grams 
.25 teaspoon = 1 gram


Subaquaria numbers are overdosing. There's no harm if you overdose but will cause excess stress.
Yes, dissolve it in a little water before adding it to the tank.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

ok so i need to use 360mg's if im correct?
As i said previously do i need to mix that with water? and in what revolutions should i dose that. Meaning do a 75% WC then dose it after, then wait for How long, 75% again, then wait 2 weeks?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Dose, water change a day after
wait 2 weeks, repeat.

If the worm doesn't drop off the fish dose 18mg/Gallon the second time. Also, there's a chance the worm is paralyze but it's stuck. You might have to pull it out manually with tweezers. Wear gloves and throw away and sterilize equipments with bleach.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

mistergreen said:


> Dose, water change a day after
> wait 2 weeks, repeat.
> 
> If the worm doesn't drop off the fish dose 18mg/Gallon the second time. Also, there's a chance the worm is paralyze but it's stuck. You might have to pull it out manually with tweezers. Wear gloves and throw away and sterilize equipments with bleach.


Ok thank you, must i mix the powder or granules with water before i add it to the tank? 
And thanks for that open surgery information pray it doesn't come to that :spit:


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## mbkemp (Jul 4, 2015)

Good luck. Plants should be fine. The directions you were sent are what I used. Fish might get grumpy but those worms will die

Secondly, be aware of bacterial infections If they don’t expel the worms The worms kill in time bacteria move fast 


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

*must i mix the powder or granules with water before i add it to the tank? *


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## mbkemp (Jul 4, 2015)

I did not


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

mbkemp said:


> I did not
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thank you so much for answering that

Today he looks worse, its much more swollen, will he make it until Tuesday when the meds arrive you guys think? i pray so. Hes my fav. fish.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

I mix it with a little water before adding to the tank.


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## mbkemp (Jul 4, 2015)

The worms will debilitate the fish. By the time they are protruding they are definitely affecting the fish. I hope you have time on your side. Either way you need the levimisole to kill the eggs in your substrate 


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

One of my guppies recovered from a Camallanus infestation. Photo shows a dead worm coming out after a few days of feeding medicated food that I prepared. She recovered completely. I fed fishfood laced with Fenbendazole for a few weeks to clean out all the fish and tanks. Worked well. Levamisole is also excellent stuff. It should work.

I have articles on my book website about Fenbendazole/Camallanus worms and Flukes/Levamisole. Articles are listed under supplemental information at:

https://dianawalstad.com/aquariums/

Fish diseases are no fun. I wish you luck.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Well 2 worms popped out of him today i hope he makes it until Tuesday but idk....
Thank you dwalstad


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Ok update, another worm came out and hes swimming around again... i think all of the worms came out actually, they where about 1/2" long or less. Idk where they went, but now he just has a _Large_ hole in him, do i need to add anything for that or will it just take time? And i dont wanna add stuff that will mix in with the levi and create negative effects.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Your update sounds promising. Other medications like antibiotics should not interact negatively with Levamisole, which is strictly a worm and fluke killer. If the fish is eating, he may be able to make it without assistance. Cichlids are tough. Good luck!


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

dwalstad said:


> Your update sounds promising. Other medications like antibiotics should not interact negatively with Levamisole, which is strictly a worm and fluke killer. If the fish is eating, he may be able to make it without assistance. Cichlids are tough. Good luck!


i can confirm he is indeed eating without a problem. I feed them every 2 days. 
I will dose some anti fungal and bacterial before i do the levi. And thank you much for your guidance and information.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Glad to hear he is better!


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Levi gets here Tuesday, ill update then.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Got here today, going to dose it tonight will update on how it goes.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Im going to dose tmrw morning 
So i need to dose 360mg's if im correct, and on google that says its .36Grams how do i even measure that?
i have an advanced measuring *thing* to weigh things, so ill see if that can measure it...


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## mbkemp (Jul 4, 2015)

DutchMuch said:


> Im going to dose tmrw morning
> 
> So i need to dose 360mg's if im correct, and on google that says its .36Grams how do i even measure that?
> 
> i have an advanced measuring *thing* to weigh things, so ill see if that can measure it...


There are a variety of thoughts on dosage strength, some higher, some lower. I used my gram scale to measure based on gallons of water. If you miss the target a little don't sweat it with levimisole. If I erred, I would err low

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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

1 gram is about 1/4 teaspoon.
Half the amount and you'll get .5g. Close enough.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

mistergreen said:


> 1 gram is about 1/4 teaspoon.
> Half the amount and you'll get .5g. Close enough.


so i need to dose (1/2 of) 1/4 of a teaspoon into the tank?


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

kk dosed the 1/2 1/4tsp


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

Dosed again today, he still has these 2 sharp pointy things sticking out of him. Though im SURE he dropped the worms, idk if the pointy things are part of his body or not, they look Very much like they are part of his body...


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

If the red things sticking out doesn't drop in the next day, you might have to take him out & cover his head in wet paper towel and take a tweezer to those worms sticking out.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

mistergreen said:


> If the red things sticking out doesn't drop in the next day, you might have to take him out & cover his head in wet paper towel and take a tweezer to those worms sticking out.


Well that's the thing idk if they are worms, they dont look like worms as the worms i saw came out, were indeed red... These here, are just... 2 spikes, with his skin color, then at the tips they are orange which leads me to think they are some kind of fins or something?... i'd get a pic but i cant its way to defined.


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Any update on this? I just dosed Levamisole on some new fish with sunken stomach. It couldn't hurt.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

mistergreen said:


> Any update on this? I just dosed Levamisole on some new fish with sunken stomach. It couldn't hurt.


He died about 4 days after the move to GA, im not sure why... we never found out, I asked on multiple forums etc the cause of death but never got a for sure answer, he died and when I found him he had a bump in between his eyes. Was grey, no other deformities. And the bump killed him within 2 hours and formed over night.


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