# stringy poop = internal parasite?



## o snap its eric

I know for puffers that if they poop out stringy long clear poop. My piranhas is pooping out long stringy grey poop. Is that normal? I never seen piranhas poop so im need some advice thanks,.


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## shutter13

not sure about piranha but with goldfish and other fish a long white stringy poo usually means an internal parasite called hexamita(SP?)

one of my cycler golds had it and i just froze and flushed him so he wouldnt infect my tank but dont do that with your P


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## User

I'm having the same problem with my fish, my p's are ok, but my feeders, tigerbarbs, and now my male convict is passing *long* clear white poop, sometimes its even a thin as a hair. Any advice on whats the best med to use?


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## zygapophysis

ive never seen my p's crap


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## o snap its eric

bump and a hump


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## DonH

Long, stringy, white feces (kind of like a transparent white poop casing) is usually a sign of internal parasites (hexamita). The best treatment for it is food soaked in metronidazole.


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## Alexraptor

any lack of appetite?
when u say stringy poop Dropsy comes to mind


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## DonH

Loss of appetite is one of the symptoms and, in its advanced stage, the fish will become emaciated and ultimately die. If the fish is not eating, you can elevate the temp and treat the water with metro (although it is not as effective).

Dropsy is associated with bloating of the body (most likely due to some kind of kidney infection) not due to intestinal parasites.


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## o snap its eric

well my fish passed away =( I believed it was due to internal parasite but i only had it under my care for 2 days and the person who sold it to me said the fish was eating feeders and i believed him thought i knew he was way too skinny for his own good but i was reassured with him saying he will make it. I treated him with salt and melafix but i guess it didnt affect him


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## DonH

Sorry to hear about that Eric... Melafix and salt are good for treatment of external infections. They won't do any good for internal parasites nor other internal infections.


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## o snap its eric

yeah i was about to treat for internal parastie the day he died because i had a gut feeling there was something wrong internally. I woke up in the morning planning to take a shower and turn on the lights and head to lfs and buy some medcation but it was too late when i turned on the light. I lost a nice fat 12" ven rhom that actually moved around the tank.


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## aqualife

Sorry Eric to here about your loss. I had the same thing happen to me. My rhom also had the long stringy poo and loss all his appetite. He just didn't seem right from the first day a got him. He lived for about 2 weeks. Sad to see any fish waste away.


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## fishofury

Sorry to hear about the loss eric


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## edmond

DonH said:


> Long, stringy, white feces (kind of like a transparent white poop casing) is usually a sign of internal parasites (hexamita). The best treatment for it is food soaked in metronidazole.


 what is metronidazole and where can I get it? A quick reply might safe a life. Also dose it harm a fish that is not infected? thanks


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## DonH

Most LFS should carry metronidazole. SeaChem's Metro, Hexamit, Flagyl all are basically metronidazole. It's an antibiotic developed for humans but can be used to treat internal parasites in fish. You should soak it in food for it to be more effective. It will not harm healthy fish, but if some of your fish have it, chance are, it can spread to your other fish since most fish "mouth" other fish feces in search of food.


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## edmond

thanks


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## piranhaha

well if youre fish looses its appetite its gunna be hard to get them to eat right? can you just put it in the water?


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