For 100% Levamisole Hydrochloride powder (Levasole, Soluble Pig wormer)
1 teaspoon = 4 grams
.5 teaspoon = 2 grams
.25 teaspoon = 1 gram
1 US Gallon = 3.78 Liters
Here is where our chemistry comes in.
The molecular formula for Levamisole is C11H12N2S
The molecular formula for Levamisole HCL is C11H12N2S•HCl
Because we know the formula we can figure out the Grams/mole off the periodic table which is:
~204.32g/mole (rounded to hundreds) for levamisole
~240.78g/mole for Levamisole HCL because of the HCL (hydrochloride) attachment.
The active anthelmintic ingredient is the Levamisole, not the Hydrochloride, so to attain a 2ppm concentration of Levamisole using Levamisole HCL we will need more Levamisole HCL because of the size (weight) of the molecule. For example, if we know we need 50mg (at 2mg/L this will treat a 25L sized tank, or about 6 gallons) of Levamisole but we are using Levamisole HCL, to acheive the same concentration of the Levamisole base we need to do some conversion which works like this:
50mg=.05g
then divide that by 204.32 (weight in grams of Levamisole)
to get moles which is 2.447.
Then because its 1:1 (1 mole levamisole each (basically)) you take
2.447 times 240.78 (so you get correct weight for added HCL)
and you get .0589g which is ~59mg.
Thus 59 mg of Levamisole HCl is equivalent to 50 mg of levamisole base.
So:
2ppm = 2 mg/L Levamisole base
which converts to:
2.36 mg/L Levamisole HCL or
~9 mg/Gallon or 90 mg/10 gallons
How do you know how many milligrams of Levamisole you need? More calculating:
We need 2.36 mg/L (or 9 mg/Gallon) of Levamisole HCL to treat our tank at the recommended dosage.
If we measure our tanks in Liters:
2.36 x (the size of your tank in liters) = mg/L of Levamisole HCL to treat your tank.
If we measure our tanks in gallons:10 gallons = ~38 Liters
For a 10g tank that means:
2.36 x 38 = 89.68 mg or ~90mg of Levamisole HCL will treat 10 gallons with a 2 ppm concentration.
Going by chefkeith’s calculator a very small amount of levamisole powder is needed to treat a 10g tank (.076 grams, or .019 teaspoons). Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t own measuring devices that will enable me to accurately measure that tiny amount. Since overdosing Levamisole HCL (even massively so!) has been common practice for a long time, I generally eyeball my powder measurements into usable sizes. Since a quarter teaspoon is about 1 gram, and we need roughly one tenth of that amount for a 10g qtank treatment I do the following:
- Measure a level 1/4 teaspoon onto a smooth surface.
- Take a razor blade and divide that quarter teaspoon into 10 relatively even piles. Each tiny pile is one treatment for 10 gallons.
- Store each tiny pile in tiny plastic baggies (or tin foil) with a ’10g’ label in an opaque container.
Not very scientific, I know. But it does get me close, and I am confident enough in the safety of the medication that I have no fear for my fish. In fact, prior to this article, I had previously treated fish with Levamisole concentrations as high as 800 mg/10 gallons and saw no negative effects.
For those who cannot access Levamisole HCL, Flubendazole has been used as an effective alternative for cammallanus and other nematode infections. I’ve read it will kill snails, so if you have a thriving snail population that would be a problem
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