Is it camallanus? How to treat it in Canada?

[joelfernandes]

Hi.

I recently noticed these red spots on two of my guppies, and after some research, it looks like it could be camallanus worms (pictures below).

Does it seem to be that? What are the dangers of it? These two guppies live in two different tanks, but they were together a few weeks ago in the same tank. I also have other fish there (angelfish, mollies, neon tetras, and swordtails). Are these other fish in danger?

Most importantly, how can I treat it in Canada? Unfortunately, most fish medication is not available in Canada. I do have live plants in these tanks.

Thank you

 

[BabyGuppie]

What's your water parameters?

I live in Canada Amazon ships idk if this is right treatment though...
Fritz Expel-P 20 Count https://a.co/d/4WtN5ST

 

[GaryE]

It looks like Camallanus, which doesn't care about your parameters. That is the right med, active ingredients wise. Camallanus is expensive to treat, and fatal if ignored.

 

[joelfernandes]

I already lost one guppy on one of the tanks. I also noticed that the angelfish is also hosting the worm. I treated both tanks with general cure as it was the only thing I had. I ordered Fritz Expel-P, but it's coming from the US, and it will take time. I can't find it here in Canada.

A few days ago I actually noticed a couple of fish being quite "down", including the angelfish. It was only a couple of days after the General Cure treatment. I saw online about feeding garlic together with their food, which I did it once and they all now seem much better and more active. I still see some traces of worms, but not much, to the point that I'm not entirely sure if it's the worms or poop.

Once I do receive the Fritz Expel-P, should I treat them again with that? I only gave them one "dose" of General Cure so far.

 

[GaryE]

No legally available with a vet's prescription med handles nematodes, in Canada. Your meds may still be stopped at the border. You are gambling. I thought maybe someone had found a loophole, and didn't realize you were ordering from the States.

Camallanus are very tough. Your tank is full of eggs now, and they'll hatch. Garlic may inconvenience them and slow them down, but it won't eliminate them.

I hate those nematodes, even though I generally find parasites to be interesting creatures. Camallanus latch on to the intestines and cause internal bleeding, among their many talents. When they first appeared in the hobby, they killed everything in 2-3 weeks. In time, they have adapted to their new aquarium fish hosts and now keep them alive for long enough for spreading to be easier.

 

[joelfernandes]

I really hope I can get Fritz Expel-P to arrive here. I ordered it via Walmart.ca.

How to best act on this if I can't ensure the parasite is gone? I have quite a few fish in the same tank, and I don't think they're all affected (at least, I sure hope not). Would Fritz solve the issue?

 

[GaryE]

They are all affected, It's incredibly contagious. The number of eggs each nematode produces is mind boggling.

The active ingredient in the med you bought works. Some fish will probably still die - the med doesn't repair what the parasite has done - it just does the parasite in. There will be damage to the guts of the fish that had a full infestation going, and secondary infections then come for some.

Follow the instructions with the product. This is one where you must never skip steps.

It's why my quarantine with farmed fish is a minimum of 6 weeks.

 

[JuiceBox52]

I hope you can get the meds. I lost all but 3 fish in my tank to it a few years back. Spent over $100 to treat it, and still lost them all and had to restart the tank from scratch. Good luck!

 

[kiko]

I already lost one guppy on one of the tanks. I also noticed that the angelfish is also hosting the worm. I treated both tanks with general cure as it was the only thing I had. I ordered Fritz Expel-P, but it's coming from the US, and it will take time. I can't find it here in Canada.

A few days ago I actually noticed a couple of fish being quite "down", including the angelfish. It was only a couple of days after the General Cure treatment. I saw online about feeding garlic together with their food, which I did it once and they all now seem much better and more active. I still see some traces of worms, but not much, to the point that I'm not entirely sure if it's the worms or poop.

Once I do receive the Fritz Expel-P, should I treat them again with that? I only gave them one "dose" of General Cure so far.

although garlic can treat parasites it won't kill the eggs...you can keep feeding them that and they'll be fine until everything is fully treated
any medication containing one of the 3 active ingredients fenbendazole, levamisole, and praziquantel will do...
fritz, (selectaquatics and aquabits sell the powder version of levamisole)
prazicura, fritz prazicleanse, hikari prazipro use praziquantel
api general cure, fish bendazole use fenbendazole

levamisole doesn't kill eggs so it'll cure as much as the garlic you're using right now...it'll help the fish get rid of the worms and actually paralyze any lurking worms but won't kill the eggs...
praziquantel/fenbendazole reduces the ability of worms to produce eggs overtime...
all in all...you're better off using api general cure that you'd be with fritz expel-p
and just using the garlic in the fish food to help them get rid of worms

if you have multiple heaters what you can do is remove all the fish and heat up the tank to 65C which will take care of parasites in the tank (or a hot water change to 65C)
put the fish back once it cools back down and just keep treating....the momentary heating will stop the production of good bacteria but not enough to kill it
and you'll speed up treatment this way...

 

[GaryE]

Praziquantel will kill all families of worms except nematodes like Camallanus. I wish it would work, because that I can get. I have only had Camallanus here 3 times. The first was when it was new and killed everything. That was ugly. The other two I cleared it, once with levamisole, once with dog dewormer fenbendazole in a homemade paste food. Both times, because it took time to get the expensive med, I had about 40% losses in the affected tanks.
Prazi is fantastic for white tapeworm types - helminth worms. It's great stuff.

I agree with the Canadian ban on over the counter antibiotics, 100%. I don't think dewormers should have been included though. I can see the problem when you note down how many people here treat fin rot that isn't there, especially in Bettas. We can be a bit med crazy in this hobby.

With Camallanus, the treatment was 9 weeks with a lot of water changes between doses. You dose, siphon the bottom, let it work, siphon, dose after 3 weeks, do it again, then do it again.

 

[Ichthys]

Can you not get Waterlife treatments in Canada? Sterazin is great for killing Camallanus (contains piperazine). It only takes one course of treatment, added to the water on days 1,3,6,8 and 10. Nothing else required.

 

[GaryE]

I've never seen Waterlife products here.

The issue is a ban on almost all fish medications if not sold by a veterinarian. Fish vets are rare beasts indeed.

 

[connorlindeman]

The issue is a ban on almost all fish medications if not sold by a veterinarian. Fish vets are rare beasts indeed.

According to the American Association of Fish Veterinarians (?) there isnt a fish vet within 500 miles of me.

 

[kribensis12]

I'm going to disagree with some on here, after having Callamanus many times in my tanks.
It's not expensive to treat. A dewormer will do the trick - in the U.S. (where I am), I treat Callamanus with Levisamole (which is in Fritz). It's inexpensive.

The fish must ingest it in order to get the most use of that medication, but sometimes that is not possible. The medication paralyzes the worm and it allows the fish to pass it naturally. The bad part is, the fish is often too far gone at that point. The worm causes damage internally and makes the fish a prime host for secondary bacterial infections.

I would recommend dosing the tank with aquarium salt (which there is some evidence that says it can assist with the infections).

I would also recommend dosing the tank with CopperSafe if you have fish that won't be harmed by it. It will kill all forms of larvae in the aquarium so that you don't have a reinfection.

 

[GaryE]

@kribensis12
If you look at the thread title, we aren't discussing meds in the USA. In Canada, you are in for at least $50, if you can find a nice vet. More if you can't. If you order from the US and it gets through the border, sellers jack the prices way up because they know they have a captive market If you live very close to the border, you can scoot across and play dumb if you get caught with it.