Anti-Parasite Quad contains a blend of Praziquantel, Levamisole, Epsom salt and garlic to treat a wide range of parasites, including flukes and camalanus worm. It was developed with input from the Flowerhorn community on Facebook as they were looking for a medicated food with both Praziquantel and Levamisole to cover a wide array of parasites.
Praziquantel is an effective deworming medication that targets a wide variety of internal parasites, such as liver flukes, schistosoma (parasites of the blood), flatworm, tapeworm and turbellarian worms.
Levamisole is an old school medication that treats a narrow range of parasites, but has the added benefit of boosting the immune system to help the fish fight off the disease. Fish will often appear more active after ingesting enough medication due to this boost. Levamisole treats a range of worms, but is not effective against flukes, flatworm or tapeworm, making it the perfect companion with Praziquantel.
Due to recent shortages of Levamisole Powder, there is also a Quad-F version, which uses Fenbendazole instead of Levamisole. As both these medications are in the same drug class, they are good alternatives for each other.
We have also added Epsom Salt to help clear the gut more effectively and garlic to improve the taste as well as to provide antibiotic properties to help combat secondary infections.
Treatment:
When mixed into food, feed only as much as can be eaten in a couple of minutes. Watch fish closely to ensure all are eating and none are spitting it out. If fish do not ingest enough medication treatment will fail. If/When individual fish stop eating move to a QT. While all fish in a given tank have been exposed, those who have stopped eating are in an advanced stage of the disease and will be more difficult to treat.
Continue to offer for 10-14 days, but may be stopped after 5 days if no improvement.
Plan on doing deep gravel vacs every 2-3 days in order to lift out any excreted parasites as well as their eggs prior to hatching. If gravel vacs are not thorough it is possible the parasites will attack again in a few weeks. Repeat in 3 week cycles until the parasite life cycle is broken. As more and more parasites are becoming resistant to treatments due to improper use, make sure you continue for a minimum of 5-7 days before stopping if no improvement is noted.