Internal parasites?

[Mcor]

I'm suspecting an infection in my tank. Long white stringy poops (sometimes thinner than a strand of hair) trailing behind several of my fish. (Sometimes double the length of their bodies, sometimes little lumps along the length of it). Am i right to suspect parasites? They still have their appetites, but a few are flashing and clamping. There are no external signs of ich or anything else. Water params are perfect (0,0,<5), 250l tank, heavily stocked and heavily planted.

So... If it is parasites, what is the best treatment? I'm in UK so don't have easy access to many of the treatments, however, for an extortionate price, I can get them on amazon. I need to know the best treatment and what size I'd need to get to fully treat my tank. I can get hold of prazipro, paraguard, or something else (can't remember). But, like I said, at extortionate prices, so I can't afford to get it wrong.

If it isn't parasites, what should I try? Anything I can look for that I might not have considered?

 

[HUKIT]

The stringy white feces is actually lining from their intestinal track, this can be caused by internal parasites, low quality food or frozen bloodworms.. Low quality foods and bloodworms are hard to digest which causes irritation and potentially constipation.

What are you actually feeding?

 

[Mcor]

The stringy white feces is actually lining from their intestinal track, this can be caused by internal parasites, low quality food or frozen bloodworms.. Low quality foods and bloodworms are hard to digest which causes irritation and potentially constipation.

What are you actually feeding?

Thank you hukit. Maybe I should just PM you my questions instead of posting them here, you're always the lovely helper who answers everything for me!

I feed: hikari mini pellets, freeze dried tubifex, fd blood worm, 'love fish' tropical flakes (phasing this one out as its a budget brand - cheap & cheerful), zucchini, plec pellets, algae wafers. Also currently, a little bit of hikari first bites for the tiny fry hiding in the plants.

After doing more research I'm doubtful it's parasites, they aren't skinny and are still eating like troopers. Must be some digestive irritation as you say. Peas?

 

[HUKIT]

I'd skip the blood and tubifex worms and see how it goes for a week or so.

 

[Mcor]

Thank you. It's the clamping too. And I'm not sure, some have a golden sheen on their heads. This is the other thing. I don't know if its supposed to be there or if it might be velvet. I can't even get a decent photo to show but I tried. With flash. Can you see? Is that normal or something to worry about?

 

[Mcor]

Wrong photo. Let me find it...

 

[HUKIT]

It's tough to see anything wrong in the pictures, but I'd fast them for a couple of days to help clear the digestive track then skip the worms as I stated before. Bloodworms have a hard exoskeleton which is hard to digest, this alone can cause irritation causing some of symtoms your seeing. If the fish stops eating of continually has stringy white feces then I'd treat but for now stick with this prescribed method for a week or so.

I don't feed anything except pellets and flakes, no other supplements are used in my fishes diet.

 

[Mcor]

Cool. Excellent, thank you!

 

[henningc]

Just an alturnative theory. The white fedcal may be your friendly tape worm. If so and the others eat it the worm wins and lives to reproduce again.

Next that sheen you speak of, make sure it is not velvet. It sounds like it.

 

[Mcor]

Just an alturnative theory. The white fedcal may be your friendly tape worm. If so and the others eat it the worm wins and lives to reproduce again.

Next that sheen you speak of, make sure it is not velvet. It sounds like it.

There is no sure fire way of knowing either if you have no experience with it. I can't look at my fish and categorically state that yes, they have worms and velvet, but I also can't state that no they don't. It's got to be a judgement call as no-one can come over and inspect them for me. So... What do I do? Wait and see? Treat (potentially unnecessarily), and with what? Thank you for your help by the way. Is there anything I can specifically look for to help me on my way?