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[sc50964]

Just to caution folks - white feces are (almost) never caused by intestinal worms. Metroplex is not effective against worms, it is for protozoans an anaerobic bacteria. Also, the dose for it must be measured. 0.5% in food by weight is a good dose, you cannot just mix some in focus, you need to get the dose correct.

Here is a write up on mucus feces:

Excess mucus in fish feces[/B]: this will present as white or light colored, stringy fecal material that often hangs from the fish’s anus for a longer than normal period. There are a number of different causes for this, some benign, others very serious. Without access to a microscope, there is little that can be done to diagnose this issue effectively.

Idiopathic mucus feces: this fancy term is just to describe white mucoid bulky feces of no serious consequence, but of an unknown cause. Some suspicion is that this can be caused by changes in diet or diets high in fats.

Starvation: Fish that have no food moving through their bowels may excrete white mucoid feces with little bulk to them. The primary diagnostic for this issue is evident in that the fish won’t been seen to be eating. Resolving the anorexia is of course the prime focus to resolve this issue.

Bacterial infection: internal bacterial infections can cause stringy feces as well. While some of these may resolve on their own, medicated foods containing a broad spectrum, gram negative oral antibiotic may be required.

Metazoan infections: multicellular worms are often blamed for mucoid feces, but in reality, they are almost never the root cause for this, and really, can only be diagnosed through looking for their ova in fecal samples. Fish can harbor tapeworms and nematodes without producing mucoid feces.

Protozoan infection: Hexamita and related diplomonad flagellate protozoans very frequently cause white stringy feces, especially in newly acquired clownfish. Metronidazole is the most frequent treatment for this issue. It can be dosed orally at 25 mg per kg of fish body weight, or 5 g in a kg of food. However, it is a very bitter medication, and some fish will refuse to feed on food containing it. It can be dosed in the water at 25 mg/l, but this is more effective in treating marine fishes, as freshwater fish do not “drink” aquarium water.

Coccidia: These microscopic, spore-forming, single-celled parasites are common diseases in dogs and cats. In fish, they cause epithelial necrosis of the gut, enteritis and the copious production of mucus (Noga 2010). These cannot be diagnosed without microscopic examination, and there is no well researched cure for this in fishes, although Toltrazuril has been tested.

Constipation: This malady is often given as a cause for stringy feces, but it is not as common as one would think. When it is seen, the feces are usually dark, not light in color. Often touted as a “cure for constipation”, many aquarists add Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) to the aquarium’s water – do not do this in marine aquariums, its use is primarily as a tonic/dip for freshwater fish. Seawater formulas already contain between 7 and 19 grams of magnesium sulfate per gallon (depending on the recipe). NSW magnesium level is around 1200 ppm and sulfur is around 840 ppm. Some benefit might be seen using it as a dip in additional concentrations, but adding a small amount to a marine aquarium itself has no benefit. Epsom salts do have some possible benefit when mixed into the food as a 3% by weight adjunct. Another commonly heard remedy for constipation is; “feed fresh peas”. This is an effective cure for fancy goldfish and Malawi cichlids that develop constipation and bloating. Again, overextrapolation has marine aquarists trying to feed peas to carnivorous fish, etc. The best method to enhance gut motility in fish is to feed frozen adult brine shrimp – not as a permanent diet, just long enough to get the constipation resolved.

Jay

Wait…, I’ve always read that white stringy poops is a definitive sign of internal worms and seachem metroplex is the dewormer for it. Is that wrong? Pls elaborate. Thanks.

 

[sc50964]

Would API GC with Seachem Focus (with correct doses together with food) be a good course of action? Or could the white poop be manifesting due to the Prazi?

GC is basically metronidazole plus praziquantel so I doubt it will work based on Jay’s previous feedback on my take. But let’s wait to hear back from him.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Have been observing my fish, my wrasse seems to be fairly lethargic, and this morning had a pretty long white poop. Have never seen her do this before. Could this be the Prazi treatment, or should I proactively start feeding some food with GC and Focus?

No! don 't dose with Focus and GC. I wish that advice would go away. GC contains metronidazole and praziquantel. The ratio is set for dosing in the water. The oral dose is different, so if you try to use GC in the food, one or the other components will be dosed incorrectly...or both will be if you don't weigh the drug properly.

The white feces could be tapeworms and ova being expelled by the prazi treatment. I posted the mucus feces information elsewhere in this thread.

Jay

 

[BAMatter]

No! don 't dose with Focus and GC. I wish that advice would go away. GC contains metronidazole and praziquantel. The ratio is set for dosing in the water. The oral dose is different, so if you try to use GC in the food, one or the other components will be dosed incorrectly...or both will be if you don't weigh the drug properly.

The white feces could be tapeworms and ova being expelled by the prazi treatment. I posted the mucus feces information elsewhere in this thread.

Jay

Thanks. I saw the Focus and GC on a Humblefish thread, but seems like it may be a few years old. The Focus made it reef safe perhaps?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Wait…, I’ve always read that white stringy poops is a definitive sign of internal worms and seachem metroplex is the dewormer for it. Is that wrong? Pls elaborate. Thanks.

As I mentioned above - white feces is almost never a sign of internal worms. You sometimes see white feces after dosing with a de-wormer, as the dead worms are being expelled. Living nematodes and tapeworms do not produce white feces. Praziquantel is used against tapeworms, and Fenbendazole is used against nematodes.

Metronidazole is effective against internal protozoans such as Hexamita and those often cause white feces. Many years ago, it was used in farms to control trichinosis, but not any longer.

Jay

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thanks. I saw the Focus and GC on a Humblefish thread, but seems like it may be a few years old. The Focus made it reef safe perhaps?

Focus is just a binder with a mild antibiotic added. That advice is just wrong, but it is firmly entrenched in the hobby and won't go away. That is a huge issue with Internet forums - bad advice gets out there and then develops a life of its own, people misinterpret it and spread it further.

Here is the reason this cannot work:

Metronidazole is dosed at 0.5% in food by weight.
Praziquantel is dosed at 50 mg per kg of fish weight.

General Cure has 250 mg of metro and 75 mg of prazi in each pack. To dose for metro, you would add one pack in 5000 milligrams of food (5 grams). That gives a 0.5% dose. In that 5 grams of food there is then 75 mg of prazi. You would need to feed 3.3 grams of that food to one kilogram fish to get the correct dose, but then the metro would be overdosed.

Jay

 

[BAMatter]

@Jay Hemdal thank you for your help. I’m glad I consulted this with someone who knows this stuff.

How much carbon is best to run following the treatment? I usually run 1 cup, but should I run more than that, for a shorter time, with the goal of removing any residual meds?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

@Jay Hemdal thank you for your help. I’m glad I consulted this with someone who knows this stuff.

How much carbon is best to run following the treatment? I usually run 1 cup, but should I run more than that, for a shorter time, with the goal of removing any residual meds?

I don’t use carbon to remove prazi - once it is broken down by bacteria, it becomes nitrate and that is best removed through water changes.
Jay

 

[Makara23]

72 hours is likely the best time to do it, gives enough time for the bacteria to have worked on decomposing the prazi and the solvent.
Jay

If prazi is broken down after 72 hours, why do we wait 8 days before the 2nd dose? Can we give the 2nd dose at 96 hours (4 days), then a 3rd dose at 192 hours (8 days)?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

If prazi is broken down after 72 hours, why do we wait 8 days before the 2nd dose? Can we give the 2nd dose at 96 hours (4 days), then a 3rd dose at 192 hours (8 days)?

It all has to do with fluke eggs that may be latent in the tank....one dose of prazi kills the adult flukes on the fish, but then, the prazi breaks down and if the species of fluke is an egg layer, those eggs hatch out and reinfect the fish. The trick is to try and kill those new flukes before they have a chance to lay eggs of their own, continuing the cycle. The trouble is, the timing for that is not exact. It is usually 8 or 9 days....but can be shorter or longer, and then, if the timing is missed, a third or even more doses are required.

Jay