Are really stringy white poops a sign of internal parasites or is it a myth?

[MnFish1]

The polls here at R2R are hard to judge. Based on the size of the membership and the voter participation there is a HUGE gap lol.

Anyway here is one I took a while back. It's pretty interesting really.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/do-you-quarantine-your-fish.567347/

50/50 split.
Of the 50% actively QTing are almost a 50/50 split comparing prophylactic treatment vs observe and treat.

Then of the 50 percent who don't QT almost half of those voters are interested in QT. It was refreshing to see that.

I will point out - only 25% in that poll treat prophylactically. It would be interesting to see how many people that QT with observation NEEDED to subsequently treat - otherwise - this poll is not any different than the rest.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I would be interested in a poll that also included what types of corals the non qt members have and in what quantity. Would be interesting if tanks that contained active feeders like fire corals in large numbers were more successful without treating than those that did not.

 

[Ross Petersen]

Old juicy thread here and I don’t have the inspiration to read every comment ATM, but I’ve gone through several batches of clownfish recently and note the following:

White stringy poop is present in most.

API GC in food usually does not eradicate it even after weeks.

Same goes for Fendendazole.

I spoke with our resident reefing online expert who indicated on his website that there just seems to be some cases of white stringy poop where it does not seem to harm the fish or go away with meds, and that acceptance of its presence is perhaps best rather than rounds and rounds of more meds.

I’m on the side of prophylactic and killing worms etc. But, side with Lasse in the sense that this is a far more complex issue than simply white poop = ****, QT for a month until it’s fixed. There may be some cases where a rich diet, biodiverse reef, bacterial dosing, live foods, refugium, etc. may best replicate nature and keep fish healthy on a microbiome level.

 

[ScubaEthan]

Yes this is a great thread. I have new clowns in a QT tank and they have some white stringy poop. I want to give them the best care, but believe throwing a bunch of medications at them is probably not the best. I will continue to observe and see how it goes.

 

[Lasse]

Yes this is a great thread. I have new clowns in a QT tank and they have some white stringy poop. I want to give them the best care, but believe throwing a bunch of medications at them is probably not the best. I will continue to observe and see how it goes.

IMO - as long as they behave normal (if clown can do that is another question ), eat and not get shy and/or dark colouration - its no reason to medicate.

sincerely Lasse