Betta has possible internal parasites? Please help!

[Periwinkle19]

I think my betta fish, Periwinkle, has internal parasites. One day I came home from school to see that he has stringy white poo. However, that’s the only symptom I see. I’m a beginner, so I thought it’s better to seek help from more experienced fishkeepers. He’s in a 10 gallon by himself, cycled, filtered, heated at around 78-79. I feed him frozen foods as well. The first picture is before the stringy poo happened, the second is his poop, and the third is him after it had happened. I know the picture of his poop is unclear. I’ll try to get a better picture when it’s hanging from him. I feel really bad because I’ve only owned him for a little over a month and something has already possibly happened. What should I do? Treatments? Could water changes get rid of it or at least help? I appreciate any answers.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

That is a gorgeous dumbo ear feather tail betta! I have a female that would be perfect to breed with him!

Water changes won't get rid of internal parasites, but will help when combined with medication. Do you have a gravel vac? That would be the best tool for really getting into the gravel and sucking up any nasties that might be laying in wait for him to swim by so they can latch onto him.

I'm sure he is loving that 10 gallon tank all to himself. So spoiled.

How long have you had him?

I will say, rushing to treatment without a confirmed diagnosis is a bad idea. White stringy poop is usually a symptom of internal parasites, but let's be sure. If you can get a picture of it hanging from him, that would be helpful. Has his behavior changed at all? I can't tell from the pictures, because his dumbo ear pectoral fin is hiding his belly, but does he appear fat or bloated? Does he act lazy? How is his appetite?

 

[Periwinkle19]

Thank you so much for the help! I apologize for not replying immediately. Yes I do have a gravel vac and his behavior hasn’t changed from the day I got him. He’s really active and he loves to eat. Though, he does take often rests. I assume that’s probably because he has large fins and it weighs him down and I wouldn’t say he’s bloated. But just to make sure I posted some pictures. I really tried, but he’s just not cooperating today. And I have had him for a little over a month. I got him on May 19, 2018.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

He’s too photogenic to let you get a shot of his belly He’s like “make sure you get my good side”

So here’s what we can do. We can wait until he has another white stringy poo and take pictures, only to most likely be told it’s a parasite after all, or you could just go ahead and do a general deworming.

Most users on this site will advise you to hold off on any medication at all unless you’re certain there’s a parasite. But in my experience this is the right timeline for a parasite to show up in a new betta, and my bettas have all responded well to deworming meds. As part of my new fish quarantine process, I now do administer deworming meds to all of my new fish. I know my local fish stores and pet stores don’t quarantine, and living in those cups stresses bettas out and weakens their immune systems. Pet stores use water from their display tanks to do water changes in the betta cups, so if any of the tanks have disease, they spread to the bettas. And believe me, chain pet store tanks carry disease. If you got this fish from a chain pet store, and it has stringy white poo, I’m convinced. For general deworming, I like API general cure. It contains two active ingredients that both combat parasites; metronidazole and praziquantel.

The reason most users here will tell you to hold off on meds is because fish don’t always respond well to meds, especially if it’s not the right medication for what ails them. Fish aren’t like people, and you can’t just give them a Tylenol when they’re tummy hurts. But also in my experience 90% of the time white stringy poop ends up being parasites anyway. Sometimes it’s just a weird poop. But it just being a weird poop is the exception. If he only had this white stringy poop one time, I would hold off on meds. But if this is a recurring thing, I’d deworm him.

 

[Periwinkle19]

Thank you! I think what I will do is take a picture of the stringy poo hanging from him the next time I see it and post it here on this thread. I don’t think Periwinkle got the internal parasite from the store, which is a chain store (I got him from PetSmart) because his poop wasn’t stringy like now. It was brown and globby, which is according to the internet is healthy and normal. Though, I have no idea how he got it. It wouldn’t be cross-contamination because this is my only tank. I think he may have gotten it from my tap water. I think once I absolutely know for sure, I’ll buy a hospital tank and do the de-worming like you said. I was planning to redo the aquascape in his main tank.

I forgot to clarify but he has had this stringy poop for 2 weeks now. At first I thought it was weird poop, but now I’m suspecting he does have internal parasites.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

If he is the only inhabitant of his tank, there’s no need to quarantine him if it does come down to treatment. He’s already quarantined if he’s the only inhabitant. In fact, treating him in his main tank would prevent a situation of you curing him only to reinfect him by putting him back in a tank where he pooped out parasites that are now looking for a host. You treat the entire tank for parasites, not just the fish. If you have plants, yes, there’s a possibility some of the plants may not survive parasite meds, but the plants need to be treated too because they could be hosting parasites.

The fact this has been going on for 2 weeks further convinces me this is a parasite. Like I said, if it was just a weird poop, it would have just happened one time, not consistently for 2 weeks. It may have come from the pet store and waited until he was good and healthy to show up. Parasites thrive in a healthy host. Or it could have hitch hiked in on a plant. I doubt it came from your tap water but I suppose it’s possible.

If you want to wait and take a picture that’s absolutely fine. If the fish isn’t in distress there’s no problem with waiting. Photos may help us identify which parasite it is specifically, because some meds work better for some parasites.

 

[Colin_T]

You lot are messed u talking about a fish's poopy. Even worse your taking pictures while the fish is trying to do its business

just kidding.

Treat the fish for intestinal worms (tapeworm and thread/ round worms) and see how it goes. Deworming medications are fine for fish and should be used on all new fish before you add them to a display tank.
eg: when they are being quarantined they should be treated for intestinal worms and gill flukes. Tapeworm medication (Praziquantel does tapeworm and gill flukes so is a good choice to start with. Then find some Levamisole or other product for the thread/ round worms.

 

[Periwinkle19]

Thank you everyone for your help! I’ve changed my plan and decided to treat him in his main tank because of what IHaveADogToo said. For his medication, I’m planning to use Hikari PraziPro. Does anyone know if this is any good for internal parasites? Or does anyone have a better medication?

I also have another question, let’s say I did treat him and the parasite is gone from him. But how will I know if the parasite is still in the tank or hiding among the decor? What should I do about that? Do I clean everything out? 100% water change?

 

[Colin_T]

Prazi pro is fine for tapeworm and gill flukes

If you use the medication in the tank each week for 4 weeks, the initial treatment will kill any tapeworms and gill flukes on/ in the fish and in the tank. And the weekly follow up treatments will kill any baby worms or flukes that hatch after the first treatment. At the end of 4 doses the fish should be clean and free of any tapeworm and gill flukes and the only way it will become infected again will be through exposure to contaminated food, fish or plants/ ornaments from contaminated tanks.

Tapeworm and threadworms are most commonly spread by live daphnia and other small crustaceans that come from waterways with water birds. Avoid feeding fish organisms that come from a pond that has ducks, geese, swans, etc living in it, and you should never see tapeworm in your fish again.

Fish in shop tanks are often affected by worms and any new fish should be quarantined for a month before it is added to the main tank. During the quarantine period you should treat any new fish with medication like prazipro and nilverm (for threadworms).

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You will need to find a different medication to treat threadworms because Prazi Pro does not treat those sorts of worms.

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To work out the volume of water in the tank:
measure length x width x height in cm.
divide by 1000.
= volume in litres.

When you measure the height, measure from the top of the substrate to the top of the water level.

There is a calculator/ converter in the "How To Tips" at the top of the page, and this can convert litres to gallons.

Remove any carbon from the filter before treating the tank. Throw used carbon away.

Increase aeration when using medication.

Do a big 75% water change and complete gravel clean before treating the tank. And wipe the inside of the glass down as well.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

I recommend API General Cure for deworming if you can get it. It has the active ingredient from prazi pro as well as another active ingredient that treats threadworms. The white stringy poo could be either threadworms or tapeworm, and without knowing for sure which one your fish has, I say get the med that treats both.

 

[Colin_T]

The API General Cure contains Praziquantel, which will treat tapeworm in any animal, bird or fish, and it also contains Metronidazole.

Metronidzaole treats internal protozoan infections but does not treat thread or round worms.

 

[Periwinkle19]

Hi everyone! It’s been a while, and I’m sure everyone wants to know what’s happened since. I did not medicate Periwinkle or deworm him at all. One night, I discovered that beefheart can cause white feces in fish if you feed them too much. I fed Periwinkle beefheart because when I first bought his frozen food, I didn’t know any better. I learned blood worms lacks amino acids, so I fed him beefheart for the most part. I have since then cut beefheart entire out of his diet and replaced it with mysis shrimp. A couple weeks later, his poop wasn’t stingy anymore! It was globby, but still pale. Now, his poop is back to normal. Thanks everyone who helped me and gave me advice, I have learned from my errors and I’ll try not to do it again.