Ashe Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Hi folks! Can I use levamisole and Seachem Neutral Regulator together? Levamisole has been drastically lowering my pH too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwack Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I'm surprised you're seeing any pH dip with levamisole. I've dosed it in 4-5 tanks now without seeing any movement in pH, only ammonia spikes from die offs. Are you sure it's the levamisole causing the change? A quick bit of Googling doesn't readily turn up any other folks experiencing a pH dip while dosing, but there's a first time for everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashe Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Yeah I am surprised as well. I think the reason why the pH dip is because of water changes. I have been doing 25% water change per dose and I have been dosing daily so that's gotta be the cause. But is it ok to use Seachem Neutral Regulator while dosing levamisole to bring back the pH? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 I would add crushed coral sand to help raise your pH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashe Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 That's a good idea but this is my QT 😞 plus I don't have any local stores that sell crushed coral (sorry I didn't mention it before) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwack Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Based on the SDS for Neutral Regulator, I can't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to combine the two. However, I'm wondering why you're ending up with so many water changes. The dosing from Select Aquatics only calls for two per course of treatment. The LD for levamisole is quite high, for fish, but putting ~100mg a day into the tank adds up quickly. What is the actual pH swing you're seeing? I'd err on the side of not fiddling with pH. If your changes are happening gradually, the fish are likely to adapt fairly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashe Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Ok that's good to hear that Neutral Regulator won't affect it. I have to do more than two days is because my school of black skirt tetra is experiencing a worse case of a stalked ciliate infection. I have tried doing two per course of treatment but it didn't do a whole lot. Only one gotten better. Although, I have been dosing for 5 continuous days and the infection is still there. I have no clue how to proceed with the treatment anymore when levamisole isn't working effectively either. I am planning to put them out of their misery since I have been treating them with various treatments in the past 2 months. My pH in the QT tank right now is around 6-6.3. The fish seem completely fine fortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwack Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 (edited) I don't have much experience dealing with protozoa, so forgive me if my suggestions are things you've already tried. I couldn't find any information on using levamisole to treat protozoa infestations. My understanding was that it was only effective on roundworms and some nodular worms, but I'd be interested to learn other potential uses. Looking through your post history, seems like you've tried the easy stuff in IchX, salt and Paracleanse. http://fisheries.tamu.edu/files/2013/09/Introduction-to-Freshwater-Fish-Parasites.pdf I found this document which has some recommendations for treating protozoa. Copper sulfate seems readily available online. It might be tricky to dose, but they suggest it's effective in treating protozoa. Copper sulfate is found in Fritz CopperSafe. They also recommend potassium permanganate for use in ponds. I was able to find pond medication so I'm assuming it can be used in aquaria but this is way outside my realm of experience. https://www.pvas.com/post/aquarium-use-of-potassium-permanganate Might be a good source of more information if you choose to go this route. They also recommend treatment with formalin, but since you've already run a course of IchX I'm guessing we can cross that one off the list. Edit to add: Make sure to research any new treatments before dosing. I just did a bit of cursory googling and am by no means an expert. Edited April 8, 2021 by Schwack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashe Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 Oh no worry! Thank you so much for helping me. Yeah I pretty much have used a variety of medications (baterial, fungal and parasitic) to treat this dissease. Levamisole seem to have the most result but still isn't enough. I have yet to try formalin. I am too afraid of messing it up and wipe out the entire school. I will definitely look more into copper sulfate treatment. I have heard of it before but never attempted to use it yet. This probably will be my last resort after the levamisole treatment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwack Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 The good news is that if you ran a course of Ich-X, you ran them through a formalin treatment! I'm with you that copper sulfate is probably the last readily available treatment to try. Fortunately you've already got them in a QT tank so you don't need to worry about harming any inverts. It sounds like the KMnO4 treatment is typically used in ponds, but is available if you're looking for a hail mary. Good luck, I hope you're able to find a treatment that works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashe Posted April 9, 2021 Author Share Posted April 9, 2021 Oh yeah I am actually planning to use KMnO4 as a hail marry after the levamisole and copper sulfate treatment seeing it is super powerful but it could crash my QT. Thanks again though. I really hope these treatment will be it cuz I really don't want to put these fish to rest since they have been with me since day 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashe Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 Anyone know if Jungle Clear is a good source for KMnO4 for protozoan treatment? Buying a pure KMnO4 solution is so expansive and it doesn't even come with a small size Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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