does this ram have parasites

[wicca27]

on another forum some one was having the same prob but with a diff fish this is what was suggested to them to try and i trust the person who said try it know them for a long time. was even told it works good to kill planeria and wont harm shrimp

"The 1st thing I would try is treating the fish with levamisole. It's not rough on the fish, it's highly effective on ALL worm type parasites, and it works FAST.

Treat the infected fish for 72 hours with your lights OFF. If after 3 days it looks 100% cured and starts gaining weight then I would treat the entire tank it was in when you noticed the issue and consider the issue solved.

It will knock down every single planeria in a tank and not so much as daze a shrimpette."

[msawdey]

people really need to read the entire post... Levamisole is extremely rough on fish and those that are sensitive normally do not do very well. It definitely does not work that fast as far as the treatment because the treatment is over a 3 to 4 day period. It takes effect fast and you can often see worms being discharged within the first hour, but pending the parasite, it may take awhile. It will kill off shrimp and snails as it killed both in my tank.

[marko d]

Originally Posted by msawdey

people really need to read the entire post... Levamisole is extremely rough on fish and those that are sensitive normally do not do very well. It definitely does not work that fast as far as the treatment because the treatment is over a 3 to 4 day period. It takes effect fast and you can often see worms being discharged within the first hour, but pending the parasite, it may take awhile. It will kill off shrimp and snails as it killed both in my tank.

Completely agreed. I have seen people say they did water changes after 24 hours, and I would have to say that isn't nearly long enough to guarantee the treatment successful. I treated a rainbow shark, and while he seemed the least affected by the levamisol over the 3 days, the second I dosed that tank I could just see him goin crazy and thinking WTFFFFF? Really odd behavior over those 3 days.

Levamisol is no fun. It's painful to watch your fish living in what must be a really harsh environment.

[msawdey]

exactly marko...... 24 hours is not near enough time for a parasite. They are a complex organism that are multi cellular unlike bacteria or viruses. Fungus is more similar to parasites as it being also multicullular makes it harder to get rid of

[wkndracer]

I feel for you dealing with sick fish.

Flubendazole, levaisole hcl and metronidazole all can be dosed via the water column and work well treating parasites, often much better than food based fenbendazole treatments. Flubendazole and levaisole hcl are both used here during entry quarantine and annually to prevent trouble in my systems. Combined the treatments eliminate the vast majority parasite problems. While any medication should be used with caution healthy animals rarely react badly. I think we need to realize fish are usually chronic before you see secondary symptoms. Losses here have been largest during the first dosing.

Most of the time treating sick fish is based on guesswork then broad spectrum 'sledgehammer' treatments are the only choice for most and reading this thread it's no different, not really sure. Once fish are showing external symptoms internal damage is serious. Losses can easily be those fish we 'see' as healthy that in reality are not.

[@marko@]

Well someone I know who keeps a bunch of rams told me that mine look ok. That when they are in trouble they will not maintain colors as vivid as mine and to wait before treating with anything else. I feel like that is good advice and will follow it.

In regards to the levamisole side effects I was researching it. In humans the majority of side effects are caused by the evacuation of the parasites not by the med directly. So organisms with heavier parasitic loads will be hit harder.
But I will be dosing nothing in the tank and just observing dor a few days.

[msawdey]

Originally Posted by wkndracer

I feel for you dealing with sick fish.

Flubendazole, levaisole hcl and metronidazole all can be dosed via the water column and work well treating parasites, often much better than food based fenbendazole treatments. Flubendazole and levaisole hcl are both used here during entry quarantine and annually to prevent trouble in my systems. Combined the treatments eliminate the vast majority parasite problems. While any medication should be used with caution healthy animals rarely react badly. I think we need to realize fish are usually chronic before you see secondary symptoms. Losses here have been largest during the first dosing.

Most of the time treating sick fish is based on guesswork then broad spectrum 'sledgehammer' treatments are the only choice for most and reading this thread it's no different, not really sure. Once fish are showing external symptoms internal damage is serious. Losses can easily be those fish we 'see' as healthy that in reality are not.

couldnt agree more

[fishwater]

After I brought home my Rams, I noticed the same thing with my female, although she had a healthy appetite. My GBR's showed some pre-spawning behaviour, their color was super vivid, and they were even preparing a slate rock for spawning. This was about the second day after I brought them home needless to say I was pretty amped. It was then I noticed her distended anus and became worried, (although I have noticed the same thing with female trout around their spawning time) she did have normal looking feces, after googling images of GBR's I noticed it (distended anus) on more and more females of Breeeding pairs so I wrote it off as some sort of spawing adaptation. She is still healthy and happy now. On a side note... around day 6 of having the GBRs in my tank I noticed a small white spot on the males fin...ICH! (I couldn't quarantine...chastise me if you want but sometimes it is not an option) at anyrate I raised my temps and started to treat with salt and that seemed to throw them off the spawn. Now I can't seem to shake this Ich, it seems as though 1 of my hatchet fish always has 1 and 1 mean just 1 spot on its caudal fin..but that is for a different thread . Good Luck with your Ram and hopefully with time, patience & luck she'll return to normal behavior.

[@marko@]

was told that the clear poop is an decent indicator of the worm. so im going wit hthat.
well i just dumped levamisole into my water after a large water change. if this fixes the problem ill treat my bettas with levamisole too, since initially i wasnt being too careful with tools and stuff, and could have transferred some eggs. and im not too worried about about the med hurting the bettas, they are troopers.
will keep this thread update with how things go.

[msawdey]

Originally Posted by @marko@

was told that the clear poop is an decent indicator of the worm. so im going wit hthat.
well i just dumped levamisole into my water after a large water change. if this fixes the problem ill treat my bettas with levamisole too, since initially i wasnt being too careful with tools and stuff, and could have transferred some eggs. and im not too worried about about the med hurting the bettas, they are troopers.
will keep this thread update with how things go.

ya,definitely curious how it all turns out for you.

On a bright note for my callamanus issues, they appear to be gone and everyone looks really healthy right now after the lev treatment. I have to treat again this weekend to make sure the worms are completely killed off.

[@marko@]

got the diagnosis right. saw a worm hanging out just now.

[BrotherEppY]

After reading this thread im starting to question te health of my new German Blue Rams. A little over 3 weeks ago i bought 2 GBR from the lfs. since then my cardinals have had a massive ick out break and i thought that was my only issue, but ive been noticing that my rams stomachs have been getting bigger and bigger. there color and fin health have improved dramatically since i got them, but now my whole tank is starting to come under problem.

my set up is a 37gl tall
magnum hot canister filter and a aquatec 30-60 hob filter
using Miricale grow organics choice potting soil with a play sand cap.
2 t5ho glo fixture with pretty old bulbs. hung about 5in over tank

5 cardinals
6 rummy nose
2 German Blue Rams
2 albino Bristol nose plecos
2 ottos

heavily planted with
Wisteria
Long hair grass
crypts
valisintha?
rotala
and a couple other plants i cant remember the names of.

I use excel.

Any advice? ill toss some pics up when my phone charges.

[BrotherEppY]

I dont mean to high jack your post.

[wkndracer]

Originally Posted by BrotherEppY

I dont mean to high jack your post.

haha I do,,,, a proper entry quarantine protocol is a WONDERFUL thing.
(hint - it ain't just just 2wks either)

[BrotherEppY]

today i finally got enough equipment to have a full ten gallon setup for quarantine. but not sure how it will be because the hob filter is really noisy.

but im learning