White and moving poo! What to do?

Salty&Onion

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I noticed that my swordtail female was doing a white poo, but I noticed couple of seconds later that the poo is moving! I caught her into a net to remove the poo myself, mostly just for a closer look, but whatever it was, it went back inside very quickly!
I added rest of my aquarium salt and a pinch of epsom salts (real pointless) out of panick and increased aeration.
What should I do??
I'll be at my lfs tommorow picking up my aquarium salt and I could pick something else by any chance too.
@Colin_T
 
The title of this thread rhymes, lol.

Wasn't there a similar thread like this about a month ago? It could be a tape worn. (Not sure if those are aquatic?)
 
get a deworming medication and treat the whole tank
 
Nope, they've got only aquarium salt as medicine that does not pollute tank water.

Found API General Cure on eBay for shocking £20:



@Colin_T please help.... I'm in misery noww..
 
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Praziquantel - found in eSHa gdex - is for flat worms such as tapeworms
Levamisole - found in eSHa ndx - is for round worms such as camallanus worms.

Flubendazole - Kusuri Wormer Plus - treats both types. But this is a powder and is made for treating discus in big tanks so it can be fiddly to dose in smaller tanks.
 
Additional info about the poo:

Not stringy, loooking like a normal poo but only white, bit wavy and the bit coming out of her anal vent was pointy... just weird..

Praziquantel - found in eSHa gdex - is for flat worms such as tapeworms
Levamisole - found in eSHa ndx - is for round worms such as camallanus worms.

Flubendazole - Kusuri Wormer Plus - treats both types. But this is a powder and is made for treating discus in big tanks so it can be fiddly to dose in smaller tanks.
Thank you. So I should use the Kusuri one?
 
Additional info about the poo:

Not stringy, loooking like a normal poo but only white, bit wavy and the bit coming out of her anal vent was pointy... just weird..


Thank you. So I should use the Kusuri one?
lol before i kept fish i had no idea id be talking to people ive never met about poop :rofl:
 
I think you need Colin to see what he thinks about which one to use - it depends on what exactly the problem is and I don't know much about diagnosing worms, just which meds are available in the UK.
 
lol before i kept fish i had no idea id be talking to people ive never met about poop :rofl:
I've never met a white, full looking like a normal one, slightly wavy and moving poo...

Also my swordtail's anal vent is looking inflamed.. its slightly red.

@essjay , I should get the Kusuri one? However I'm still unsure if the types of worms you mentioned are in my fish now..
 
I think you need Colin to see what he thinks about which one to use - it depends on what exactly the problem is and I don't know much about diagnosing worms, just which meds are available in the UK.
Makes sense, sure I'll wait for @Colin_T and see what out werewolf has to say :devil: :rofl:
 
Any chance of a picture and short 30 second video of the fish?

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 the 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.

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, if you use this or any medication, 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, and do a stringy white poop. Fish can do this for months and not be too badly affected. In some cases, fish with a 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.

Livebearers like guppies, mollies, swordtails & platies are regularly infected with gill flukes and intestinal worms. If the fish are still eating well, then worms is the most likely cause.

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, which treats both lots of worms.

In the UK look for:
eSHa gdex contains praziquantel that treats tapeworm and gill flukes.
eSHa-ndx contains levamisole and treats thread/ round worms.

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 to prevent cross contamination.
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.
 
The two eSHa meds are easier to dose because they come in a bottle with a dropper in the lid and instructions as to how many drops treat what volume of tank. If you get them you'll find the dropper is a squeezy plastic thing - squeeze it very gently or it'll come out so fast you won't be able to count the drops. Try it over the sink first to practice ;)

If you get the wormer plus it comes with a measuring spoon, you just have to scale down the amount in the spoon for your tank size.
 
All fish are eating well. Intestinal worms then @Colin_T ?
I have an empty 7 gallon tank, should I treat it too?
For intestinal worms I should use...?
 

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