I have never used Fenbendazole as I get Flubendazole from a friend in
Germany and have found it very effects against Planaria, Hydra and Snails.
It also works well on Camallanus.
Adrian.
"Would fenbendazol (Panacur) hit Hydra as well as flubendazol (Flubenol) was
reputed to work? I sprinkled Panacur in a number of 10-gallon tanks with
substantial Hydra populations on the plants, peat moss and glass, but no
fish. Later I tried it on tanks loaded with Hydra that also contained
killifish and Elassoma fry. Within a week the active ingredient killed off,
not merely irritated, the Hydra colonies in a dozen tanks varying from
slightly alkaline with aragonite gravel to somewhat acidic with a layer of
peat moss. It had no effect on baby killifish or baby pygmy sunfish,
ramshorn snails or a variety of plants. Subsequently, I spread it around my
fish room, and Hydra today is reduced to an occasional visitor, and quickly
eliminated. What about in saltwater? Many of my marine breeding tanks are
loaded with small hydroids about the size of a match head. Resembling giant
Hydra in shape and habit, they thrive and spread wherever I feed large
amounts of baby brine shrimp, and are a nuisance. Hoping for another
miracle, I tried Panacur on these pests, but it had, unfortunately, no effect."
Panacur, the veterinary drug available in the U.S., is 22.2-percent
fenbendazol, which can chemically be described as methyl
5-(phenylthio)-2-benzimidazole carbamate. Presumably, Hydra, nematodes and
tapeworms, and other flatworms, share similarly susceptible biochemical
pathways not found or important in fish and plants. The drug has been
approved for veterinary use on members of the cat (Felidae), dog (Canidae)
and bear (Ursidea) families, and in goats for control of nematodes
(Toxacara, Toxascaris, Ancylostoma, Baylisascaris, Uncinaria, Trichuris) and
tapeworms (Taenia). Panacur is manufactured and distributed by
Hoechst-Roussel (Route 202-206, P.O. Box 2500, Somerville, New Jersey
08876-1258).
"Flubenol, the drug available in Germany (also marketed as Flumoxal,
Flumosane and Fluvermal) and perhaps elsewhere in Europe, is
[5-(4-flurobenzoyl)-1-H-benzimidazol-2-yl] carbamic acid methyl ester or
5-(p-fluorobenzyl)-2-benzimidazolecarbamic acid methyl ester - obviously,
pretty much the same thing. It too is a veterinary drug effective against
nematodes and tapeworms. According to Joerg Bohlen, Flubenol (and
presumably Panacur) also affects various kinds of flatworms, not just
tapeworms. Marine aquarists occasionally get outbreaks of these pests,
especially if they feed supplemental meats or suspensions to their corals.
The easiest way to eliminate marine flatworm outbreaks (they are usually
about 1/16 of an inch or less, specks on the glass) is to stop supplemental
feeding. Some of you may want to try this drug on fish-only marine tanks.
Because of the diversity of animal life in a reef tank and our lack of
knowledge of the physiology of corals, I wouldn't use it for reefs."
...............................................................
Adrian R. Tappin
"Home of the Rainbowfish"
http://www.ecn.net.au/~atappin/home.htm
...............................................................