Confused about Vermisol dosing...

[lkleung007]

Hi Gang,

I have looked through many posts/articles on the internet and am still confused about levamisole/vermisol dosing. Is the treatment once a week for 3 weeks or is it one dose every 3 weeks X 3 doses????

Also, should I expect an immediate change in the fish's appetite right after the treatment and should I expect to see dead worms being expelled by the fish??

What is the importance of following the levamisole/vermisol treatment with kanamycin??

Thanks for any advice,
Lester

[DerekFF]

i just dosed my tank with vermisol. My fish werent to happy at the end of the 24hour dose period. Also after about 18 hours my water started to turn milky white. I think the does is 1time for 24 hours and then again in 3 weeks

[lkleung007]

Hi Derek,

Same here...my tank water turned real cloudy also...the discus did not seem really stressed but can't say that they are much better after 24 hrs either. I am hoping they will pick up their appetite soon. I am also tempted to treat with metro in between Levamisole doses.

Lester

[Eddie]

Lester,

If you KNOW (using a microscope) you are treating internal worms, its a 2 step treatment. One initial treatment and then a follow-up, 3 weeks later. Now, if you find worms/eggs again, then you can repeat the 2 step treatment again but generally, its just 2 steps. Depending on the type of worms, most generally capillaria, you cannot see these with the naked eye. You can see capillaria/eggs under a microscope.

http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...-8&sa=N&tab=wi


Not sure I understand your thoughts on using metro in between treatments. What would this be for? Are your fish displaying symptoms of having flagellates or have you identified them under the microscope?

http://images.google.com/images?um=1..._rfai=&start=0

http://images.google.com/images?um=1..._rfai=&start=0


Eddie

[lkleung007]

Hi Eddie,

Thanks for your response. I guess the problem is that I am not 100% sure what I am treating at this time. I am seeing feces that likely indicate nematodes but looking at the feces under the microscope did not confirm this. I do plan on a second vermisol treatment in 3 weeks as suggested. My rationale behind metro is that I have had good success in the past of getting fish to eat when I have treated for flagellates with metro and high heat. I know many knowledgable breeders that routinely treat for flagellates as a "preventative measure" even if their fish do not show outward signs of hex infestations because flagellates are always present in the intestional tract of discus...but healthy discus do not generally get sick. Lastly, I wonder if I should empirically treat with kanamycin after vermisol treatment...something that I've seen on posts about this topic.

Lester

[joanr]

I've had good results treating this way; Vermisol 24 hr bath along with Epsom Salt before and after treatment. Let fish rest a day or so, and do a good tank wipe down and large water changes. The Vermisol does not "kill" the worms, it paralizes them, and you'll have to go get any egg hatchlings with the second treatment 3 wks later. OTOH Flubendazole will kill the worms and the eggs also but folks have had problems with the med, although I've never tried a Fluben bath as yet. The Levamisole acts as a wormer but also boosts the immune system, when fish get their appetites back I'll treat with Metro flake for several days and then let them rest again until the next Levamisole dose. That pretty much gets them cleaned up. The Kanamycin for secondary internal infections for any hard hit fish that is not responding well, but not a follow up for just routine wormings unless there is the need. I've never had my water cloud up from the Vermisol med.

[jball1125]

Hey Joanr. Do u mind posting directions for dosing with Epsom salt and how long u leave it in the water?

Thanks

[joanr]

Hey Joanr. Do u mind posting directions for dosing with Epsom salt and how long u leave it in the water?

Thanks

I dose 1 teaspoon per 10 gal mixed well with tank water the morning of the evening that I dose the Vermisol. This is a pre-cleaning to void the plumbing. After the 24hr bath and the big water change I dose it again to help purge any remaining varmits. The Epsom salt stays in the tank and gets washed away eventually with the water changes. It won't hurt the fish at all. In all honesty I'm after any Capillaria with the Vermisol, and those can't be seen with the naked eye, but I've seen a few small brown thread like worms vacated after using this wormer.

[DerekFF]

I've never had my water cloud up from the Vermisol med.

Hey Joan, my water clouded after about 18 hours and it was pretty white and cloudy, like someone had dumped a gallon of milk in my tank. Any ideas why that happened? And also is it normal for my fish to be pooing out massive white stingy chunks? Its now 1 day post treatment and the 2 fish who i suspected had nems are pushing it out big time!

[joanr]

Hey Joan, my water clouded after about 18 hours and it was pretty white and cloudy, like someone had dumped a gallon of milk in my tank. Any ideas why that happened? And also is it normal for my fish to be pooing out massive white stingy chunks? Its now 1 day post treatment and the 2 fish who i suspected had nems are pushing it out big time!

Did you do a big water change before and after dosing? The stuff gets the tank walls slimey, they need to be wiped down with paper towels, other than that I don't know why you had white water. I use a carbon charge for 48 hrs after dosing also, that may help clear any remaining meds out. You will probably see some strange looking poos after treating, especially if you dosed the Epsom Salts also. Just do a w/c everyday and your water will clear. Check for ammo also, they say it doesn't kill the bio but I found it does kill off some of the bacteria, not entirely but some.

[jball1125]

My water also turned milky when I dosed with vermisol. Don't know what it could be, but the treatment was still effective. Thanks for the info Joanr.

[lkleung007]

Thanks for the input Joan!!

I plan on dosing with vermisol again and see how they do...haven't seen a lot of "abnormal" feces as yet...except from one discus that expel some clear to whitish feces that could very well be stomach lining. I don't plan on using kanamycin as yet but will watch closely.

Regards, Lester

[joanr]

Anyone having the white water syndrome, how did you mix the Vermisol? Did you make a solution? What kind of water did you use? I'm trying to think why your water got so cloudy. I know the old yellow type of Levamisole was real messy, but the Vermisol isn't supposed to do this. Anyhow, it's always best to dose meds in the best water quality possible, that's why I advise to do a large w/c before treatments.

[DerekFF]

Anyone having the white water syndrome, how did you mix the Vermisol? Did you make a solution? What kind of water did you use? I'm trying to think why your water got so cloudy. I know the old yellow type of Levamisole was real messy, but the Vermisol isn't supposed to do this. Anyhow, it's always best to dose meds in the best water quality possible, that's why I advise to do a large w/c before treatments.

My water was 1 day old when i dosed it and i did a 95% wc after 24 hours and wiped the sides as they were nasty. I mixed the Vermisol with tap water and just stirred/shook for 5 minutes, let it debubble itself and then dosed.

[joanr]

I don't know if that was the cause, but the instructions I received from Al said to mix the powder with RO or Distilled water only. Maybe there was some sort of reaction with the chlorine in the tap water, but I'm no chemist so I couldn't say. I mixed mine with water that had been through the Brita type filter in my Frig water delivery system since I didn't have RO.