Total System Levasole Planaria Kill Recipe

[psteeleb]

well for what it's worth I thought Planaria was a common name for a large family of flatworms and suspected it also included the AEFW's. I remember catching them in fresh water lakes and cutting them down the middle to watch them grow two heads or two tails. Regardless - I appreciate the study and great documentation


I pulled this from an online dictionary
Planaria (family Planariidae) are common freshwater, non-parasitic flatworms of the phylum Platyhelminthes, class Turbellaria. It should be noted that the term "planaria" is most often used as a common name. It is also the name of a genus within the family Planariidae. Sometimes, it also refers to the genus Dugesia.[1] It moves by beating cilia on the ventral dermis, allowing it to glide along on a film of mucus. Some move by undulations of the whole body by the contractions of muscles built into the body wall. They exhibit an extraordinary ability to regenerate lost body parts. For example, a planarian split lengthwise or crosswise will regenerate into two separate individuals. The size ranges from 3 to 12 mm, and the body has two eye-spots (also known as ocelli) that can detect the intensity of light. The eye-spots act as photoreceptors and are used to move away from light sources. Planaria have three germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm), and are acoelomate (i.e. they have a solid body with no body cavity). They have a single-opening digestive tract, consisting of one anterior branch and two posterior branches in freshwater planarians. Because of this three-branched organization, freshwater flatworms are often referred to as triclad planarians.

 

[CleveYank]

psteeleb. Yes I think we all did the cut the planaria heads thing back in Jr high Science. One of the less hoakey things they let us do back then. Cool even. And I know the AEFW are a part of the family. And I believe that this stuff may work on them. They are not included since A. I did not have a culture of them. B. I did not have a culture of them. C. I did not have a culture of them. And D. too many threads have side postings of 3 different parasites/pests (someone in another forum wanted to argue about the parasite vs. pest nature of flatworms instead of absorbing the data) included that pull the information so out of whack that it becomes useless.

So it's definately worth the thought. Just trying to keep this thread as one track as possible is all was why I suggested the other party setup a test run and isolate it for that issue and post a brand spanking new test in a separate thread. I would love to see a well documented study of that actually. When I get a culture I will give it a whirl if noone flips over that rock.

 

[CleveYank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12556383#post12556383 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by serpentman
I treated my system at the above mentioned concentrations with what appears to be success. The real test will be my low flow fuge which I will know in a couple of days. However, I plan to redose just in case a few of those buggers survive.

So far the only side effect I have noticed was my zoos instantly closed up. Also, the skimmer went nuts after a few minutes. I am assuming it was the dying flat worms that set it off.

Funny the guy who helps me with the concentration diliberation is the last to try and post his results. Sorry Jeff just bustin.

So I guess from what I know Serpentman and ItZme have the medium to heavy flatworm population tests without bad impacts.

And now we wait.

 

[psteeleb]

Just trying to keep this thread as one track as possible.....

I glad you did, it's frustrating when a topic gets off topic or too generic making it arduous to read or follow. And again, thanks for the effort; it's extra work, but an appreciated "give back" to the hobby. By providing an accurate documentation of a process and the results others should be able to not have to reinvent the wheel “so to speak”.

 

[CleveYank]

4th and final dose goes in later today.

Be nice to finally do some water changes again.

 

[basssnake]

I have those reddish brown flatworms too. I need to kill them off. I would rather do it naturally(easier) but i really need to kill them. So, has anyone else done this? I haven't read the whole thread yet, but i will soon.

 

[itZme]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12563517#post12563517 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by basssnake
So, has anyone else done this? I haven't read the whole thread yet, but i will soon.

This is only a 1 page thread until your post. There are at least 3 others who have done this treatment who posted in the thread. It will do you a lot of good to read more about anything you plan to do with your reef tank in the future before making a decision since there are always opinions on both sides of the fence. Some people will tell you the flatworms will just die off when they run out of their preferred food, others will tell you that a single 6-line wrasse will rid your tank of flatworms in no time. The author of this thread (and almost everyone else in it) has tried all the other methods before resorting to experimenting with a new treatment.
I think it is great that Cleve_Yank took the time and money to do this experiment and now I can see my corals again without the mats of flatworms covering the sand and corals like they were at their worst point.

 

[basssnake]

Yeah, i need to read it. I have a bad flatworm problem and i hate them. So, this is a last resort thing?

 

[itZme]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12425983#post12425983 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CleveYank
Joe...BTW.

Slight wrinkle emmerged since the initial purchase at Tractor Supply before this all started.
Double check with Tractor Supply 1st.

In order to continue my testing I needed to have another bottle.
When I called the one in Chardon Oh they were out of it and gal said it was no longer in their computer. So I ordered it from livestockconcepts via their online store. The photo was the stuff made in Ireland like I got from TS. Yet what I got was some stuff made here. I was sort of put off with the switch but have not gotten back to giving them the Q and A about purity and strength. It supposed to be the same exact dosage and usage on swine so I suppose it's the right stuff only made elsewhere.


The original stuff was LEVASOLE (levamisole hydrochloride) Soluable Pig Wormer (Anthelmintic) Net Wt 0.0712 oz (20.17g)
bar code on bottle 0061-5023-013 made by or for Schering-Plough Animal Health Corp Union NJ 07083 made in Ireland NADA#112-049, Approved FDA NDC# 0061-5023-01

Stuff I recieved from Livestock Concepts was;
Durvet brand levamisole hydrochloride
same weight and dosage. same usage mfg MO. 64014 USA
& 2nd set of bottles was Aspen Vet Resources LTD levamisole hydrochloride, same wieght and dosage etc but Liberty MO 64068
(Guess Missouri is Bullish on pig dewormer or something)

Anyway, stuff from livestock concepts was about $15 per bottle delivered to my door. And they sent me a nifty catalogue just in case I needed to order tools to help birth my calves or deworm my sheep too.

FYI... I just stopped at the Medina TSC and they had 3 bottles of the Durvet brand "Levamisole Hydrochloride Soluble Pig Wormer" 20.17g (0.712oz)

I only needed one to try again on the strong little SOB's living in my tank after the 3 FWE treatments and the 2 Levamisole treatments.

I will update again with the status after dosing with this bottle of current dated chemical since the only variable in my last treatment was that the "Levasole" brand was past the Exp. date on the labe.

-- Kevin

 

[DNA]

I learned here that some have been successful using Levamisole to treat their tanks for red planaria flatworms.
Flatworm Exit can't be imported to Iceland and is very hard to aquire so I had to give Levamisole a chance.
It turned out to be very expesive in it's powder form.
A wholesaler asked for around 100$ for each gram and a special permit had to pass through some burocracy institution before it could be ordered and imported.
Next step was going to try to find a vet that could possibly help me out so I spoke about this to the guys at the local pet shop and they said they had been using this stuff to treat worm infested freshwater fish.
They didn't have a clue it could treat their own saltwater tank 1 feet away, where they stored this drug.

The stuff they gave me is called [Levacide injection], it's yellow and looks like somebodys urine and is to rid cattle and sheep of worms and costs around 100$ for ~250ml.
It includes 7.5% Leavamisole Hydrocloride, but it didn't say what the rest is.
At first I added 15 ml to 1000 litres of water and soon enaugh the flatworms start to move around showing some unease, but none died so I added another 15 ml 45 minutes later.
This did the trick and the flatworms start dieing in large numbers. The following day I found 5 small flatworm alive so I dose the tank again seven days later in order to kill the remaining flatworms using 40ml/1000litres.

It's been two weeks now and I can't find a single flatworm alive, but I'm sure some must have survived and each dosage will only kill 99.9% leaving some to come out an reproduce later.
I didn't see the drug cause any effect on any of the lifestock besides the flatworms. Small tubeworms, shrimp and critters survived and corals stayed open. No loss at all so this stuff is perfect to kill red planaria.

Of course I did the siphoning out part before the treatment and water change and charcoal after.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After 2 years of having this pest in my tank it clear they are a nusance and should be killed as soon as possible.
We know how these flatworms will pollute our tanks when they die killing everything if you don't do things right so it's obvious they are very unwelcomed in a healthy tank.
If you have a lot of these there are bound to be constant daily die off that will deteriorate your tanks water quality and cause various problems.
I had noticed my corals grew very slowly and some not at all, some didn't even open and the feel was deffinately that things were not allright.
Now I see huge changes in my corals in how they open up and growth seems to be back to normal.

 

[itZme]

Glad to see you got your problem solved even though the methods were a bit different over in Iceland.
I guess I should post the update to my situation. After dosing on 5/21 with a fresh batch of the Durvet brand I have not seen a single flatworm at all! I think I may finally be free of this plague

Thank you once again for doing the research CleveYank.

-- Kevin

 

[Loachmaniac]

I know this stuff is suggested as an internal parasite remover for freshwater fish.

http://www.loaches.com/Members/shari2/levamisole-hydrochloride-1

It apparently paralyzes various types of invertebrates/worms.

 

[skriz]

I have an 800g system that has been suffering from a MASSIVE red planaria infestation for about a year. Just the other day I decided I was going to break down my tank and fresh water dip the rock and scrap the sand (selling off the coral, clams and fish); basically starting over.

However, after reading this thread, I believe that it would be worth a shot to at least run an experiment with Levasole just to add another test subject and help validate the results.

Cleve, I take that it would be appropriate to post my results here or would it be better in a seperate thread? I, like you, would like to keep the information clear and consice.

 

[DNA]

Skirz

You can't sell any of your infected stuff.
You'll need to have your tank free of this pest for at least 2 months before even thinking of it.

If it's as massive as you say it is, don't underestimate the toxicity of the dead worms. Read up and prepare well.

Do massive syphoning before the treatment.
Have massive amounts of saltwater ready.
Have massive amounts of charcoal ready with forced waterflow through it.
Make sure you do this on a weekend so you will have time and can keep a close eye on the tank.

You can do this without any losses, but it's easy to have massive losses if you don't do this properly.

Speaking from experiance.

 

[CleveYank]

Well if I had 800 gallons to do I'd think along these lines

Well if I had 800 gallons to do I'd think along these lines

Skriz,

If I were in your shoes I would look at this in the following manner.

Tearing down 800 gallons and starting over would not be in my line of thought at all.
And as DNA warned selling off livestock that you know is/may be tainted is foul play. I guess it gets the problem out of your hair, but warned or not it's not exactly great for the other hobbyist.

Ok so ethic recommendations and such aside.

DNA's speculation of massive water change is an understatment.
Just housing 400 or so gallons of water to do a toxin kick down is rather daunting in and of itself. So DNA's recommend sucking any of them that you see is good advice. I'm also inclined that you may want to mess with your pumps inside so as to create a front corner of the tank that is kinda dead to very low current. They congregate in the low flow areas so this might make this step easier.

Once you get a large number out that way. I would figure out a way to get alot and I mean an aweful lot of carbon in a pressure or at least a gravity flow add on or loop in your system to have as much of the water and at a 2 to 4 times per hour turnover (IE nice contact time) rate for the carbon so you can offset the large water change issue. Then I would shoot for a couple hundred gallon water change and the changing of lots of carbon for a whole tank initial dosing.
Otherwise I would setup a series of 55 gallons garbage cans that you could setup batch dosing. Basically nuke the stuff in heated individual setups and then put back into the tank. You'd be rearranging everything, but you would have more control over the amount of toxin and then when you got everything batch treated 1 time you could them hit the whole system and the numbers would be low enough and the toxin low enough that a final shot of it in the whole system would be fine. Run the carbon do some more water changes and you'd be in the pink.

Good Luck either route you go and don't wing it and I'm sure everything will come out fine and you'll have 800 gallons of planaria free reeftank.

 

[Compguy]

I have also heard that if you put a flashlight in the corner of the tank that will attract all of them, or most of them, to that corner to help out as well, I really hope that you do end up treating your tank with this so we can all see how it went and how well it worked, would really help out with questions and what not about how well it works, good luck skriz and please do not sell your livestock unless you post that you have a flatworm problem and its up to the buyer whether or not to buy it, at there own risk, we need to try our best to keep these from spreading, every little thing helps. Good Luck and let us know how it all turns out

 

[CleveYank]

From my experience the Flashlight technique is mythology or must only work if you have like 5 flatworms.

 

[johnike]

Great thread! We know all about de-worming pigs out here in Mayberry. I did the FLE thing six months ago with pretty good success. Wonderful you geniouses out there are so on the ball. Keep it up, John and the Redneck Reefers of Tiskilwa,Illinois.

 

[Compguy]

CleveYank, I have never tried it, but just heard, I will keep it in mind not to even waste my time and try it if I ever have to treat again. thanks for the info

 

[DNA]

It's been 6 weeks now and no sign of flatworms anywhere.
I'm getting the fireworks and champagne ready.

If someone thought these are harmless, think again because they have the power to deteriorate your whole reef. They just do it so slowly that unsuspecting reefers don't realise what's really happening.