de-worming medication in Toronto

[ArcLyte]

Hi, I'm suspecting some internal parasites in my small group of 3 juvenile discus. This suspicion is from cottony looking poop, I'm not sure which discus exactly is producing it but I would like to have the meds on hand immediately if I find this is happening more consistently.

I've looked up getting metro from large retailers in the greater toronto area but none of them seem to be carrying metro or any of the other effective de-worming meds that people seem to be recommending here. Does anyone have a good source for an effective anti parasite med available by mail-order or local store within toronto?

Thanks

[crash]

You might want to call Kumar from Kumlin tropical.
He has very good at diagnosing whats wrong with the discus and also has lot of sources he can advise you to buy your meds from.
He is in Pikering, his number is
(416) 569-0989
Just tell him that you got his number from Crash on Simply. He will help you out.
Thank you
Crash.

[AFTICA]

Kumar is an excellent source for info - I must admit!

Big Al's and Mops both carry Prazi-Pro for flukes, tapeworms, flatworms etc. (Praziquantel) AND you can get regular ole cat dewormer at the local pet store - look for the main ingredient being piperazine citrate... this will do Camallanus or nematode infestations... (or look for Levamisole - this also does Camallanus or nematode infestations...)

Search these forums for these medications to find the dosage information - it's all there..

[ArcLyte]

wow thanks for the info. I just wanted to see if there was a specific med local breeders had on hand that they use for de-worming rather than some commercial-diluted stuff. I thought the choice for de-worming was metro and not prazi?

Thanks

[sam_y]

If you're looking for metro, try asking for Metro+ from Hikari. A number of stores in the GTA have it.

[AFTICA]

wow thanks for the info. I just wanted to see if there was a specific med local breeders had on hand that they use for de-worming rather than some commercial-diluted stuff. I thought the choice for de-worming was metro and not prazi?

LOL - well - IMHO the belief that Prazi-Pro is diluted is fallacy.. Basically it all comes down to what concentration you dose the tank to... (ie 2.5 mg/L)

If you use Prazi-pro in a 120 gallon tank - it takes 1 ounce of medication... or 1 teaspoon for a 20 gallon tank to get 2.6 mg/L - so a small bottle can last a while...

If you look at what is sold as Praziquantel like this stuff here http://www.pondrx.com/store/customer...2&cat=0&page=1

Look and see and it says 10 grams treats 1000 gallons...

10 grams = 10,000 mg
1000 gallons = 3785 liters

so 10,000mg treats 3785 liters
so 10,000/3785 = 2.64 mg/L concentration - essentially the exact same concentration.

Now I may stand corrected in mere minutes but I think that math is right.

These 3 I mentioned are the big 3 for worms. As for Metronidazole - thats for Protozoan and anaerobic bacterial infections (Hexamita, Ichthyophthirius etc..) http://www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart....34d+1133011377

[tcfish]

cotton looking poop could very well be round worms if you can get it fenbendazole would be first choice or piperazine these work good in an all around PH range levamisole is not good at a high ph good at a low PH a lot of people tend not to realize the PH of your water will affect certain drugs making some deadly to use on your fish,prazi is for tape worm which will not show as cottony poop dont sound like hex either ,but after you treat for round worm give them a break than hit them with metro.

[ArcLyte]

thanks for all the informative responses, after looking around the mops site I saw this med

http://www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart....2a6+1133033544

from the description it contains both metro and prazi, if this is true then it might be the route I'll take as it might be better to hit them with one combined treatment then to go through 2 rounds (and its cheaper ). However, I'm slightly skeptical of the concentration of prazi/metro in the med. Anyone have experience with this med?

I'll look for the piperazine citrate and Levamisole. By any chance are these over the counter cat/dog treatments? I remember last time it was difficult finding a vet that would sell me some anti protozoan drug called dimilin when my ornamental goldfish had fish lice (this is long ago and when I wasn't using a q-tank).

Thanks again

[AFTICA]

Never used Aquarium-Products Ultra Cure PX - Internal Parasite Gel product before - sounds from the description it is used directly on the fish or the food? (ie a gel) ??

I looked at a cat de-wormer yesterday at the local Pet store (sorry don't remember the brand) - but it was gelcaps... each cap had XXX mg of piperazine citrate in it... over the counter and the package was about $3.95 Canadian..

It's nice when the package tells you how much of the active ingredient is actually in the capsule...

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

I like to use panacur (Fenbendazole) when treating for round worms. It has to be fed in the food, so it's only good if the fish will eat well. Works very well if the fish are eating. If they're not, then levamisole or flubendazole would work well too.

-Ryan

[tcfish]

Ryan thanks for making that a little clearer than I did yes fenbendazole in feed piperazine in feed or water levamisole in water at a low PH,metro and prazi wont solve your round worm problems

[DavidWong]

Has any one tried mebendazole as de-worming medication ? Would love to have feed back on experiences on this particular medication.

[RyanH]

I like to use panacur (Fenbendazole) when treating for round worms. It has to be fed in the food, so it's only good if the fish will eat well. Works very well if the fish are eating. If they're not, then levamisole or flubendazole would work well too.

-Ryan

I've had good luck de-worming with Levamisole. The fish hate it but it cleaned them right out.

[ArcLyte]

I havn't had great luck finding levamisole in some stores around me so I looked online

http://www.canadavet.com/Worm_Enda_Plus.html

Concentrations of meds
http://www.aristopet.com.au/Library/...lus%20INFO.pdf

MSDS information
http://www.aristopet.com.au/Library/...nda%20Plus.pdf

I saw this product when I searched for levamisole. This product contains both levamisole and praziquantel so this might be the general dewormer I've been looking for although it is designed for birds. Any thoughts from the more experienced keepers on the feasibility of using this med?

Thanks

[Barb Newell]

Hi ArcLyte, I have not seen or heard of the bird dewormer before, but it certainly has the right ingredients!

In Canada, we used to be able to get levamisole hydrochloride from farm supply stores (sheep dewormer) and veterinarians, but we can no longer get it here.

To those in the US who use levamisole... where do you get it? Many places ship meds to Canada. I'd like to give it a try.

Barb