Copperband butterfly poop issue

[Biff0rz]

I have a 6yr old cbb that has recently been pooping very long mucusy poop, it's almost 2-3x long as him when he poops and it looks like snot. All fish have been qt'd prior to adding. Is this a parasite issue? He eats mysis daily. He's also swimming normally and eating normally.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have a 6yr old cbb that has recently been pooping very long mucusy poop, it's almost 2-3x long as him when he poops and it looks like snot. All fish have been qt'd prior to adding. Is this a parasite issue? He eats mysis daily. He's also swimming normally and eating normally.

Please post pics, even videos of the appearance of feces under bright white lighting and by chance have you increase feeding of mysis shrimp, brine shrimp and even clam?

 

[Biff0rz]

I've been trying to get a Pic for 3 days w no luck, it's usually off him before I can. No increase in food, 1 mysis cube /day for years now

 

[vetteguy53081]

I've been trying to get a Pic for 3 days w no luck, it's usually off him before I can. No increase in food, 1 mysis cube /day for years now

Mysis can produce excess mucus in the stomach lining mimicking internal issues. This one cube of mysis as diet is very insufficient. Add foods such as plankton, chopped krill, brine shrimp and LRS fish frenzy

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I have a 6yr old cbb that has recently been pooping very long mucusy poop, it's almost 2-3x long as him when he poops and it looks like snot. All fish have been qt'd prior to adding. Is this a parasite issue? He eats mysis daily. He's also swimming normally and eating normally.

What color are the feces?

Do you have any frozen brine shrimp you could try? It works as a laxative.

Does it eat anything other than mysids?

 

[Biff0rz]

What color are the feces?

Do you have any frozen brine shrimp you could try? It works as a laxative.

Does it eat anything other than mysids?

The feces are long, mucousy, white -- its like a long long slimy string. When he goes, it's extending behind him as he swims about 3x the length of his entire body, and it gets thinner as he swims, then finally comes off. I do not have any but can pick some up tonight.

going to try and get a pic or video tonight if I can catch it

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The feces are long, mucousy, white -- its like a long long slimy string. When he goes, it's extending behind him as he swims about 3x the length of his entire body, and it gets thinner as he swims, then finally comes off. I do not have any but can pick some up tonight.

going to try and get a pic or video tonight if I can catch it

White mucus isn't constipation. Do you happen to have a microscope? Looking at a fresh bit of it under a scope at about 80x will show you if this is a flagellate protozoan. For that, you would need to move the fish to a hospital tank and dose the water with metronidazole.

Treated food works for some fish, but not this species, as there isn't any real way to get the meds into a small food item that the fish will accept. Soaking in meds does no good (but you'll read that bad advice all over!). You need to control the dose, and soaking doesn't tell you how much gets rinsed off of the food before the fish eats it.

 

[Biff0rz]

White mucus isn't constipation. Do you happen to have a microscope? Looking at a fresh bit of it under a scope at about 80x will show you if this is a flagellate protozoan. For that, you would need to move the fish to a hospital tank and dose the water with metronidazole.

Treated food works for some fish, but not this species, as there isn't any real way to get the meds into a small food item that the fish will accept. Soaking in meds does no good (but you'll read that bad advice all over!). You need to control the dose, and soaking doesn't tell you how much gets rinsed off of the food before the fish eats it.

I do have a microscope -- I'll try and capture a sample and get pics/vid from the microscope.

I think I have metro on hand, I'll check on that. Interesting info about the food/soaking. He does go after larger items like shrimp n such but getting a regulated dose into it would be difficult. So the metro in the hosp tank will need to be in water vs directly fed in the food?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I do have a microscope -- I'll try and capture a sample and get pics/vid from the microscope.

I think I have metro on hand, I'll check on that. Interesting info about the food/soaking. He does go after larger items like shrimp n such but getting a regulated dose into it would be difficult. So the metro in the hosp tank will need to be in water vs directly fed in the food?

Yes - it’s easier to dose the water. Marine fish absorb water, so it gets into the fish that way. The dose is 95 mg per gallon, every other day for three treatments.

In the food, it is dosed at 1 to 2% by weight - but it needs to be bound in the food with gelatin or focus.