Clownfish not eating and stringy white faeces

[chemicals]

Hi All,

since 3 or 4 days one of my clownfish won’t eat and only swims/lays on the bottom. I noticed that he lost some weight and he won’t eat. The other clown does eat but doesn’t “look” all that healthy. I manage to capture them and put them in my quarantaine system. I figured it’s most likely an intestinal parasite of some kind. I’m gonna start treating them with eSHa NDX since that’s the best that is available on the EU market. However, I’m kinda worried about my other fish and don’t have a big enough quarantine system to house/treat them all. How big is the change that they also got the parasite?
Thanks!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

That product will work for roundworms. This could also be a protozoan issue. Metronidazole in the food at 5000 ppm is best for that.
Jay

 

[chemicals]

That product will work for roundworms. This could also be a protozoan issue. Metronidazole in the food at 5000 ppm is best for that.
Jay

My best bet would be metronidazole but that is just not available here in EU sadly. Besides that, the white spots you see in the picture are algae on the glass. So besides it not eating and being lathargic it doesn’t really look like brooklynella

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My best bet would be metronidazole but that is just not available here in EU sadly. Besides that, the white spots you see in the picture are algae on the glass. So besides it not eating and being lathargic it doesn’t really look like brooklynella

Sorry, I meant internal protozoans, not Brooklynella. Hexamita and/or Spironucleus protozoans normally live in a fish's gut. Under stress to the fish, they can grow in numbers, causing mucus feces and illness. Metronidazole in the food is used for that.

Jay

 

[chemicals]

Sorry, I meant internal protozoans, not Brooklynella. Hexamita and/or Spironucleus protozoans normally live in a fish's gut. Under stress to the fish, they can grow in numbers, causing mucus feces and illness. Metronidazole in the food is used for that.

Jay

Hmm that could very well be it! Looking more into it I’m afraid that this is the case. However, I’m not able to get metronidazole (api gen cure, metroplex) here in the EU. Is there an alternative you might know?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hmm that could very well be it! Looking more into it I’m afraid that this is the case. However, I’m not able to get metronidazole (api gen cure, metroplex) here in the EU. Is there an alternative you might know?

Sorry no, the other treatment require that the fish still be feeding (like Epsom salts at 3% in its food).

Dimetridazole is banned in the EU I think.

Jay

 

[chemicals]

Sorry no, the other treatment require that the fish still be feeding (like Epsom salts at 3% in its food).

Dimetridazole is banned in the EU I think.

Jay

Okay, well. Thank you for your help! Hopefully I can import some or something. I would hate to lose them

 

[chemicals]

Sorry, I meant internal protozoans, not Brooklynella. Hexamita and/or Spironucleus protozoans normally live in a fish's gut. Under stress to the fish, they can grow in numbers, causing mucus feces and illness. Metronidazole in the food is used for that.

Jay

I took a sample of the feces in looked at it through the microscope (250x) but didn’t see any movement at all. Protozoans would be very fast swimmers right?

 

[chemicals]

Nevermind, upon closer inspection and flattening the sample I see lots of movement.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Sorry no, the other treatment require that the fish still be feeding (like Epsom salts at 3% in its food).

Dimetridazole is banned in the EU I think.

Jay

Perhaps a vet could prescribe a suitable treatment.

Print this thread and show to the vet.

I've had to resort to that in the past to solve problems with expensive fish that I could not bear to lose.

Cost more than the fish was worth, but saved the fish.

 

[chemicals]

Perhaps a vet could prescribe a suitable treatment.

Print this thread and show to the vet.

I've had to resort to that in the past to solve problems with expensive fish that I could not bear to lose.

Cost more than the fish was worth, but saved the fish.

I looked around and there is an alternative called Hexamor (2-amino-5-nitrothiazole) from Aquarium Munster which treats Hexamita and Spironucleus. This you can get without a prescription. I ordered some and it’ll be delivered in 5 days so hopefully it survives until then!

 

[gbroadbridge]

I looked around and there is an alternative called Hexamor (2-amino-5-nitrothiazole) from Aquarium Munster which treats Hexamita and Spironucleus. This you can get without a prescription. I ordered some and it’ll be delivered in 5 days so hopefully it survives until then!

Run it past Jay as I'm not a vet and wouldn't want to offer an opinion as to whether that is a suitable medication.

Honestly, If the fish is that important to you, I'd spend the bucks on a qualified vet who will probably be able to prescribe the medications known to work.

 

[DE FISH]

Metroplex and focus to soak it into food you can buy it from the us to the uk through eBay

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I looked around and there is an alternative called Hexamor (2-amino-5-nitrothiazole) from Aquarium Munster which treats Hexamita and Spironucleus. This you can get without a prescription. I ordered some and it’ll be delivered in 5 days so hopefully it survives until then!

That is apparently a drug used to control protozoans in poultry. A synonym for it is "Enheptin". I found a reference to its use from way back in 1965:

The Progressive Fish-culturist

books.google.com

However, it discusses it as an oral medication. Here is my article on how to dose oral meds (it isn't easy).

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods

This article offers information about developing medicated foods for aquarium fish

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[gbroadbridge]

That is apparently a drug used to control protozoans in poultry. A synonym for it is "Enheptin". I found a reference to its use from way back in 1965:

The Progressive Fish-culturist

books.google.com

However, it discusses it as an oral medication. Here is my article on how to dose oral meds (it isn't easy).

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods

This article offers information about developing medicated foods for aquarium fish

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

Thanks for that article, I was unaware of it.

I remember medicated foods back in the 80's, I didn't notice they are no longer available.

Maybe because my fish are super healthy and never get sick. lol.
An ounce of prevention.

 

[chemicals]

That is apparently a drug used to control protozoans in poultry. A synonym for it is "Enheptin". I found a reference to its use from way back in 1965:

The Progressive Fish-culturist

books.google.com

However, it discusses it as an oral medication. Here is my article on how to dose oral meds (it isn't easy).

Proper Dosing of Medicated Foods

This article offers information about developing medicated foods for aquarium fish

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

Thanks! Lets hope it will work! And thanks again for the information, really useful stuff and appreciated!

 

[chemicals]

Hi, small update:
I got my hands on some metroplex from my LFS and they have now been treated for ~20 days. 1 still barely eats and lost most of its weight. The other seems to do just fine. Today I noticed that the one who barely eats had some stringy clear feces. I did feed them some baby brine yesterday for the first time to see if the thin one shows some interest. To my surprise it was feasting on them so could the change in diet be the case of the clear stringy feces? Besides this, if he’s cleared of the parasite why does he still not eat. Before the infection he used to eat just fine. How do I get him to eat again? I tried a lot of different foods and garlic extract, but he only seems to be interested in baby brine (doesn’t care for frozen brine).

 

[chemicals]

I did find this on his feces. Some sort of small worm, is this a parasite, or could this be a detritus worm (my guess). I got the sample right after it fell on the bottom of the tank. I do not, however, see other moving cells in his feces.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I did find this on his feces. Some sort of small worm, is this a parasite, or could this be a detritus worm (my guess). I got the sample right after it fell on the bottom of the tank. I do not, however, see other moving cells in his feces.

Yes - the trick with looking at feces is if they are a "clean catch". If they sit on the bottom of the tank, detritus organisms soon invade and then you can't tell what was living inside the fish and what came along later.

Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi, small update:
I got my hands on some metroplex from my LFS and they have now been treated for ~20 days. 1 still barely eats and lost most of its weight. The other seems to do just fine. Today I noticed that the one who barely eats had some stringy clear feces. I did feed them some baby brine yesterday for the first time to see if the thin one shows some interest. To my surprise it was feasting on them so could the change in diet be the case of the clear stringy feces? Besides this, if he’s cleared of the parasite why does he still not eat. Before the infection he used to eat just fine. How do I get him to eat again? I tried a lot of different foods and garlic extract, but he only seems to be interested in baby brine (doesn’t care for frozen brine).

Clear mucus feces can be a sign of starvation, not parasites. Here is a write up I did on this subject:



Excess mucus in fish feces: this will present as white or light colored, stringy fecal material that often
hangs from the fish’s anus for a longer than normal period. There are a number of different causes for
this, some benign, others very serious. Without access to a microscope, there is little that can be done to
diagnose this issue effectively.

Idiopathic mucus feces: this fancy term is just to describe white mucoid bulky feces of no
serious consequence, but of an unknown cause. Some suspicion is that this can be caused by changes in
diet or diets high in fats.

Starvation: Fish that have no food moving through their bowels may excrete white mucoid feces
with little bulk to them. The primary diagnostic for this issue is evident in that the fish won’t been seen to
be eating. Resolving the anorexia is of course the prime focus to resolve this issue.

Bacterial infection: internal bacterial infections can cause stringy feces as well. While some of
these may resolve on their own, medicated foods containing a broad spectrum, gram negative oral
antibiotic may be required.

Metazoan infections: multicellular worms are often blamed for mucoid feces, but in reality, they
are almost never the root cause for this, and really, can only be diagnosed through looking for their ova in
fecal samples. Fish can harbor tapeworms and nematodes without producing mucoid feces.

Protozoan infection: Hexamita and related diplomonad flagellate protozoans very frequently
cause white stringy feces, especially in newly acquired clownfish. Metronidazole is the most frequent
treatment for this issue. It can be dosed orally at 25 mg per kg of fish body weight, or 5 g in a kg of food.
However, it is a very bitter medication, and some fish will refuse to feed on food containing it. It can be
dosed in the water at 25 mg/l, but this is more effective in treating marine fishes, as freshwater fish do not
“drink” aquarium water.

Coccidia: These microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled parasites are common diseases in
dogs and cats. In fish, they cause epithelial necrosis of the gut, enteritis and the copious production of
mucus (Noga 2010). These cannot be diagnosed without microscopic examination, and there is no well
researched cure for this in fishes, although Toltrazuril has been tested.

Constipation: This malady is often given as a cause for stringy feces, but it is not as common as
one would think. When it is seen, the feces are usually dark, not light in color. Often touted as a “cure
for constipation”, many aquarists add Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to the aquarium’s water – do not
do this in marine aquariums, its use is primarily as a tonic/dip for freshwater fish. Seawater formulas
already contain between 7 and 19 grams of magnesium sulfate per gallon (depending on the recipe). NSW
magnesium level is around 1200 ppm and sulfur is around 840 ppm. Some benefit might be seen using it
as a dip in additional concentrations, but adding a small amount to a marine aquarium itself has no
benefit. Epsom salts do have some possible benefit when mixed into the food as a 3% by weight adjunct.
Another commonly heard remedy for constipation is; “feed fresh peas”. This is an effective cure for
fancy goldfish and Malawi cichlids that develop constipation and bloating. Again, overextrapolation has
marine aquarists trying to feed peas to carnivorous fish, etc. The best method to enhance gut motility in
fish is to feed frozen adult brine shrimp – not as a permanent diet, just long enough to get the constipation
resolved.

Jay