Levamisole dosage

[TfnG]

Just want to make sure this table is correct?

http://subquaria.com/Levamisole-HCl-Powder

I bought the Prohibit and dosed to 3.6g in my 55s and 8.3g in my 125.

None of my discus have ever been been dewormed so I wanted to give it a try. I treated the water Tuesday night as a 24hr bath. Did a 80% WC Wednesday night and 50% again tonight. They have lost some color and aren't active at all. No interest in food either.

[nc0gnet0]

No it's not, they have you over dosing quite a bit.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?115759-Levamisole-HCL-Proper-Dose&highlight=Levamisole

[TfnG]

Thanks for the reply

For some reason it's telling me I don't have permission to view that link though...

[blueluv]

No it's not, they have you over dosing quite a bit.

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?115759-Levamisole-HCL-Proper-Dose&highlight=Levamisole
I couldn't access this link.

[brewmaster15]

Sorry that thread isnt accessable....its part of an internal discussion by disease board staffers.

The gist of it is levamisole is recommended by most fish pathologists at a dose of 2 -4 ppm bath for 24 hours. unfortunately there is an ongoing trend where sellers of this product now recommend higher doses without any science to back it up. The thought is the fish are okay with the dose usually so its not a problem.Its a mentality that has had caused many medications to be used incorrectly.You should never use more than is needed.

Levamisole is generally a safe drug for deworming a fish but some have reported that with discus theres often adverse reactions at higher than recommended doses.

More does not equate better all the time.I have never seen research that supports dosing levamisole at 6 -13 ppms as I see recommended by sellers as being more effective than 2-4 ppm for general deworming of your fish.

When using s medication,its best to follow the directions of a fish pathologist...The 2 ppm dose I follow is whats recommended by pathologists at the University of Florida.


http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/m/#publication?id=FA091


Treatment

Prior to administration of deworming medications (anthelminthic), the problem should be properly diagnosed by a fish health specialist. After verification of infection, alternative therapies can be discussed. Food fish and game fish producers will have more limited treatment options than those available to ornamental fish producers. There are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs for use in the treatment of nematode infections in baitfish, ornamental fish, or food fish. The FDA has elected to use regulatory discretion to keep products intended for the treatment of aquarium (ornamental ) fish available, so these products should be used judiciously, and after proper diagnostics have been performed.

For intestinal nematode infections of ornamental fish, several anthelminthics (dewormers) are available. Two effective and commonly used dewormers are fenbendazole and levamisole. Fenbendazole can only be used as a feed additive at the rate of 1.14 grams per pound of food fed for three days, with a repeat treatment in two to three weeks. Levamisole can be used both in the feed and as a bath treatment. One effective oral dose is 1.8 grams of levamisole per pound of food fed once a week for three weeks. One effective bath treatment dose is 2 ppm (mg/liter) levamisole for 24 hours, with a repeat treatment in two to three weeks. However, be sure to consult with a fish health specialist before commencing any treatment and always follow their recommendations.

[brewmaster15]

In the case of these fish,with time they should return to normal.I would run some carbon in the tank for a week to remove any residual levamisole.

Its really important for people to understand that in most cases the medications used on fish are not tested on a species to species basis...in most cases they are not tested at all on fish but instead are being used in an extra label fashion based on testing done on mammals . There is always the possibility that these will stress or harm another species...this is compounded when medications are needlessly recommended at higher and higher doses without any science to back it up.

Serious Pet peeve of mine but it really annoys me when a well meaning hobbyist causes harm to their fish because of what I see as irresponsible dosing recommendations.
...of course thats just my.opinion.

[TfnG]

Thanks for the help everyone. Pretty frustrating to hear I have dosed ENTIRELY too much and now the fish are in bad shape from it.

I have a few old HOB filters sitting around. I will get some carbon for them.

Just to be clear, it looks like 2ppm is actually around .5 gram for a 55. Correct?

[fisher]

Its normal in levamisole treatment that fish stop eating clamp fin and red eye turn to yellow and increase in ammonia level after 24 hour shoud be rinse spong filter and Chang 200% of water ..... Levamisole treatment is safest worm treatment for discus fish

[nc0gnet0]

Thanks for the help everyone. Pretty frustrating to hear I have dosed ENTIRELY too much and now the fish are in bad shape from it.

I have a few old HOB filters sitting around. I will get some carbon for them.

Just to be clear, it looks like 2ppm is actually around .5 gram for a 55. Correct?

1/4 tsp per 100 gallons will get you were you want to be.

Directions from angels plus:

Levamisol HCL 100% - This is an anti-nematodic(dewormer) effective in the treatment of both larval and adult forms of nematodes, such as Camallanus and Capillaria. It does not kill the eggs of the parasite. Also effective for some gill nematodes. It paralyzes the parasite which is then passed through the digestive system. Daily vacuuming of the tank bottom after each day of the treatment is recommended. It will not affect plants or invertebrates. It does not harm nitrifying bacteria. Dose at 1/4 tsp per 100 gallons. After 48 hours, do a 50% water change and repeat treatment in 7 days. To treat smaller tanks, add the 1/4 tsp to a given amount of water and then give 1/10 of the solution for each 10 gallons of tank water.

I prefer to wait two weeks to redose.

[nc0gnet0]

Its normal in levamisole treatment that fish stop eating clamp fin and red eye turn to yellow and increase in ammonia level after 24 hour shoud be rinse spong filter and Chang 200% of water ..... Levamisole treatment is safest worm treatment for discus fish


I would not say it's normal, and have never had it harm beneficial bacteria. Fish may stop eating however, but resume rather quickly IME.

[TfnG]

Thanks for the help everyone. They all came back around this past weekend!

Next dose will hopefully go MUCH better

[dkeef]

if u got some fish that gets skinny and stopped eating for a while but doesnt respond to prazi or metro does it mean try levamisole?

[brewmaster15]

if u got some fish that gets skinny and stopped eating for a while but doesnt respond to prazi or metro does it mean try levamisole? It might not mean they have worms, but metro doesn't work on worms and Prazi is very limited in its affect on worms (tapeworm mostly and maybe capillaria) so Levamisole would be a good way to rule out worms.

hth,
al

[brewmaster15]

Thanks for the help everyone. They all came back around this past weekend!

Next dose will hopefully go MUCH better

great news!