My poor lucifer one thing after the other white stuff in mouth

[Helpmylucifer]

Oh and wont the malachite green kill my loach

 

[FishGuest5123]

It is not recommended to use on loaches. If you do, dose at a lower rate.

Update: I see you have already used malachite green in the wonder shell.

 

[Colin_T]

There's no point adding more Malachite Green at this stage. If the white mouth is getting worse and the fish has started doing stringy white poop, then it probably has a bacterial infection (possibly on the mouth and an intestinal infection). This will need treating first because it will kill fish faster than protozoan infections. However, we need to see a picture to confirm this.

Can you post a picture of the fish so we can see the mouth?

 

[Helpmylucifer]

Yup I will as soon as I get home from work

 

[Helpmylucifer]

Thank you colin and deanasue I really appreciate all your help

 

[Helpmylucifer]

So white lips r gone but now he is just hiding chillin on the bottom of the tank which he never does. He still has long clear stringy

 

[FishGuest5123]

You know, out of 5 male bettas I have never seen one of mine poop. I know they do because I see it when I vacuum the tank. Didn’t you already treat with something for parasites. Jog my memory, please.

 

[Helpmylucifer]

Well I treated him with salt then a medicated wondershell which I believe was for parasites. I am trying to get a video to show you but lucifer is really not cooperating. When he has a stringy poop attached to him he hides all the way in the back of the aquarium and will not come to the front even if I feed him. It's almost like he is self conscious of his poo but I will keep trying. Thanks again for all your help and concern much appreciated!

 

[FishGuest5123]

@Colin_T, can you help with possible parasites? I’ve treated mine upon arrival and never had issues with them. I know you have a way of determining which meds should be used for what parasites. Thanks!

 

[Helpmylucifer]

 

[Helpmylucifer]

That's the best pic I can get! It looks to me as if so.ething might be wrong but not sure. Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[Colin_T]

Probably an internal protozoan infection, see # (2) below.

Fish do a stringy white poop for several reasons.
1) Internal Bacterial Infections causes the fish to stop eating, swell up like a balloon, breath heavily at surface or near a filter outlet, do stringy white poop, and die within 24-48 hours of showing these symptoms. This cannot normally be cured because massive internal organ failure has already occurred.

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2) Internal Protozoan Infections cause the fish to lose weight rapidly (over a week or two), fish continues to eat and swim around but not as much as normal, does stringy white poop. If not treated the fish dies a week or so after these symptoms appear. Metronidazole normally works well for this.

There is a medication (API General Cure) that contains Praziquantel and Metronidazole and might be worth trying.

It's interesting that API and the Californian government have listed Metronidazole as a carcinogen. That's a concern considering it was widely used to treat intestinal infections in people.

Anyway, handle with care, don't inhale the medication, and wash hands with soapy water after treating the fish or working in the tank.

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3) Intestinal Worms like tapeworm and threadworms cause the fish to lose weight, continue eating and swimming normally, do a stringy white poop. Fish can do this for months and not be too badly affected. In some cases, fish with bad worm infestation will actually gain weight and get fat and look like a pregnant guppy. This is due to the huge number of worms inside the fish.

You can use Praziquantel to treat tapeworm and gill flukes. And Levamisole to treat thread/ round worms. If you can't find these medications, look for Flubendazole.

Remove carbon from filters before treatment and increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels in the water.

You treat the fish once a week for 4 weeks. The first treatment will kill any worms in the fish. The second, third and forth treatments kill any baby worms that hatch from eggs inside the fish's digestive tract.

Treat every fish tank in the house at the same time.

You do a 75% water change and complete gravel clean 24-48 hours after treatment. Clean the filter 24 hours after treatment too.

Do not use the 2 medications together. If you want to treat both medications in a short space of time, use Praziquantel on day one. Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate on day 2 & 3. Treat the tank with Levamisole on day 4 and do a 75% water change and gravel clean on day 5, 6 & 7 and then start with Praziquantel again on day 8.

The water changes will remove most of the medication so you don't overdose the fish the next time you treat them. The gravel cleaning will suck out any worms and eggs that have been expelled by the fish. Repeating the treatment for 3-4 doses at weekly intervals will kill any worms that hatch from eggs. At the end of the treatment you will have healthier fish.

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Before you use any more chemicals, do a few big water changes and gravel cleans to remove anything in the water.

 

[Helpmylucifer]

Okay so there poop is back to normal for the most part but now lucifer has cloudy eyes and scratches all over him sorry do u know what this could be now

 

[FishGuest5123]

I would just keep him in really clean water for now. He could have scratched the eye. I have one that did and it stayed a little cloudy but she’s fine. Lucifer has been through so much. I don’t think he needs any more chemicals right now. You can use aquarium salt. Anything else will just add stress at this point and could harm his kidneys.

 

[Helpmylucifer]

Omg I just noticed the white mouth is back what the truck its weird it like tries to pop out of his mouth n he swallows it and then it will randomly come back up in his mouth what is this can u tell it anyone tell?