Yesterday I discovered something quit disturbing in my main tank. My adult mollies appear to have an infestation of camallanus worms. it’s a problem that is identified when thin, orange, hair-like worms protrude from the anus of the fish as illustrated in the picture below:
I recalled seeing the symptoms while re-reading “Manual of Fish Health,” a volume that should be required of anyone keeping even a goldfish in a bowl.
Pretty much everything you’ll find in the fish aisle is not effective against the Camallanus worm.
Upon further research, it seems that it’s a difficult condition to treat. There are a couple of recommended treatments, levamisole seems to be the preferred treatment but is difficult to find in powdered form to dissolve into the water. Fenbendazole is a food additive and is also difficult to acquire.
Fenbendazole is available under the brand name Safeguard as a food additive for canines.
It turns out that Jungle Labs makes an anti-parasite medicated fish food containing 0.5% levamisole, and that is what I purchased. I need to feed the fish this food exclusively for three consecutive days, and repeat for four weeks.
So, I’ll let you know what happens as I begin treatment tomorrow. I did a test feeding this evening to see how well the fish accept the food. Many fish will reject medicated food, but that did not appear to be the case in my tank. Of course, mollies will eat anything at any time, and my Siamese algae eaters will too.
