- Have you tested your water?
- Yes
- If yes, what is your ammonia?
- 0
- If yes, what is your nitrite?
- 0
- If yes, what is your nitrate?
- 0.5
- If I did not test my water...
- ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.
- Do you do water changes?
- Yes
- What percentage of water do you change?
- 21-30%
- How frequently do you change your water?
- Every week
- If I do not change my water...
- ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.
I’ve come to this forum in hopes of getting some help or advice.. I’ve seen several posts on these awful parasites before and the advice given has been helpful, as people here seem to be knowledgeable and experienced with how parasites work.
It’s my worst nightmare.... I noticed red worms in my very sweet female Gardner’s Killifish about a month after I got her, and immediately called the vet. Got a prescription of Fenbendazole for the next 3 weeks. I’m almost certain it cured everyone else in the tank except this fish... I had one fish with a very swollen stomach which went down quickly after the first dose of meds and has been ever since. And no other fish in the tank have shown any concerning signs.
But the adult worms in this fish have not disappeared after 2 doses and so last week I put this poor fish in a separate container floating in the tank so the worms don’t keep laying eggs for other fish to suffer.
I have a 20g tall tank and have been adding 1.5mL of fenbendazole to the tank after doing a 25% water change every week. I just added the third and final dose yesterday.
I contacted my vet, and asked about Levamisole which is the other meds I’ve seen recommended on many other threads. What he said was that in Canada, it’s not approved for veterinary use and that fenbendazole was the only option he had for treating it. There is one other exotic vet in my city that may have more medication options (my current vet doesn’t advertise to specialize in exotic pets, they just are able to and willing to treat fish in certain cases such as parasites).
I asked on reddit and someone said that fenbendazole kills the younger worms at a normal prescribed dose, but for adult worms you should give a much higher dose to kill them off. So on Monday I added a bit more of it to the small container the fish is in- enough to make the water go pretty white and for precipitate to appear on the bottom the next day. The worms were hanging out her vent quite far, but definitely not dead.
Yesterday, after that third final dose I changed the water and cleaned out the container I was keeping that fish in, then added a strong enough dose of fenbendazole that you can’t see her if she’s at the opposite side of the container. I checked today and there were still worms.
I asked my vet about piperzine, as I saw someone mention this as a treatment option in another forum post and it’s at least legal here. My vet said they could order some in if needed however it’s weaker than fenbendazole. But regardless, is it possible that could do it? I rarely see piperzine recommended as a med to treat camallanus, so is there a chance the worms would have no immunity towards it? If not, should I try getting flubendazole or nematol from the other vet? (I’ve seen these as treatment options on forum posts here too, but I have no idea if these are allowed for veterinary use in canada either)
Please help... this poor fish has been through so much and I feel like there’s so few options available when I want to help her so badly... she’s been so resilient and clearly wants to live because throughout all this stress on her body and mind she has still been active and eating well but is enduring a lot. I want her to live a long happy life as a healthy fish in a good tank, not dying of illness and stress because of parasites she caught from the pet store. It’s not fair to just give up on her because these terrible parasites are resisting meds and my stupid country has closed off treatment options... it’s really not fair.
It’s my worst nightmare.... I noticed red worms in my very sweet female Gardner’s Killifish about a month after I got her, and immediately called the vet. Got a prescription of Fenbendazole for the next 3 weeks. I’m almost certain it cured everyone else in the tank except this fish... I had one fish with a very swollen stomach which went down quickly after the first dose of meds and has been ever since. And no other fish in the tank have shown any concerning signs.
But the adult worms in this fish have not disappeared after 2 doses and so last week I put this poor fish in a separate container floating in the tank so the worms don’t keep laying eggs for other fish to suffer.
I have a 20g tall tank and have been adding 1.5mL of fenbendazole to the tank after doing a 25% water change every week. I just added the third and final dose yesterday.
I contacted my vet, and asked about Levamisole which is the other meds I’ve seen recommended on many other threads. What he said was that in Canada, it’s not approved for veterinary use and that fenbendazole was the only option he had for treating it. There is one other exotic vet in my city that may have more medication options (my current vet doesn’t advertise to specialize in exotic pets, they just are able to and willing to treat fish in certain cases such as parasites).
I asked on reddit and someone said that fenbendazole kills the younger worms at a normal prescribed dose, but for adult worms you should give a much higher dose to kill them off. So on Monday I added a bit more of it to the small container the fish is in- enough to make the water go pretty white and for precipitate to appear on the bottom the next day. The worms were hanging out her vent quite far, but definitely not dead.
Yesterday, after that third final dose I changed the water and cleaned out the container I was keeping that fish in, then added a strong enough dose of fenbendazole that you can’t see her if she’s at the opposite side of the container. I checked today and there were still worms.
I asked my vet about piperzine, as I saw someone mention this as a treatment option in another forum post and it’s at least legal here. My vet said they could order some in if needed however it’s weaker than fenbendazole. But regardless, is it possible that could do it? I rarely see piperzine recommended as a med to treat camallanus, so is there a chance the worms would have no immunity towards it? If not, should I try getting flubendazole or nematol from the other vet? (I’ve seen these as treatment options on forum posts here too, but I have no idea if these are allowed for veterinary use in canada either)
Please help... this poor fish has been through so much and I feel like there’s so few options available when I want to help her so badly... she’s been so resilient and clearly wants to live because throughout all this stress on her body and mind she has still been active and eating well but is enduring a lot. I want her to live a long happy life as a healthy fish in a good tank, not dying of illness and stress because of parasites she caught from the pet store. It’s not fair to just give up on her because these terrible parasites are resisting meds and my stupid country has closed off treatment options... it’s really not fair.
