White stingy poop

[maddiesreef]

Hi. Both my clowns have white stringy poop. One is a lot longer than the other. I’ve had them for 25 days and they have been doing fine and eating good. I’ve been feeding them frozen mysis but just fed them some new life spectrum ultra red this morning and just noticed the white string hanging from him. (I’ll post a video) they won’t stay still long enough for a photo. I’m hoping it’s nothing but mostly everywhere I’ve read says that it’s possibly internal parasites. I’m going to continue to watch them to see if it happens again. If anyone has had this happen please let me know if it was indeed a parasite and what you did to cure it or if it just was poop. They are currently the only ones in the tank. Thank you!!!

 

[Suohhen]

It definitely may be internal parasites or flukes. I would start with a fresh water dip and acquire some Praziquantel and Metronidazole or General Cure if you can but wait and see what the experts have to say before proceeding. @Jay Hemdal @vetteguy53081

Also give this a good read

Internal Issues

Internal Issues For simplicity’s sake, there are 6 basic problems a marine fish may experience on the inside: 1. Intestinal worms Symptoms: White stringy feces, pinched stomach, loss of color, fish eats voraciously but still seems to be losing weight. Treatment of choice: Praziquantel...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[maddiesreef]

@Suohhen Thank you so much. I have 2 20gal qts that I can have set up to start treating them this week. I will give it a few more days and if nothing changes I will go ahead with the medication process.

 

[Suohhen]

@Suohhen Thank you so much. I have 2 20gal qts that I can have set up to start treating them this week. I will give it a few more days and if nothing changes I will go ahead with the medication process.

You're very welcome. The reason I recommend a FW dip is that flukes are common and something you def want to get ahead of. They obv don't cause stringy poop but that is something that just sort of happens sometimes with or without infection. What I am more concerned by is the erratic behavior. At least that is my take, the experts are certainly a far better judge of what is typical.

Flukes – General Guidelines

Many thanks to "Newsmyrna80" for writing this. Reposted with her permission. Some facts: Flukes are not true flukes. They are actually parasitic flatworms belonging to the class of Monogeans. There are 13 families of flukes. However, only three families infect saltwater fish. 1...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[maddiesreef]

I’ll post another video a little bit longer. They don’t really flash or do any of the other flukes symptoms. I think the last part of the video he was just trying to catch up to the boss lady lol. The stringy poop is off of them. I wasn’t able to see where the white string went if it moved or didn’t move. They both kind of curl their bodies and hang out near the surface by the return pump most of the time. Sometimes they will swim around but barely. This info is very helpful and I’m definitely planning on qting everything going forward. I just didn’t have a qt tank when I bought them and was praying they were super healthy but I know that’s a gamble. I’ll keep you updated. Thank you so much for all the advise!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Often, feeding mysis and/or brine shrimp will give a false sense of internal parasite. If fish is eating well or normal, may not be a parasite. Stop feeding Mysis for 7 days and add other food such as :
Rods original diet
Hikari marine cuisine
Hikari small plankton
Formula one flake and frozen

Color of feces should change and it will add omegas and fats to its diet.

 

[maddiesreef]

Often, feeding mysis and/or brine shrimp will give a false sense of internal parasite. If fish is eating well or normal, may not be a parasite. Stop feeding Mysis for 7 days and add other food such as :
Rods original diet
Hikari marine cuisine
Hikari small plankton
Formula one flake and frozen

Color of feces should change and it will add omegas and fats to its diet.

Awesome thank you so much. I will definitely try this!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi. Both my clowns have white stringy poop. One is a lot longer than the other. I’ve had them for 25 days and they have been doing fine and eating good. I’ve been feeding them frozen mysis but just fed them some new life spectrum ultra red this morning and just noticed the white string hanging from him. (I’ll post a video) they won’t stay still long enough for a photo. I’m hoping it’s nothing but mostly everywhere I’ve read says that it’s possibly internal parasites. I’m going to continue to watch them to see if it happens again. If anyone has had this happen please let me know if it was indeed a parasite and what you did to cure it or if it just was poop. They are currently the only ones in the tank. Thank you!!!

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I didn't see anything alarming in the video. As long as they are feeding well, and don't show any other symptoms, I wouldn't worry to much about the feces. Here is an excerpt from an article i posted here on fish mucus:

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

 

[maddiesreef]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

I didn't see anything alarming in the video. As long as they are feeding well, and don't show any other symptoms, I wouldn't worry to much about the feces. Here is an excerpt from an article i posted here on fish mucus:

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

Hi Jay, thank you so much! It honestly kind of sounds like either of the first two. I switched up their diet because I want to start feeding a variety and not just frozen mysis. This morning was their first time with pellets and that very well is what could have caused that. I'm going to monitor them and see what happens. Will keep ya'll updated. Thank you all for the advise

 

[maddiesreef]

Hi. Both my clowns have white stringy poop. One is a lot longer than the other. I’ve had them for 25 days and they have been doing fine and eating good. I’ve been feeding them frozen mysis but just fed them some new life spectrum ultra red this morning and just noticed the white string hanging from him. (I’ll post a video) they won’t stay still long enough for a photo. I’m hoping it’s nothing but mostly everywhere I’ve read says that it’s possibly internal parasites. I’m going to continue to watch them to see if it happens again. If anyone has had this happen please let me know if it was indeed a parasite and what you did to cure it or if it just was poop. They are currently the only ones in the tank. Thank you!!!

Wanted to update you all. The white stringy poop must've been malnutrition from just the hikari mysis because ever since I got them off that they seem to be doing much better and no white stringy poop. Thank you all for the advise!!