Internal Parasites?

[Lace]

Hi everyone, I hope some one can advise me with a problem i think i have. Some of my fish are displaying signs (i think) of internal parasites. I have a few fish with long white/clear stringy poo. What would be the best course of action/medication.

Many thanks in advance

P.S. Water stats were as follows 3 days ago:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20

 

[kribensis12]

What kind of fish do you have? How many? Tank size? How long since introduction? It may be internal parasites. It you want to either treat it, or prevent them, you can try Parasite Food, from Petsmart. It's by Jungle Labs. Its around 6 dollars.

 

[Lace]

Hi thanks for the reply, i have some rainbow fish, clown loach, bns starlights, platys and danios. The tank is 5ft long 380 litres (i think). Been up and running for a couple of months now, and I have been slowly adding fish. I ought to add i'm based in the UK.

 

[kribensis12]

Do they eat regularly? Do they seem to be skinny? Sometimes white poop doesnt mean they have a Internal Parasite. Can you get ahold of Fluebnol 15? It's supposed to be a really good dewormer in the UK. Not avalible here in the US. Also, you can try Levisomole ( spelling?) or PraziQuantel .

 

[rabbut]

Any legal Flubendazole based medication that works for internal parasites in the UK requires a veterinary prescription to buy. If you can, get some Flubenol (a cow wormer now it cannot be bought freely for worming fish), but you'll need to take a larger fish to the vet for a diagnosis (they will kill it and perform an autopsy to confirm the presence of abnormal amounts of internal parasites in the gut) and it is fairly dodgy to use (damaging to human health if breathed in, if it gets in your eye, or you somehow eat it)...

At this point though, you cannot assume internal parasites are the issue. It can also be constipation. What foods do you offer and how often?

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Lace]

Hi thanks for the replys, I use flake food, catfish pellets, algae wafers, bloodworm and cucumber and feed most days, usually 5 days a week.

 

[rabbut]

What proportions of each do you offer? Or if you offer one at a time, what feeding pattern do you usually have?

 

[Lace]

I usually give them a bit of each couple of pinches of flakes, a pinch of catfish pellets, 3 or 4 algae wafers and a bit of bloodworm. I give them a fresh slice of cucumber daily too. Usually i feed first thing in the morning.

 

[rabbut]

I'd try offering just de-shelled semi-cooked and crushed peas for a couple of days. All those processed food and blood-worm are well know causers of constipation. Try offer de-shelled peas or some form of live food like Daphnia or Brineshrimp once a week to avoid issues with it. If that does not work, we may have to look at other possibilities for the symptoms causes, but for now I'd doubt it's internal parasites

If you happen to have a microscope available, you could maybe look at some of the poo under on a slide to see if you can see anything that may indicate parasites in there...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Lace]

Many thanks Rabbut, I will try your feeding suggestions. Unfortunately i do not have access to a microscope so no poop investingating for me