Fish Pooping Out White/clear Stringy Stuff?

[WILDER]

Good Luck.

 

[fry_forever!]

Thank you. They aren't doing too well again....

 

[WILDER]

Do you mean the fry.
Can you describe what they are doing.

 

[fry_forever!]

Do you mean the fry.
Can you describe what they are doing.

Yes.
They just have their fins clamped, and have whitespot. (literally covering their fins so they can barely swim.) And have an internal parasite -- they are pooping out the white/clear stringy stuff. One even had a bent spine.

Most of them died off already, but the remaining few are pretty healthy -- I can't see anything really wrong with them at least......

Do you know why my fish are doing so bad? I do a 25% water change weekly, (siphoning) I put in a water conditioner that takes out any heavy metals, I treat for ich by using heat (89-90F) and a disease treater. (I take carbon out.) I don't know why my fishs diseases never go away! I know the ich life cycle, I know they don't have any other external parasites, I treat with a parasite treater, doesn't say it treats ich, but it says it treats fish with the following symptoms: flashing, skin irritated, clamped fins, worms hanging off body, small black lumps slowly moving across gills, etc, etc. (Not stringy white poop though....)
I'm starting to doubt that any disease treatment or medicated food is going to work.....
It just seems like God doesn't want my fish to be healed...

Can you see an end to this tunnel?
Sorry for being so miserable, I'm just trying to find an answer, so my fish will start having babies again, and will actually start acting like.... fish....
Also, every time something goes good with my fish, I tell someone, and then the next they, they seem to do bad again, because I like, jinx it or something.

Well, thanks for the help so far! I really appreciate it!

P.S. Can you recommend any good ich treatments in Canada?

 

[WILDER]

Only buy meds that say they treat whitespot.
WHat are the indgredients.
Sounds likes its and anchor worm med.

 

[fry_forever!]

Only buy meds that say they treat whitespot.
WHat are the indgredients.
Sounds likes its and anchor worm med.

The ingredients are: praziquantel; N-[[(N-Chlorophenyl)amino]carbon 1]-2,6-difluorobenzamide; metronidazole; acriflavine.

Read more about the med: http/www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/sk...5.asp?E+scstore

So, meds that treat whitespot? What's a good ingredient in a med to look for that works great for treating whitespot?

And how do I know that my fish even have whitespot? Most of them don't even develop white dots or spots -- they just have clamped fins and scrape against objects.
Also, before you ask, this is my water quality: ammonia - 0ppm. nitrite: - 0ppm. nitrate - 20ppm. ph - 7.5

Also, sorry, but one more question: How come my fish won't have any babies? The males are for surely doing their job, but the females aren't. They never have babies, (or rarely ever....) and when they do, most of the babies die from a disease they inherited from their parents. (That I don't catch soon enough to treat effectively.) I don't think it's completely the diseases causing this birth issue, because fish at the pet store, and at my friends houses have tons of babies, and their fish have some disease too. So why aren't my fish having babies? (Read my sig for types of fish I have... besides corys.)

Thanks for all the help so far.

-fry_forever!

 

[WILDER]

Whitespot looks like the fish has been sprinkled in salt. If they don't have tiny white spots or a greyish film its not whitespot.
It could be the jungle med thats making them clamp there fins and flick and rub.
Is the med out of the tank yet or are you still treating.

If the females have internal parasites they could be due damage the parasites have caused stop them becoming pregnant.
I don't know really. Have you tryed asking in the livebeares sections of the forum.

 

[fry_forever!]

Whitespot looks like the fish has been sprinkled in salt. If they don't have tiny white spots or a greyish film (greyish film? Where?) its not whitespot.
It could be the jungle med thats making them clamp there fins and flick and rub.
Is the med out of the tank yet or are you still treating.
I'm not treating anymore. Haven't been treating for a week already. Some fish are still clamping and flicking though.

If the females have internal parasites they could be due damage the parasites have caused stop them becoming pregnant.
I don't know really. Have you tryed asking in the livebeares sections of the forum.
Yes, and they just tell me it's because of a disease. Really, I've seen many fish at petstores and stuff with internal parasites, and they have babies non-stop.

 

[WILDER]

Have you checked water stats.

How many gallons is the tank.
How many fish and which type.

 

[fry_forever!]

Have you checked water stats.

How many gallons is the tank.
How many fish and which type.

I'm sorry, but I said before: ammonia - 0ppm / nitrite - 0ppm / nitrate - 20ppm / ph - 7.5

10 gallons, and 20 gallons. (Two tanks with probs, but mostly my 20 gallon with the problems...)

I have no idea how many fish. Most of them are tiny, growing up in the main tank... the adults are mostly dying off from the internal & external parasite...
Read sig for types.

 

[WILDER]

So the fish poo still long white and stringy and clear.
Have you used a bacterial med.
Clear poo can mean the fish is running on empty. Meaning there not eating.

Any other symtoms apart from long stringy white poo, bent spine, clamped fins, flicking and rubbing.

Any excess mucas on gills or body of the fish.
What do the fish gills look like.
Any red sores or red prick marks on the fish.
Any signs of laboured breathing.

Sorry it's late and i'm tired.

Are the fish showing any of these symtoms.


Loss of appetite
Progressive thinness
Sluggish movement
Folded fins
Eye protrusion
Dark coloration and granular appearance of the cornea (this is the first sign in Angelfish).
Skeletal deformity
Hanging at the surface
Skin defects, including blood spots and open wounds that may ulcerate
Black spots, or overall dark coloration (in Cichlids particularly).
Fin rot, characterised by the outer rays falling out.
Scales loosening and falling out
General swelling and scale protrusion (as in Dropsy)


What do you feed your fish. Try some peas.
How long did you treat for the whitespot when they had it.

 

[fry_forever!]

So the fish poo still long white and stringy and clear.
Yes.
Have you used a bacterial med.
Not yet, it is being ordered tomorrow. Do I use the bacteria med before or after the internal parasite med?
Clear poo can mean the fish is running on empty. Meaning there not eating.
Oh, they're definitely eating!

Any other symptoms apart from long stringy white poo, bent spine, clamped fins, flicking and rubbing.
Hmmm.... no. OH WAIT! (This is being typed as I'm thinking it! ) One of my females got fin rot out of the blue, but it went away on it's own, though now she's left with half a fin.

Any excess mucas on gills or body of the fish.
Not that I can tell....
What do the fish gills look like.
Hmm.... okay, but some are a little inflamed...
Any red sores or red ???prick??? (scratch, you mean?) marks on the fish.
If scratch is what you mean, than not that I can see. Only on that guppy when she had fin rot.
Any signs of laboured breathing.
Nah, not that I can really see.... I can't tell.... they are swimming everywhere!!

Sorry it's late (It's only 6:00p.m. here...?) and I'm tired.
I concur. I'm sorry I'm so impatient!

Are the fish showing any of these symtoms.


Loss of appetite
Only a couple.
Progressive thinness
Oh yeah.
Sluggish movement
Oh yeah.
Folded fins
Folded? As in, clamped? Clamped, yes. Folded, ummmm.....?
Eye protrusion
Only in an almost dead cory that got stuck to the filter.
Dark coloration and granular appearance of the cornea (this is the first sign in Angelfish).
Oh man, that happens all the time, didn't know that was anything to worry about.
Skeletal deformity
No.
Hanging at the surface
Yeah, but only because they're always hungry for some reason. They do go to the bottom, but they never really explore the bottom of the tank like they used to.
Skin defects, including blood spots and open wounds that may ulcerate
There were some on my female mollies before they died.
Black spots, or overall dark coloration (in Cichlids particularly).
Yes, in one of my guppies. It looked like a bruise, but I really thought nothing of it. It's gone now.
Fin rot, characterised by the outer rays falling out.
One of my guppies, in the photos ahead.
Scales loosening and falling out
No, that was only in the mother fish in my 10 gallon, but she died the next day.
General swelling and scale protrusion (as in Dropsy)
A couple of my guppies and platies had it, but I managed to treat it somehow.


What do you feed your fish. Nutrafin Max flake food, as a base food. Shrimp pellets and algae discs as an occasional treat. Can't feed live or frozen food -- I am severely allergic to them. Try some peas. And how do you prepare those for the fish to eat?
How long did you treat for the whitespot when they had it.
I... didn't treat.... for whitespot.... specifically.... I treated for external and internal parasites with Jungle Labs parasite clear..... for about 1 month on and off.... actually about 6 months on and off. The longest I was treating was with an ich and velvet treatment for about a week... *sigh* MAN!

PICS:



Above are the pictures of the guppy that had fin rot. She is one of my weakest, skinniest, 'flippiest' (meaning, she flashes a lot.) guppies.

Above that's my dumb swordtail that can barely swim, scrapes against objects, has fins clamped, bent spine, the whole package, y'know.

Above that's one of my platies who is in the worst shape out of all the platies.
(Click on pics to make larger.)
These are just pictures of the most unhealthy ones.

Oh, and I have a HUGE request!
I know this is a lot of info for you to take in already, but, please, PLEASE, answer in a form that I can easily understand. So if you can, PLEASE quote this, and answer my answers, if you know what I mean. Please, I'm exhausted, confused, and tired of my fish doing bad. I just want to solve this once and for all.

Thanks so much Wilder, you're the best!

 

[WILDER]

Red inflamed gills can be bad water quality, bacterial gillrot. Gill flukes.

If the fish are flicking and rubbing they could have gills flukes.

Sounds like fish tb to me. They seem to be showing alot of the symtoms.

Going to get colin t to take a look at your thread.
I will pm him for you.

 

[Colin_T]

If you are going to treat fish you must treat them until they have cured. By stopping treatment before the disease is gone, you are actually making the problem worse. Because you have been treating the fish on and off for the last 6 months or so, there is a possibility the fish have drug resistant parasites living on them.

I wouldn't bother treating the fish for internal parasites just yet. You are better off treating them for internal bacterial problems now. Bacteria will kill fish a lot faster than intestinal worms (internal parasites).

Ask your local petshops if they can get "Waterlife" or "Maracyn" products.

If you feed the fish more often (3-4 times a day), then the extra food will help keep them alive for longer if they are infected with worms. Make sure you remove any uneaten food to prevent it fouling the water.

If you have problems in several tanks, then treat all the tanks at the same time otherwise you will reinfect (cross contaminate) the other tanks and never get rid of the problem.

Your photos don't come up any bigger. There is something wrong with the website that hosts them. Can you try fixing them up for us to look at?

The best medication to use for treating whitespot (Ich) is malachite green and copper sulphate. Use that for two weeks and you will get rid of any whitespot in your tanks. But make sure they have whitespot before you treat them. There is no point putting medication/ chemicals in a tank unless you know what you are treating. The best thing to do if you get a sick fish is to post a picture of it straight away, and add some info about how the fish is behaving. Then the disease/ problem can usually be identified a lot sooner.

Most diseases are introduced into your tank when you add new fish. A quarantine tank is recommended to prevent diseases getting into your display tanks.

 

[fry_forever!]

If you are going to treat fish you must treat them until they have cured. By stopping treatment before the disease is gone, you are actually making the problem worse. Because you have been treating the fish on and off for the last 6 months or so, there is a possibility the fish have drug resistant parasites living on them.
Will keep that in mind, thanks.
I wouldn't bother treating the fish for internal parasites just yet. You are better off treating them for internal bacterial problems now. Bacteria will kill fish a lot faster than intestinal worms (internal parasites).
Yes, well, unfortunately, I live nowhere close to where they sell medicated food or disease treatments for internal parasites or bacteria infections, so I am ordering medicated food, the anti-parasite stuff should be here in a couple days. And as for the bacterial stuff, it can unfortunately take a couple weeks...
Is it the bacteria infections that's causing my fish to not have babies?
Ask your local petshops if they can get "Waterlife" or "Maracyn" products.
The pet store by my school has Maracyn I believe, but it's only for ich... I'm using Jungle Labs medicated anti-parasitic food to treat the internals, and Jungle Labs medicated anti-bacterial food to treat the bacterial infections. I'm pretty sure these two foods should do their job.
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...fm?pcatid=12788
Do those foods sound/look good?
If you feed the fish more often (3-4 times a day), then the extra food will help keep them alive for longer if they are infected with worms. Make sure you remove any uneaten food to prevent it fouling the water.
Hmm... I'll keep that in mind.

If you have problems in several tanks, then treat all the tanks at the same time otherwise you will reinfect (cross contaminate) the other tanks and never get rid of the problem.
Yeah, that's what I do.

Your photos don't come up any bigger. There is something wrong with the website that hosts them. Can you try fixing them up for us to look at?
Hm, that's weird. I checked them, and they work for me....? Can TRY to fix it....

The best medication to use for treating whitespot (Ich) is malachite green and copper sulphate. Use that for two weeks and you will get rid of any whitespot in your tanks. But make sure they have whitespot before you treat them. There is no point putting medication/ chemicals in a tank unless you know what you are treating. The best thing to do if you get a sick fish is to post a picture of it straight away, and add some info about how the fish is behaving. Then the disease/ problem can usually be identified a lot sooner.
Well, I don't know what kind of external parasite they have, so... yeah. There are no white spots or dots, but they flash non-stop and have clamped fins.

Most diseases are introduced into your tank when you add new fish. A quarantine tank is recommended to prevent diseases getting into your display tanks.
That's what I do now.

Thanks for all the help so far, I will only be able to treat with the anti-internal parasite med for awhile, then I can move forward with the anti-bacterial med. (That is, once it comes in...)