DiscusX WormerX (Levamisole)

[illumnae]

I recently bought a packet of DiscusX WormerX to use as a dewormer as it states clearly that the active ingredient is Levimasole. The previous local brand dewormer that I was using doesn't state the active ingredient but I'm told informally that the manufacturer says that it's Levimasole (which is a little dodgy and that's why I purchased the WormerX).

What confuses me is that my research on Levimasole gives the recommended dosage at a fixed 2ppm. However the instructions given by DiscusX are to dose a certain amount normally, but if dealing with camallanus worms then the dosage must be drastically increased (almost 7x higher dosage). Which dosage should I be following as a prophylactic dewormer for quarantine since I wouldn't know whether or not my fish have camallanus worms? Some of the fish I quarantine are wildcaught, and others are bred in unknown Asian farms - not all are discus. Here's the website giving the WormerX instructions: https://www.discusx.eu/product-page/wormerx-20-g

For reference this is the previous product I was using: https://eastoceansg.com/collections/...-worm-ex-120ml

Should I just revert back to using the old product?

[brewmaster15]

See page 6..
https://www.simplydiscus.com/library...ematodes.shtml

This is my go to standard on deworming.

Levamisole at 2-4 ppm.

However.. there are vendors out there that recommend higher doses...some as high as 11 ppm. Discus do not always tolerate that dose and we have had members lose discus.
My advice is go with 2ppm if its prophylactic or capillaria. If your fish come down with Camallanus use fenbendazole in the food.

I should add also that camallanus is very rare in discus. I dont think we have ever had a case on the disease board..if we did they are years far and few between.


I have no idea why the dosing recommended is creeping up but we see this with alot of meds where non- pathologists on social media sites act like they understand medications when clearly they don't.

Hth,
Al8

[jwcarlson]

I have no idea why the dosing recommended is creeping up but we see this with alot of meds where non- pathologists on social media sites act like they understand medications when clearly they don't.

I think a lot of it is human nature/standard "if this much is good, more must be better". I've seen 13 ppm levamisole recommended. I think I made a post here asking about it because it seemed crazy. Most people also don't have a scale to measure meds. So they're trying to do the "this many scoops in this much water" game and there's factors that you need to consider and hedging higher is probably viewed as a safer alternative (for the product, not necessarily for the fish).

[illumnae]

Thank you! Am I safe to assume that the lower dosage (1 scoop per 500L of water) is the 2ppm dosage? The instructions don't say exactly.

Unfortunately for me Singapore controls medication very strictly so the options open to me for treating my fish are quite limited to mostly the big name brands or the more dubious China or local brands that tend not to openly state the active ingredient. There is also only 1 actual fish vet in the entire country and his charges are quite exorbitant so getting a prescription is also not very viable.

[brewmaster15]

Thank you! Am I safe to assume that the lower dosage (1 scoop per 500L of water) is the 2ppm dosage? The instructions don't say exactly.

Unfortunately for me Singapore controls medication very strictly so the options open to me for treating my fish are quite limited to mostly the big name brands or the more dubious China or local brands that tend not to openly state the active ingredient. There is also only 1 actual fish vet in the entire country and his charges are quite exorbitant so getting a prescription is also not very viable.

Theres no way to know for sure. The best way is to use a scale. From what I see online the only ingredient is levamisole which probably means its pure levamisole. But theres no way to know how much they consider a base dose.

[Vanman]

Link to a Levamisole dosage calculator: https://www.geocities.ws/chefkeithal...DH7AlTCAdTdDMY

[Marty]

Very helpful chart for those of us that try hard but didn't do so well in school ..... lol ....... are there other dosing charts out there for certain medications or is this chart specific for Levamisole .. Thank you

[LizStreithorst]

That's a great chart, Gary.

[jwcarlson]

It helps when you understand that PPM is mg/liter. If you want 2 PPM in a 75 gallon (284 liters) you just need to do 284 liters x 2 PPM = 568 mg dose.
I do 700 mg in my 75 because it's easy to remember. 700 mg/284 liters = ~2.5 PPM.