white stringy poop internet myth

[Trever]

https://cafishvet.com/2020/01/25/white-stringy-poop-in-fish/

Says, among other things, that white stringy poop is almost never a parasite, and if it is, then the poop should move on its own.

Comments?

I'm curious what folks would say. The source here is a vet (MD), who specializes in fish. (She would say, don't ask the internet!)

In fact her posting indicates the fish aren't eating enough if they've got white stringy poop. Pretty sure my clowns are eating enough though- in fact I'm worried that I'm over feeding them.

Hmmmmmm.

 

[Michael Gray]

My clowns have been treated 2 times for internal parasites. And my clown still has white stringy poop. It's gotta be a dam clownfish thing. No other fish have it

 

[Trever]

@Michael Gray you're the second person who has said that. A very experienced reefer told me not to worry, his clowns (and only this clowns) do that all the time.

 

[Crashjack]

I believe it needs to be coupled with other symptoms, but I know it is either real, or General Cure/Focus-laced food has miraculously cured what I have diagnosed as internal parasites multiple times. People also confuse white poop with white stringy poop. White poop is likely meaningless. White stringy poop looks like stretched spider webs and is often connected to white or normal looking poop, or even a recognizable piece of undigested food.

 

[Trever]

@Crashjack, with respect, how do you know? Are using a microscope or other tests?

 

[Michael Gray]

I was gonna make more lrs with focus and general cure. But was lazy.

 

[Trever]

Then again, there is this. The poops weren't swimming upstream on their own...

 

[Jay Hemdal]

https://cafishvet.com/2020/01/25/white-stringy-poop-in-fish/

Says, among other things, that white stringy poop is almost never a parasite, and if it is, then the poop should move on its own.

Comments?

I'm curious what folks would say. The source here is a vet (MD), who specializes in fish. (She would say, don't ask the internet!)

In fact her posting indicates the fish aren't eating enough if they've got white stringy poop. Pretty sure my clowns are eating enough though- in fact I'm worried that I'm over feeding them.

Hmmmmmm.

Nope the vet missed the mark on that one. Clear stringy mucus is a sign of a fish that isn't eating. White stringy feces is from a change in diet, improper diet, Hexamita/Spironucleus, or bacteria sloughing. You can easily see the latter two issues in a wet mount under a microscope. They aren't always obligate parasites, many are facultative - they are normal gut flora, but in some cases, they get out of control.

This vet says that white stringy feces is from fish that aren't eating - then why do so many people post here with fish having that symptom that are still feeding?

There are some things that I DO think are Internet myths:

Epsom salts for marine fish
Garlic as a cure for disease
Any "reef safe" medication
Stray voltage as a cause of any problem
Soaking food in medication to dose a fish

Jay

 

[Crashjack]

@Crashjack, with respect, how do you know? Are using a microscope or other tests?

Never confirmed under a microscope. However, in my experience, if your fish has stringy white poop AND is skinny/pinched stomach, and/or is lethargic (can be on again/off again), and/or goes through periods of feeding and not feeding, and/or shows different behavior than normal (stays near the top, hides, or exhibits any other abnormal behavior), feeding GC/Focus laced food will greatly increase your fish’s chances of survival.

 

[Trever]

@Jay Hemdal are you implying that for parasites (suppose my clowns do have those, though currently unknown), that can't be treated by feeding soaked medication? (Eg. would need use a hospital tank to dose the water)

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Trever, Correct - soaking food in medication can only work by accident, not by design. The medication should be dosed at mg per kg of fish mass per day. All the variables are uncontrolled: you don't know how much medication is in the food, you don't know what the fish weighs and you don't know how much it eats. I'm working on an article foor the forum, but it hasn't been posted yet. Here is the intro to it though:

Medicated foods

Oral medications are an excellent way to target internal diseases of fishes. Marine fish absorb aquarium water, so in certain cases, they “drink” enough medication from the water to effect a cure. However, freshwater fish actively export water from their tissues and do not take in aquarium water, so injectable or oral medications are really the only delivery system that works for them.

Years ago, there were a variety of commercially available medicated flake and pellet foods. Currently, there seems to be only one product on the market, so aquarists are faced with either forgoing medicated foods, or making their own.

Presently, many aquarists try to soak their fish food in medication and then feed that to their fish. The trouble is that this can never really work. Oral fish medications are always dosed on an “as fed basis”, usually milligrams of medication per kilogram of fish biomass. In the case of soaking food in medication; the amount of medication per gram of food is unknown, as is the weight of the fish, and so is the amount of food being fed. With that many variables, a proper dose simply cannot be formulated.

One drawback to oral medication is that the fish must be healthy enough to be feeding properly. A fish that is too sick to feed, may need to be either injected with medication, or tube-fed (see section elsewhere). In tube-feeding, since you have the fish in hand, it can be directly weighed in order to calculate an accurate dose.

The typical formula for medicated food is:

XX Milligrams of medication per Kilogram of fish mass in food, fed at 3% of the fish’s weight per day

• Select a medication and dose from the formulary below.
• Estimate the weight of all of the fish to be treated
• Prepare the medicated food – either gel diet, or dissolved with a solvent and sprayed on food
• Feed at a rate of 3% of the fish’s total body mass daily, or as indicated in the formulary

 

[Trever]

@Jay Hemdal thank you. I look forward to the complete article!

I'm thinking I will call a local vet tomorrow. I can inquire about my clowns (heh), and also about getting Chloroquine Phosphate for future quarentine.

 

[CindyKz]

I can't imagine tube feeding a fish. Sticking a nasogastric tube in a human is hard enough!

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I can't imagine tube feeding a fish. Sticking a nasogastric tube in a human is hard enough!

I wore an NG tube for a week, so I can emphasize with the fish, but using an anesthetic and with a bit of practice, it isn’t too difficult. Best tube for small fish is a feline urinary catheter with the tip cut off.
Jay

 

[KrisReef]

I think the on line vet was talking about fresh water fish?

I don't think I have a feline urinary catheter laying around anywhere, @Jay Hemdal but I'll try to pick one up at,... Costco? :)

 

[Trever]

@KrisReef I have wondered to what extent she was assuming (perhaps? probably?) fresh water fish. Not sure if "parasites" causing white string poo is less common in fresh water or not. She does seem to say all bets are off with wild caught fish.

 

[CindyKz]

I wore an NG tube for a week, so I can emphasize with the fish, but using an anesthetic and with a bit of practice, it isn’t too difficult. Best tube for small fish is a feline urinary catheter with the tip cut off.
Jay

Ugh I am sorry you had to go through that.

I will remember the part about the feline catheter but I can't imagine actually doing it.

 

[TerraFerma]

So there is a chance white stringy poop isn't anything. And there is a chance it may be a sign of nefarious internal parasites. Either way seems worth treating fish with white stringy poop.

 

[Bleigh]

I believe it needs to be coupled with other symptoms, but I know it is either real, or General Cure/Focus-laced food has miraculously cured what I have diagnosed as internal parasites multiple times. People also confuse white poop with white stringy poop. White poop is likely meaningless. White stringy poop looks like stretched spider webs and is often connected to white or normal looking poop, or even a recognizable piece of undigested food.

yeah. I think the way you describe stringy is the first time I’ve heard that. I gave up on treatment and just decided I should treat my fish with white poop the same way I treat my kid when he has blue poop. ;Hilarious

 

[Jib]

This is an interesting thread for me to read through. I got a Clownfish on Saturday that isn't eating. Today I noticed white stringy poop. Searching different threads, the common consensus seems to be parasites and to treat with PraziPro. I went out today at lunch and picked some up and dosed the water. Will be interested to see if it clears up or helps get him eating. Didn't see this thread when searching earlier.