How To Deworm Your Discus

Vincent explains the symptoms of worms, how to deworm your Discus, and the pros and cons of Levamisole and natural heat treatment.

All fish, including Discus, get worms. So, it’s important that you deworm your Discus regularly. If possible, you can perform this treatment every 3-6 months.

What are the symptoms of worms?

If your Discus has parasites or worms, it’s common that they may have lost weight or they have white transparent segmented poop.

Deworming Treatment

At OZ Discus, our preferred medicine to treat worms is Levamisole. Levamisole is a medicine used to kill the parasites.

These parasites are egg layers which means we need to perform a 9 day (or 3-3-3) targeted treatment to kill both the parasites and the eggs.

Day 1 to 3

Before dosing the tank, turn off the tank lights and any UV lights as Levamisole is light sensitive. You will also need to remove any carbon from the aquarium.

Dose the entire tank with Levamisole. The dosage is 1mL per 7L of tank water, unless otherwise stated on your medicine bottle.

Leave the solution for 72 hours.

This part of the treatment will kill the parasites in the tank.

Day 4 to 6

On day 4, perform a large water change (70% – 80%).

You can continue feeding the fish as usual.

On days 5 and 6, you can perform a partial water change if you deem necessary.

During this part of the treatment, the eggs in the aquarium will hatch.

Day 7 to 9

On day 7, dose the tank with Levamisole. The dosage is 1mL per 7L of tank water, unless otherwise stated on your medicine bottle.

Leave the solution for 72 hours.

This dose of Levamisole will kill the remaining parasites in the tank.

Day 10

On day 10, perform a large water change (70% – 80%).

The treatment has concluded. You can turn your lights and UV lights back on and add in any carbon that you have removed from the tank.

Why do we choose to use Levamisole?

Levamisole is a liquid medication which makes it easy and convenient to use.

Other medications come in pill form, which means you need to crush it up and add it to water or food in order to use it effectively. For this reason, we find that Levamisole is the most effective and easy solution for worms.

Are there natural deworming treatments?

If Levamisole is not available to you, you can also use a heat treatment for worms.

Increase the water temperature to 35 or 36 degrees celsius. This will kill off the parasites in the tank as they cannot withstand the higher temperature.

Can I treat the whole tank?

Yes!

Unlike other medications, Levamisole doesn’t destroy the beneficial bacteria in your aquarium. Therefore, it is perfectly safe to deworm your entire tank.

Similarly, if you have a Discus only tank, you can perform a heat treatment on the entire tank as you are not using any chemicals. Be careful if you have other tankmates though, as they may not handle the heat.

Disclaimer: This is a guide only. OZ Discus is not liable for any losses and holds no responsibility in the event of the death of the fish. Users of this guide are to use the information at their own discretion and accept all risks resulting from the use of this guide.