Maroon Clownfish has white stringy poop

[NemoEnthusiast]

Greetings R2R family,

I got this pair of golden maroon clownfish a week ago. I've noticed that one of the clownfish is not eating well for last 3-4 days. Today I saw white stringy poop with it. I've read that it can be internal parasites.

Can anyone please help identify if it is internal parasites or not? And what treatment should be given?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Tonycass12]

Thats a sign of internal parasites. Treat with prazipro

 

[Ben.QLD2]

I agree with the prazipro, but those photos are useless. They need to be under white light and in focus.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

So - the common suggestion for this is to treat with praziquantel. The problem is that this only treats tapeworms. Tapeworms don't produce white feces. The fish may have tapeworms, but it also has some other issue.
A clownfish that produces white feces but with no other symptoms may just need watching. In this case, you've noticed a change in behavior. This narrows the diagnosis down to either coccidia, an internal bacterial infection of, more likely, protozoans in the gut (Spironucleus or Hexamita). If the fish is in a treatment tank, you can dose the water with metronidazole (Flagyl) at 25 ppm. Metronidazole in the food is better, but more difficult to do - you need to mix up food that has 1% metronidazole in it.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

Agree with Jay. Too easy to jump to conclusion of internal parasites. There are other causes like stress and even diet- if you’re feeding both mysis shrimp and brine shrimp, often it will mimic an internal issue as well as excess mucus on the poop or constipation.