Camallanus in marine fish?

Is it possible for marine fish to have camallanus? I noticed one of mine has three red worms hanging out of its anus. I panicked and ordered some levamisole to dose the tank with, it's a common treatment for this worm in freshwater tanks. But then I realized, I've NEVER seen a thread about using it for saltwater intestinal worms. So, are the red worms in my fish's butt callamanus? Or another type of parasite? And either way, can I dose levamisole in a FOWLR?

The fish is eating and acting fine, I haven't seen the worms since, they went back inside.

The fish's poop has always been a thick dark brown turd, which is healthy

 

wow George - a lot of specific details in your post .....

 

It's hard to tell sarcasm from text...but I'm thinking you're being sarcastic lol.

Well what else do you need to know? I was just curious if callamanus worms are present in saltwater fish, and if levamisole can be used in saltwater tanks

 

IIRC, Callamanus can be a FW or SW intestinal "hookworm". As for the Levamisole, I believe it works in SW, but don't quote me on that. I can ask Renee when I get home to see if she knows...

 

Thanks!! I just find it odd how there is nothing about it in saltwater fish online. I've only seen people asking about callamanus worms in their fw angels, gouramis, ect.

 

Anyone know the correct dose? I saw a website and it said to mix 5 grams with 88 mL of water and dose 1ML of that per gallon. I was planning on doing that dose

 

I've seen several treatments, some use Fenbendazole or Paraziquantel, but it seems like Levamisole is preferred. It's also recommended that if the fish is bloated, that an antibiotic for gram negative bacteria be employed to deal with decaying worms in the fish's GI tract.

I just asked Renee to check Noga regarding this...

 

My Goldheart Trigger had pretty big worms when I first got it. Didn't know it had worms at the time. It first went through a treatment of Prazi Pro, then the worms were expelled at the start of a Cupramine treatment. Here is a thread about it. Nasty parasite pictures - need ID - Reef Central Online Community Hope this doesn't get block for simple sharing of information. 8)

 

Jerry,

I've read that some treatments don't actually kill the worms outright, but make them sick enuff to let go so they can be expelled, so that makes sense. I actually think this may be beneficial since there will be no (or fewer) dead worms to cause secondary pathology in the GI tract, but that's a personal opinion.

 

Yes, marine fish can have camallanus, but it is definately more readily found in freshwater fish. Where I grew up, we would called these nematodes "Cod Worms".

I know levamisole can be used in full on reef tanks as people were experimenting with AEFW treatments. It would not be my preferred choice of meds at this point, nor my preferred environment. Meds that will indiscriminately kill gut worm, can indiscriminately kill off all the worms in your tank. Freshwater dosing instructions cannot be converted to saltwater. I'm not sure what the recommended therapeutic dose is in the marine environment.

I would personally treat with a med we all know is safe and effective at treating all sorts of worms. There's API General Cure which is a metro/prazi mix, Prazi Pro, Metro+.