Hi all,
Bit of a funny one this, I'll try not to make it too convoluted.
Backstory; I had recently noticed that a couple of my older female rosy loaches had lost a lot of weight and were beginning to develop a hunched appearance. This isn't something I've seen before, and my first thought was that it might be some sort of internal gut parasite such as the dreaded Camallanus.
I don't normally rush to medicate my tanks, but as the weight loss continued I decided to try dosing levamisole hydrochloride ('Harka Verm' 8% oral solution). I dosed last night before turning off the lights and went to bed.
Firstly an observation regarding shrimp; this is generally touted as safe for inverts and indeed, it hasn't directly killed any of my shrimp. However, they definitely don't like it. This morning all the shrimp (RCS and Caridinia simoni simoni) were acting 'groggy', disoriented and sluggish. Additionally, overnight at least 20 individuals had jumped out of the tank and were dried up on the floor. A large water change later and the remainder are starting to perk up. So, it may not be immediately lethal to shrimp, but they sure don't like it.
Second observation; I have had a long term issue with water clarity since re-doing my soil substrate last year. I had put this down to forgetting to wash the grit that I mixed in with the soil, and stay on top of it by running a 1-micron cloth filter bag inline with my main filter. Having done some rescaping earlier in the week I still had some considerable residual cloudiness that was taking a while to clear. However, as well as shrimp all over the floor, this morning I was also greeted by absolutely gin-clear water.
Any ideas how the Harka Verm might have helped clear the water, and any thoughts on my loach health - obviously it's too early to tell if the treatment has had much effect?
Cheers,
Tom
Bit of a funny one this, I'll try not to make it too convoluted.
Backstory; I had recently noticed that a couple of my older female rosy loaches had lost a lot of weight and were beginning to develop a hunched appearance. This isn't something I've seen before, and my first thought was that it might be some sort of internal gut parasite such as the dreaded Camallanus.
I don't normally rush to medicate my tanks, but as the weight loss continued I decided to try dosing levamisole hydrochloride ('Harka Verm' 8% oral solution). I dosed last night before turning off the lights and went to bed.
Firstly an observation regarding shrimp; this is generally touted as safe for inverts and indeed, it hasn't directly killed any of my shrimp. However, they definitely don't like it. This morning all the shrimp (RCS and Caridinia simoni simoni) were acting 'groggy', disoriented and sluggish. Additionally, overnight at least 20 individuals had jumped out of the tank and were dried up on the floor. A large water change later and the remainder are starting to perk up. So, it may not be immediately lethal to shrimp, but they sure don't like it.
Second observation; I have had a long term issue with water clarity since re-doing my soil substrate last year. I had put this down to forgetting to wash the grit that I mixed in with the soil, and stay on top of it by running a 1-micron cloth filter bag inline with my main filter. Having done some rescaping earlier in the week I still had some considerable residual cloudiness that was taking a while to clear. However, as well as shrimp all over the floor, this morning I was also greeted by absolutely gin-clear water.
Any ideas how the Harka Verm might have helped clear the water, and any thoughts on my loach health - obviously it's too early to tell if the treatment has had much effect?
Cheers,
Tom
) You need to repeat the treatment after 14 days, because otherwise the eggs survive and become new worms. Best to treat it 14 days later for a 3th time.