de-worming

davidkozak · Post by **davidkozak** » 17 Oct 2004, 03:29

I would like to deworm my fish...Does anyone have any experience with this...many of them are wild, and many are from different sources..I have kept strict quarantine procedures, and haven't lost any,(other than an accident that had nothing to do with disease) nor have I seen any signs of illness...But I don't mix any of them either, and it would be nice to be able to use less syphoning hoses(among other things)
Any suggestions? Arguments for or against?? recommended meds and dosages??
thanks, David

Post by **Birger** » 17 Oct 2004, 05:15

Use the above search engine, punch in deworm and that should get you started on what you are asking for, its been covered in a few past threads.

Birger

davidkozak · Post by **davidkozak** » 17 Oct 2004, 05:18

You know I tried searching first from the PlanetC main page and got nothing(I didn't realize a forum search would get different results)...thank you very much...
David

kkorotev · Post by **kkorotev** » 18 Oct 2004, 22:41

I have used sheep dewormer from the local farm store and was not entirely satisfied with the results. If your fish is thoroughly infested, the de-wormer stress can kill them.
However you do it, remove the fish to a Q tank first, if eaten; what they're expel can simply find a new host.
I have also used PIPZINE on Corydoras, mixed in their food.

Good luck,
Kevin Korotev

xinguinsis · Post by **xinguinsis** » 23 Oct 2004, 00:17

Hi David,
I occssionaly use levamisole but mostly I just use garlic extracts in there food once in a while which is probably better for controlling rather than eradicating worms,
Regards Chris

andregurov · Post by **andregurov** » 26 Oct 2004, 03:02

Whilst deworming will certainly have its supporters - for the most part I would skip it. It's not that easy to dose properly or efficiently for small plecos and delivery methods are either problematic (needles!) or haphazard (adding to food/water). If you have the QT, that should be sufficient. Garlic will help retard the growth/presence of some internal and external parasites, and it should be a safer weapon in the arsenal against disease. Suffice it to say, if a fish has made a several thousand mile journey in poor water, jostled boxes, and less-than-stellar wholesale/retail outlets, a little TLC is better than attempting a quick fix for a problem which may not even be there. Many fish I thought were gone have regained their strength and vigor under this scheme.

Please note, this is only the case in the vastly overwhelming majority of all cases. Sometimes there is a legitimate medical necessity to deworm. I am all for it, when practised with planning, forethought, and knowledge.

J

Zebby · Post by **Zebby** » 26 Oct 2004, 04:11

The problem comes when the wholesaler has treated the fish for worms and then even the LFS do like wise, and after that you do.

paul scarborough · Post by **paul scarborough** » 27 Oct 2004, 23:31

I use a flake food that has Levamisole in it that works real well on my other fish(angels, discus etc), havnt used it on plecos yet but I wonder how well that would work. Any ideas? That makes it easy to use, and it seems to have an apealing taste, all my other fish really go for it on the few ocasions I have used it.

davidkozak · Post by **davidkozak** » 27 Oct 2004, 23:58

andregurov wrote:Garlic will help retard the growth/presence of some internal and external parasites, and it should be a safer weapon in the arsenal against disease.J

Has someone actually done a study and posted results somewhere?? Like, "I took X amount of fish all with worms, and I fed one group food with garlic, and I fed the other group food without garlic, and the fish fed with garlic no longer have worms"
That would be interesting to see, I've read about garlic usage for worms here and there on the net, but there are many things on the net that are just repeated until they become "truth"...
David
p.s. I haven't yet decided whether to treat any of my fish for worms...Still reading...

paul scarborough · Post by **paul scarborough** » 28 Oct 2004, 00:08

Garlic actualy works, although to what extent I'm not sure, but it works on poeple, dogs, cats, etc so I see no reason it wont work on fish, garlic, its not just for breakfast anymore

andregurov · Post by **andregurov** » 28 Oct 2004, 03:50

This may not answer your question regarding the efficacy of garlic's anti-parasite activities, but check out:

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/h_ ... jorge.html

for a very interesting take on the plausibility (or implausibility) of garlic in mariculture.

J

Post by **Barbie** » 28 Oct 2004, 04:08

Just as my two cents worth here, I had a colony of L183 that would occasionally have white, stringy feces, even after I treated them with metronidazole twice. Two weeks of soaking their food in garlic and it's gone away and never come back, so I definitely recommend it. It's not something that can hurt, either way, and it does seem to work as an appetite stimulant.

Barbie