White stringie faeces......

[Feline]

One of my platties has a bloated tummy with white stringie faeces a couple of days after I bought it home. It's internal bacteria, isn't?

So I treated the tank with Interpet Anti Internal Bacteria. It's been the 3rd dose of the treatment (one dose per 4 days). The tummy's not as bloated as b4, but the faeces is still white, stringie. Is the treatment working? Should I change to use another brand?

I found my fishies scratching (like bumping into the gravels, the filter). What treatment should I use for this?

My water chemistry's fine, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5-10 nitrates. Ph 7.4, gh 4, temp. 26-28C

Thanks for any help in advance!!

 

[Mogo]

Hi Feline,

Could be an internal bacterial infection but it also could be intestinal worms. It also could be constipation, as your fish is bloated. As for the scratching, this could be for many reasons (ex: ectoparasites, water quality, bacteria, chemical stress from the med)

 

[Feline]

Thanks for ur reply, Mogo!

How would I know if it's intestinal worms? I checked on my book and most said I could only know when doing an autosy!

I'll rule out constipation coz I can sometimes see black faeces wrapped around by the white stringie faeces (if u know wot I mean)......

There'r so many possible reasons for scratching!! If it's ectoparasites, how do i know which one they hav?

 

[Dragonslair]

Bloating belly, and long faeces is an indication of constipation. To overcome this feed your fish some fresh/frozen food, such as daphnia or bloodworms and a little greens. This should cure the problem.
You don't say if the scales are pushed out with the bloated belly. If they are then you have a more serious problem-Dropsy.

 

[Feline]

Phew thanks Dragon, I was quite worried about it coz it's a pretty fish ! But then yes, it doesn't have scales sticking out.

So long faeces is a sign of constipation? My swordtail always has long faeces, sometimes as long as her body length! Is that constipation as well?

Ok, so I'll start to feed them brine shrimps (that's in packets, will this be as good as fresh brine shrimps?) from tonight then!

 

[Mogo]

The only way to know for sure about the worms is to do fecal smears under a microscope. And then still, it's pretty difficult, takes countless slides, as the worms prefer not to come out, but on occassion, one or two will be forced out with the fish poop.

The larger ectoparasites are visible to the eye, but the smaller protozoan ones also require a microscope. Most of the time, scratching is caused by ectoparasites, rather than a bacterial infection. If you suspect a protozoan infection, there are several meds available at the LFS, although some work for some micro-organisms and not others, which really sucks. Salt baths also work for some, but not others. So without a for sure diagnosis, you could be running around in circles for a while. Potassium permanganate works on quite a few, but this has to be aquired from a pharmacist in most places.

Check your fish with a magnifying glass, net the fish and hold it up to the glass. If there are any of the larger parasites, you should easily find them, look for black dots or things moving.

Probably would check your LFS for a broad spectrum anti-parasitic remedy.

 

[bigfish]

STERAZIN is a very good remedy for SKIN and BODY flukes (yuk)

What are other symptoms?

Do they have white spots (like little grains of salt)?
Do they have any fungal growths?
Do they have a gold dusting over the skin?

 

[Feline]

Hi Mogo, unfortunately I don't have a microscope, so can't tell if there r any worms.

I had a close look at my platy but didn't find any strange spots on its body. As the whole tank has been treating with salt for some time now (1 tablespoon per 18.9L), do u think if the salt concentration's not enough if there r any ectoparasites?

Bigfish, u pointed out another possibility!! But the fishies been scratching themselves for ... a month already! Could it still b flukes?

I'll post some pictures of my platy later on (with the white stringie faeces hanging out )

 

[Feline]

Ok so here r two pictures of the platy with the white stringie poop...

http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=7839

 

[Mogo]

Hi Feline,

Thanks for posting the pics. Looks to me like the most probable culprit is an internal bacterial infection. He looks very swollen, and there are some bits of coloured poop in there so that is why I believe it's bacterial. It's not likely worms, as usually the abdomen looks hollow or shrunken and the feces is usually completely clear.

Don't know if you checked the other post about the guppy, just logged back on. The course of action I would take now is to treat the internal infection first as it will cause more damage than the actual fin rot (which is coming on as a secondary infection). Minocycline works well as it is absorbed through the skin, so it works even if the fish are not eating, I'll explain the relevance of this in a minute. The recommended course for minocycline is 10mg per 10 gallons every 24 hours for 5 days. In my experience I have found that this course of treatment will eliminate external bacterial infections, but doesn't completely get rid of the internal infection. In internal cases, I have done 10mg per 10 gallons every 24 hours for 8-10 days. Of course I do this carefully, keeping a very close eye on the fish to watch for signs of stress. This involves waking up every two hours or so to check on them, keeping in mind that they are in sleeping mode. Now Tetracycline can also be used (mino is actually derived from tetracycline) but it is not readily absorbed through the skin, which means you'll have to make medicated food (I know in Canada, and probably also in the States you can no longer buy prefabbed medicated foods). This method will also work, granted the fish are still eating. Find out which of the two you can get, and if you can only find the tetracycline, I'll post a link to an excellent site that will give you a step by step guide in making the food.

As for the scratching, well, it looks like you could be facing several problems here. Hopefully it will all get sorted out. What has your maintenance schedule been like? Probably want to start doing small water changes every other day to sort out any possible water problems in the meantime.

 

[Feline]

Thanks for such thorough explanation Mogo! I'e checked the thread on the guppy and m about to find out the medicines u mentioned. Is it available in LFS or do i have to get those thru a pharmicist?

 

[Mogo]

Wow Feline, you were up late tonight! You can find both meds at the LFS. I would recommend brands, but I don't know which ones are available over there. Just check the ingredients on the packaging. I took another look at the pic of the guppy. I haven't actually owned a guppy, well for over 20 years now, but he does look a bit swollen from what I remember as being an "average" size guppy from when I worked at a pet store a few years back. Do you think he looks swollen compared to other guppys you have kept?

 

[Feline]

Hi Mogo! Yeah the tank cleaning took me 2 hours so that's y I stayed up that late... now I have panda eyes!

There's another female guppy but has a bigger tummy that the male guppy since she came home. I'm not sure if she's pregnant tho. Anyway I'll go to a lfs today and can check if my guppy's the average size.

Btw, I found Maracyn II (Mardel) is actually minocycline. Just not sure if I can get it in the UK

Will keep u posted!