Shimmy? Stringy White Feces?

[HeatherW]

Because it's "boxing week" (believe it or not) here in Canada, the LFS had cheap stuff!
But they were also BUSY.

There was some stuff to stop something called "shimmy" there.
I do have 2 fish (1 platy, 1 swordtail) staying near the bottom, less active and shimmying back and forth.
What is shimmy from? And are the meds for it made by "Jungle" any good?

Also, on these forums I keep reading about white, stringy feces and internal bacteria or parasites.
How do I tell if it's this or just thinner feces, because they sometimes vary.
Do I treat anyway?
The guy at the very busy store handed me a bottle. It was for intestinal flukes and tapeworms.
I put it back because I didn't think it was right.
Does the white stringy feces come from worms, and should I go back for it?


Thanks, Heather

 

[WILDER]

Stringy white poo, can mean internal parasites, constipation, and internal bacteria infecion, what do you feed your fish, i would try some shelled peas and daphnia first, not the writer of this information below.
Shimmies



Symptoms:

This disease is named for the curious behavior seen in afflicted fish. Fish will swim with an odd, shimmying movement of the body. If left untreated, the afflicted fish will become unable to swim and will sit on the bottom, listlessly shimmying. This disease affects mostly livebearers, and particularly Mollies.



Cause:

Cause unkown but may be due to a variety of numerous pathogens, including protozoan, bacterial, and fungal.



Treatment:

Isolate the fish in a hospital tank and increase the temperature to 85°F (27°C). Treat with a broad spectrum antibiotic. Also ensure that the water chemistry is within acceptable ranges. Livebearers' should always be kept in water that has a pH of 7.8 - 8.3 and a hardness of 15°DH+.

 

[frazoo]

this is the way i find everything out except fishy specifics:
google it