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White stringy poop

ancient11

Fish Fanatic
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May 7, 2018
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Location
Southeastern USA
I have used 6 API General Cure Pks but they still are pooping the white poop. I don't want to use anything with copper if I can help it. I didn't catch it soon enough and many are infected, so I must treat all 60 gallons.
I have crushed garlic and mixed it with API and Fish Food. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
thank you
 
White stringy fish poop is usually a sign of internal parasites -at least it was in the old days. I never have been able to figure out exactly which type of parasite it is however.

My largest problem right now is not being educated in today's medications. I don't want to be using medications that have copper in them. Also I must consider that I will be treating 60 gallons and that can be expensive, so I really want to use the correct medication.

I wish to apologize for not making myself clear in the original post.
Thank you very much.
 
You will have to provide more specific information about the fish and how long they have been producing stringy white poop.

What sort of fish have the problem?
How long have you had the fish?
Have you added anything new to the tank in the month before this started?
Are the fish still eating?
Have they ballooned/ bloated up suddenly?
Do they die a few hours after producing stringy white poop?
Any pictures of the fish?
etc.

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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.

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.

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.
 
Location Perth, WA




Yesterday at 5:46 PM



Colin wrote You will have to provide more specific information about the fish and how long they have been producing stringy white poop.

What sort of fish have the problem?
Platies, mollies, Marigold Variatus

How long have you had the fish?
4 to 6 months
Have you added anything new to the tank in the month before this started?
Nerite snails
Are the fish still eating?
Yes
Have they ballooned/ bloated up suddenly?
No
Do they die a few hours after producing stringy white poop?
No deaths yet but I fear the Marigold is near for it has a sunken belly
Any pictures of the fish?
I don't own a camera and doubt I could operate it if I did.
etc.
 
Livebearers are just about always infested with intestinal worms. And the fact none have died and they are still eating, I can almost be 100% certain they have intestinal worms. See 3) for treating worms.
 

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