Internal parasites.

[sinibotia]

First ich, now this. My male ram seems pretty skinny right now, and I noticed white stringy poop, so I suspect internal parasites. That said, he doesn't look unhealthily skinny, just a little bit more so than he should be, and I've only seen the white poop once. I do feed quite a bit- not overfeeding, but I give them a lot of food and a solid variety (NLS cichlid formula, tetra crisps, frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, bottom feeder pellets).Would it hurt to feed him medicated food and see if he fattens up? Will medicated food hurt the other fish that may not have internal parasites? If it wont hurt them, I'd rather medicate for internal parasites, especially while all the fish seem to be eating well, and take care of the problem early.

 

[Tank120]

I do not have experience with Chichlids but my experience with my Fancy's is that the look and texture of their waste reflects on their diet. If I give citrus, the poo turns into whitish and clear poo, vegetables give green, excess brown means too much pellet feed. The perfect poo for a Fancy is never a string but short, small outputs. I gauge their nutritional needs on the look

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[Tank120]

Of their poo. Like I said, I have never cared for Chichlids. I do not know what is normal for a brackish fish. I just know that I can tell a lot from poo. Even fish within a certain family can have different builds. I know this from JLK (Thank you JLK). I have a Red Cap Oranda who is developing a Wen later than normal and the coloration extends past the Wen and she is huge. I have learned to expect the unexpected. The only true way I can tell if my fish are healthy is to check pops and behaviour every day. Any change from the norm is a possible health problem. React quickly. Fish seem to succumb to illnesses faster than any other species. Their health can definitely alert you to any problem in their environment. And, like humans, some are more susceptible than others.

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[HUKIT]

I'm not a bloodworm fan, I know a lot of folks use them but I don't. They have a exoskeleton that is hard to digest/process and could potenitally get stuck in the intestinal tracks irritating the walls allowing flagellated protazoas to take hold causing digestive problems. Even breeders like Jack Watley have given up on feeding bloodworms due to the potential problems they pose to fish. The white feces your seeing is simply the lining of the digestive track due to irritation, once does not indicate internal parasites so there's no treatment necessary except switching their diets. Tetracrips are garbage, pure fillers with no benefit toss them in the trash.

Since your using NLS I'd switch to Thera+A exclusively which contains a mega dose of garlic which could help prevent internal parasites.

 

[treemanone2003]

I'm not a bloodworm fan, I know a lot of folks use them but I don't. They have a exoskeleton that is hard to digest/process and could potenitally get stuck in the intestinal tracks irritating the walls allowing flagellated protazoas to take hold causing digestive problems. Even breeders like Jack Watley have given up on feeding bloodworms due to the potential problems they pose to fish. The white feces your seeing is simply the lining of the digestive track due to irritation, once does not indicate internal parasites so there's no treatment necessary except switching their diets. Tetracrips are garbage, pure fillers with no benefit toss them in the trash.



Since your using NLS I'd switch to Thera+A exclusively which contains a mega dose of garlic which could help prevent internal parasites.

Haven't heard that name associated with bloodworms in a long time. He just turned 92 years young and from what I've understand, still visits Gabe at the hatchery from time to time.


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[Matt68005]

You need medicine called Metronidazole.