Fish poo under microscope-need ID please!

[BadSquishy]

I tried posting this in another forum but didn’t get any engagement.. so I’m hoping you guys might know the answer! Found this while examining some stringy fish poo.. any ideas what they might be?

 

[Isopod80]

Im guessing a type of protozoan. They are known to be a cause of stringy poop. Hopefully an expert on these will chime in. Jay Hemdal would be the one to ask.

 

[BadSquishy]

Im guessing a type of protozoan. They are known to be a cause of stringy poop. Hopefully an expert on these will chime in. Jay Hemdal would be the one to ask.

Something I should be concerned about? Fish don’t appear sick, appetites are good. I’m really curious to know what this is though! @Jay Hemdal , have you seen this before?

 

[ZoWhat]

Is your fish vaccinated? Could be T-cells

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Something I should be concerned about? Fish don’t appear sick, appetites are good. I’m really curious to know what this is though! @Jay Hemdal , have you seen this before?

I’ve not seen that specifically. The common gut protozoan is a flagellate, and swims singly using two (one?) flagella. They are called Hexamita or Spirobnucleous (spelling?). Other common findings in feces are eggs from parasitic worms.
What I see here seem to be linked together in a mass with thick cell walls. Did this fish eat algae?

Jay

 

[BadSquishy]

I’ve not seen that specifically. The common gut protozoan is a flagellate, and swims singly using two (one?) flagella. They are called Hexamita or Spirobnucleous (spelling?). Other common findings in feces are eggs from parasitic worms.
What I see here seem to be linked together in a mass with thick cell walls. Did this fish eat algae?

Jay

Thank you so much for the reply Jay!! Yes, this came from a Foxface who regularly eats nori and whatever else floats by. I didn’t see anything moving or worm-like, so that’s good. And I suppose these don’t look like worm eggs.. what would those look like?

This looks more like algae you think? That’s a relief! Thanks for taking a look for me!

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The worm eggs/cysts that I’ve seen are singular, oval or round and opaque…however, there could be others that I’m not familiar with.
Jay

 

[DrZoidburg]

This is what I was thinking looks a lot like a type of algae. Look at pic for example. Looks a lot like middle right side column in picture.. Look up Ulvella scutata. Looks also a lot like yours.