White stringy poop?? Please Advise!!

[EakTheFreak]

Good Evening,

I added these Freshwater black Molly’s and drip acclimated to my QT tank with my 3 Blue STAR LEOPARD wrasse to use them as canary fish to identify ich or other diseases. It was the easiest way for me to not use copper on the wrasses.

Everything is good and they are eating but I didn’t notice white stringy type poop coming from one of the Black Molly’s today. I’ve attached a photo and would appreciate anyone’s input on if they think I should food soak GC with Focus?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

What are you feeding them? Mollies are surprisingly mostly herbivorous. I don’t see a lot of mucus in that feces, so I doubt that it is from any internal disease process.

Jay

 

[EakTheFreak]

What are you feeding them? Mollies are surprisingly mostly herbivorous. I don’t see a lot of mucus in that feces, so I doubt that it is from any internal disease process.

Jay

Thanks for the quick reply Jay. I was giving them Hikari mysis shrimp & 3 pellet types. Those pellet types are listed below:

Nyos WILD GOJI
Spectrum pellets
Sustainable aquatic pellets

What would you recommend I add to their deit?

 

[EakTheFreak]

Thanks for the quick reply Jay. I was giving them Hikari mysis shrimp & 3 pellet types. Those pellet types are listed below:

Nyos WILD GOJI
Spectrum pellets
Sustainable aquatic pellets

What would you recommend I add to their deit?

@Jay Hemdal ??

 

[Jay Hemdal]

@Jay Hemdal ??

First thing; the molly looks really well fed, have you seen it grazing on any algae in the tank? If so, it may get plenty of plant material that way. If not, look for herbivore pellets of the correct size, maybe something with a high percentage of spiraling.

Jay

 

[EakTheFreak]

First thing; the molly looks really well fed, have you seen it grazing on any algae in the tank? If so, it may get plenty of plant material that way. If not, look for herbivore pellets of the correct size, maybe something with a high percentage of spiraling.

Jay

Awesome thanks Jay! Must have been well fed @ pet store. I added it to my QT tank which doesn’t have algae. I will start giving them seaweed extreme.

Any idea why the feces is white though? Should it change colors back to brown/green once they start eating spiraling?

 

[Dsanchez1221]

Unfortunately, there are A LOT of causes for this and fish are difficult to diagnose. I assume you very recently acquired the fish, how long have you had them in that tank? Also, where did you get them (Local fish store, big box pet store, private sale)? How often do you feed and do you give a mixture of those foods at the same time or do you alternate them?

Here are some of the most common causes of white stringy poop and why I asked those questions. The #1 cause is stress and sudden changes. A new environment with a sudden change in diet both can cause it. It May just need more time to adjust. A diet that isn't balanced well takes more time for the fish to acclimate to the new food. I have noticed that a diet too high in protein and low in fiber causes the stringy poop to hang on a long time causing a long string of white poop.

Another cause can be an imbalance in the fishes hormones and enzymes, causing the digestive system to be either over active or under active. An imbalance can cause all kinds of symptoms and strange poops. I find this to be the least likely cause in your case.

It's also very possible that it could be a parasitic infection. Many times, the parasite either consumes a lot of the fiber and or protein in the gut and causes the fish to poop essentially an empty white caste instead of the normal waste. Other times they feed on the fishes blood supply to the gut and it is not properly digesting. Parasitic infections also often cause a distended abdomen which I can see in your photo, but it could also be distended for several other reasons or could just be fat! It sounds like you got the Molly together with others. Do you know how long they were tank mates before you got them. If it was a considerable amount of time and the other fish seem fine, a parasitic is less likely but still possible.

To be safe, I would quarantine the fish for several weeks to rule out a parasitic infection that can pass to tank mates (if it hasn't already). You may find the fishes stool improves when it adjusts to the new diet and feeding schedule. Then you can return it to your main tank. Avoid medicating your main tank. If you want to medicate the fish just to be sure, do it in the QT tank and use a medication that isn't too extreme. If the whole issue turns out to just be stress, the move to QT and medication will only make it worse.

I hope this was somewhat helpful. If it was me, I would just QT and monitor for improvement. If no improvement in 2 to 3 weeks (which should be more than enough time) I would consider medication such as Fenbendazol. As a wide scope dewormers.

Keep us updated on,your progress and if the fish makes it out OK! Good luck!

 

[EakTheFreak]

Unfortunately, there are A LOT of causes for this and fish are difficult to diagnose. I assume you very recently acquired the fish, how long have you had them in that tank? Also, where did you get them (Local fish store, big box pet store, private sale)? How often do you feed and do you give a mixture of those foods at the same time or do you alternate them?

Here are some of the most common causes of white stringy poop and why I asked those questions. The #1 cause is stress and sudden changes. A new environment with a sudden change in diet both can cause it. It May just need more time to adjust. A diet that isn't balanced well takes more time for the fish to acclimate to the new food. I have noticed that a diet too high in protein and low in fiber causes the stringy poop to hang on a long time causing a long string of white poop.

Another cause can be an imbalance in the fishes hormones and enzymes, causing the digestive system to be either over active or under active. An imbalance can cause all kinds of symptoms and strange poops. I find this to be the least likely cause in your case.

It's also very possible that it could be a parasitic infection. Many times, the parasite either consumes a lot of the fiber and or protein in the gut and causes the fish to poop essentially an empty white caste instead of the normal waste. Other times they feed on the fishes blood supply to the gut and it is not properly digesting. Parasitic infections also often cause a distended abdomen which I can see in your photo, but it could also be distended for several other reasons or could just be fat! It sounds like you got the Molly together with others. Do you know how long they were tank mates before you got them. If it was a considerable amount of time and the other fish seem fine, a parasitic is less likely but still possible.

To be safe, I would quarantine the fish for several weeks to rule out a parasitic infection that can pass to tank mates (if it hasn't already). You may find the fishes stool improves when it adjusts to the new diet and feeding schedule. Then you can return it to your main tank. Avoid medicating your main tank. If you want to medicate the fish just to be sure, do it in the QT tank and use a medication that isn't too extreme. If the whole issue turns out to just be stress, the move to QT and medication will only make it worse.

I hope this was somewhat helpful. If it was me, I would just QT and monitor for improvement. If no improvement in 2 to 3 weeks (which should be more than enough time) I would consider medication such as Fenbendazol. As a wide scope dewormers.

Keep us updated on,your progress and if the fish makes it out OK! Good luck!

Thanks for the reply. They are already in my QT tank and are being used as a “Canary fish” to identify ich or other diseases that my Blue Star Leopard Wrasses could be carrying. If they go 4-6 weeks without showing symptoms then my wrasses will not need copper and can move to my display tank.

I did get this freshwater Mollies from big box store and have been feeding to high of protein and meat I believe. Going to start working in more algae based foods.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Awesome thanks Jay! Must have been well fed @ pet store. I added it to my QT tank which doesn’t have algae. I will start giving them seaweed extreme.

Any idea why the feces is white though? Should it change colors back to brown/green once they start eating spiraling?

Oh, I saw the Chaetomorpha algae in the pic and was wondering if they were feeding on that. To me, the feces look dense and light tan in the pic. If they are more whitish, mucusy and stringy/loose, then that could be an issue. Rest assured though that I have never had a molly from FW transfer a serious disease to SW fish when acclimated over....

Jay

 

[EakTheFreak]

Oh, I saw the Chaetomorpha algae in the pic and was wondering if they were feeding on that. To me, the feces look dense and light tan in the pic. If they are more whitish, mucusy and stringy/loose, then that could be an issue. Rest assured though that I have never had a molly from FW transfer a serious disease to SW fish when acclimated over....

Jay

Good point Chaeto is algae lol. Haven’t seen them eating it but I suppose it’s a possibility. That’s good to hear, just hoping they don’t pass something onto my BLUE STAR LEOPARD WRASSES that are thriving! Just using the Mollies as “Canary fish”