Dewormer

AquariumSmiths Dewormer is an anthelmintic (anti-worm) medication that is safe to use in aquaria and effective against many internal parasites, especially nematodes, when used in appropriate dosages.

It does not harm the bio-filter, plants, invertebrates or uninfected fish. As an added benefit, it boosts the immune competence of fish.

The product comes in two sizes: 30 ml treats 1500 litres and RRP is R260; 100 ml treats 5000 litres and RRP is R550. Always keep the bottle away from direct sunlight.

700+ bottle sold!

The active ingredient is absorbed through the gut, can also be absorbed through the skin and is distributed throughout the body. It affects the neurotransmitters and paralyzes the worm (spastic paralysis). The fish then passes the inactive worms. Good gravel vacuuming is advised after treatment to remove the paralyzed (but still live) worms.  It is not ovicidal, which means it will not affect eggs already present, but it will affect the larval stage of the worm. To ensure complete eradication of the parasite treat again after remaining eggs have hatched.

Absorption is systemic within 3 – 4 hours. Within three days 70% of the medication will be gone from the fish via its excretory system. The vast majority of the compound will have been metabolized by your fish. The remainder can be removed by water changes and/or by adding activated charcoal to your filtration system.

Nematodes (roundworms) in particular are well-controlled by this treatment. Nematodes such as Capillaria, Eustronggylides, Camallanus, and Contracaecum are common among many fish species.

Hobbyists have been using it for years now and there are few reports of negative effects on fish. At higher dosages than recommended, there have been some reports of cloudy water at initial treatment and very few reports of rapid respiration or stress-related behaviour in fish. May be harmful to ornamental snails (Rabbit snails, Mystery snails, Nerite snails): temporarily remove them during treatment.

Below is the treatment protocol I have used for treating parasites with AquariumSmiths Dewormer in fresh water.

  1. Determine the appropriate dosage for your tank.
    Fish dosage:
    – 1 ml / 20 drops per 50 litres
    Shrimp dosage:
    – 1 ml / 20 drops per 100 litres.
  2. Treat with the lights off for 24 hours.
  3. Do a 30% water change and vacuum to remove the paralyzed worms in the substrate.
  4. Treat again in 4 days.
  5. Repeat steps 2-4 after 2 weeks.
  6. Repeat treatment after 2 months or when buying new fish.

 

Below is the treatment protocol Frank Hayes @ Coastal Beautie’s has used for treating parasites with AquariumSmiths Dewormer in marine tanks with corals.

Feedback on the use of product with corals, we have tested them with soft corals, mushrooms, Zoas and Kenya trees and LPS, such as frog spawns and hammers.

Reference point –
2 x 90L tanks
1 for LPS
1 for Soft coral

Both Filled with 50% live water from the same tank and 50% fresh salt water from the same mixture drum.

Soft Coral:
Only Zoas seems to be slightly effected by full recommended dosage, a water change after 48hours resolves this.
half dosage with zoas does not have any effect on coral.

LPS:
Frogspawn full dosage seems to be fine with no visible issues. Hammers did not take well to dosage in the first 24Hours, done a water change and was resolved.

The shrimp safe dosage was used: 1 ml / 20 drops per 100 litres.

NOTE from Aquarium Smiths: The active ingredient is completely safe in fish only marine setups, however careful dosing and monitoring is recommended for hard and soft corals as per the feedback given above. If the corals appear affected, switch on the marine lights to destroy the active ingredient and do a partial water change.

Illustration of paralyzing effect using planaria

Where to Buy

To get this product, go to your nearest specialist aquarist dealer.

  • Animal Kingdom – JHB/PTA
  • Aqua Empire – JHB
  • Aquarium Centre – JHB
  • Benoni Aquarium & Pets – JHB
  • Coastal Beastie – PTA
  • HeldeReef Aquatics – Stellenbosch
  • Jungle Aquatics – JHB
  • Lifestyle Pet Hyper – JHB
  • McMerwe – Aquatic Pet Shop – CPT
  • Petmasters Alberton – JHB
  • Something Exotic Pets & Aquatics – DBN
  • Wonderboom Bird Park – PTA

What Clients Say

Flint

I must say that your product has worked fantastically for 2 reasons.

There no signs of worms in the tank.

All female guppies and mollys in my tank that started having babies again.

I’ve been treating my tanks with other brand dewormers from January – mid February. There was little to no improvement. The worms kept returning. I’ve used your product from +/- 14 Feb until April. And am yet to see any worms in the tank. So I am going to safely say that your product has done the job where the others have failed. Also, I want to sincerely thank you for always following up on the progress. And engaging with me on my numerous questions. I have already begun suggesting your product on all the platforms where I have involvement.

    Shaun

    Professor! What amazing results we have had with your fish dewormer! Our use of your dewormer in our community aquaria ( which also houses our breeding stock ) has proven invaluable. We managed to get some imported stock fit, strong and healthy for breeding, as well as improve our growth rates on our fry after using your product.

    Our main focus is various tetra species ( mainly Kerri and Congo ) as well as a few Barbs species which are incredibly difficult to get through the first few weeks after hatching due to their size. We’ve found our fry, since deworming the adults, are stronger, healthier and certainly more resilient.

    Thank you for an amazing product, If I had this in my hobby things would have been wwwaaayyyy easier.

    Regards, Shaun Graham ( Shandri Aquatics)

    Ross

    I’ve found AquariumSmiths Dewormer and No-Planaria far more effective than other products I’ve tried – and I’ve tried almost all. A single treatment sorted out my snowball shrimp breeding tank. Other products make big claims but require multiple doses and don’t eradicate the infestation. (Be sure to follow the dosage instructions for shrimp and remove your ornamental snails.) Local is definitely lekker! Thanks Prof. Andreas.

    Jeanique

    “Just as feedback on the hydra problem we had – we eventually put up a separate tank (temporarily) for the Axolotls and transferred them thereto. We did the treatment exactly as described, and it worked. After the treatment had been done and we saw that there were no more hydras, we did a few extra water changes before putting the Axolotls back (for their own safety). They are thriving again! 😀”

    Claudina

    “I’ve tried many dewormers with no success, was recommended Aquarium Smith and it is a brilliant product. I use it monthly as maintenance in all my aquariums.”

    Lorna

    “After struggling with a certain pesky worm (those that shall not be named) invasion in my largest tank, and using a whole bunch of off the shelf pet shop suggestions, my next step was drastic home remedies. I started looking into my options and came across Aquarium Smiths. I chatted online to Andreas for a bit, checking that I was not on the wrong track and the information that he gave me was well presented and just straight up true.

    I dosed the large community tank and followed the instructions (which are very clear and simple, and on the bottle which is great!) and my female guppies not only were healthier and cleared of the worms but spawned a few days later, with no ill effects.

    I then saw the same worms in my Koi Angel tank, dosed them and again absolutely no problems. All cleared up and the breeding pair laid eggs shortly afterwards.

    None of my snails or other fish, spawn or older suffered any ill effects. I really can recommend the Aquarium Smiths product, and I regularly do so to all my fish keeping friends. It just does what it says it will – which is a relief when it saves a tank of fish.”

    JJ

    “As a multiple-tank-syndrome aquarium keeper I’ve got 23 tanks running. Thus plenty of headaches etc. But one product that has worked wonders for me is the AquariumSmiths Dewormer & No-Planaria. I dosed my orange flash Apistogramma once and the problem was solved. They actually spawned 1 week later.
    Great product and thanks for the local developers.”

    Gerhard

    “This stuff really works. After months of trying all kinds of remedies and medicine i finally came across this. I was sceptical at first since non of the other big brand products worked but to my surprise it started working after 48 hours. I followed the instructions to the T and when took the blankets off of my tank i could see the difference in my fish. There bloated bellies and protruding bellies were already better. I did a big water change and vacuum waited two days and the repeated the process. This time i got rid of everything.

    This is now part of my new fish and plant routine in my hospital tank as well as part of my every second month big clean.”

    Have any questions or ideas?

    Owner: Professor Andreas Lemmerer, PhD (Wits, Chemistry)

    sales@aquariumsmiths.co.za