White stringy poop

[Oliverw17]

Hello ive had my porcupine puffer for over a year now, and he has been treated for internal parasites in the past. He is on his own. But he has had some white stringy poop, 1. What are the chances its an internal parasite? 2. How would something like that get introduced? Thanks in advance

 

[fishguy242]

#reefsquad @Jay Hemdal thanks guys

 

[rkpetersen]

If it's white and long, it could well be part of an intestinal worm. Picture would be helpful to confirm.
Might have had it all along, with previous treatment less than 100% effective.
If I saw this more than once, I'd probably treat with General Cure bound to thawed frozen food with Focus.

 

[lion king]

It is a little odd after a year if he is living on his own. When has the last time a live fish was introduced into thd system. They do scavenge around and could gobble up the parasites in substrate and such. I am not sure how long such things can live in a tank without a host, but theoretically ifbyou had an infected fish at any time in the tank, at some point he could have ingested it. I don’t think he could have lived this long being infected the whole time, as suggested treat with general cure.

 

[Oliverw17]

It is a little odd after a year if he is living on his own. When has the last time a live fish was introduced into thd system. They do scavenge around and could gobble up the parasites in substrate and such. I am not sure how long such things can live in a tank without a host, but theoretically ifbyou had an infected fish at any time in the tank, at some point he could have ingested it. I don’t think he could have lived this long being infected the whole time, as suggested treat with general cure.

I have prazipro? Will that do the same as general cure?

 

[lion king]

I have prazipro? Will that do the same as general cure?

Prazi pro will only treat some of the common parasites, but not intestinal worms. General cure contains both prazi and metro which will cover the broadest spectrum of intestinal parasites. If you use prazi in the water column, you should use Seachem metro +focus in his food. More and more it takes metro to clear most of the internal parasites I see today.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Sign of internal parasites mainly BUT be careful assuming such especially if youre feeding krill, mysis or squid which will offer the same symptom
If puffer is eating, may not be an internal issue as assumed

 

[jpnegrete14]

Sign of internal parasites mainly BUT be careful assuming such especially if youre feeding krill, mysis or squid which will offer the same symptom
If puffer is eating, may not be an internal issue as assumed

Following along. Could you please elaborate on the downside of treating for this using the treatments mentioned already if the puffer doesn’t have anything actually wrong with him. If it’s just because of the mysis shrimp for example. Is there a huge downside if you treat for that stringy poop and there is no parasite?

 

[Oliverw17]

Sign of internal parasites mainly BUT be careful assuming such especially if youre feeding krill, mysis or squid which will offer the same symptom
If puffer is eating, may not be an internal issue as assumed

I feed frozen prawns, so i dunno if that would cause some white poo?

 

[lion king]

Following along. Could you please elaborate on the downside of treating for this using the treatments mentioned already if the puffer doesn’t have anything actually wrong with him. If it’s just because of the mysis shrimp for example. Is there a huge downside if you treat for that stringy poop and there is no parasite?

I haven't noticed any downside of treating for internal parasites with the meds recommended in this thread, even prophylactically. But not treating if internal parasites are present, is going to end badly.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I feed frozen prawns, so i dunno if that would cause some white poo?

Yes it would, , same as krill and shrimp

 

[jpnegrete14]

I haven't noticed any downside of treating for internal parasites with the meds recommended in this thread, even prophylactically. But not treating if internal parasites are present, is going to end badly.

Thanks! That’s very useful to know. Especially when you’re unsure of the cause which seems to be a common thing when it comes to white stringy poop.

 

[Oliverw17]

I haven't noticed any downside of treating for internal parasites with the meds recommended in this thread, even prophylactically. But not treating if internal parasites are present, is going to end badly.

Correction i dont have prazipro i have fluke solve which is a wormer and anti fluke treatment will that do as a precautionary?

 

[Oliverw17]

HELP!! I just added some fluke solve as a precautionary to the white stringy poo and he has completely sank to the bottom and has heavy breathing? Ive just put the carbon back in and doing a small emergency water change

 

[lion king]

You did the right thing by pulling it out, he's likely going to be fine. Fluke solve and Prazi pro have the same active ingredient, praziquantel. Did you take displacement in consideration as it looks like alot of rock in his setup. While most fish do handle praziquantel well, dosage must be adhered to very closely. I'm not sure of the level of praziquantel in fluke solve vs prazi pro either, and that's a consideration. His eyes look good and he doesn't appear to have a sunken belly, has he still been eating regularly? Changes in his appetite, like becoming extremely more voracious than usual, and cloudy eyes can also be indicative of internal parasites; so something to look for.

 

[Karen00]

You did the right thing by pulling it out, he's likely going to be fine. Fluke solve and Prazi pro have the same active ingredient, praziquantel. Did you take displacement in consideration as it looks like alot of rock in his setup. While most fish do handle praziquantel well, dosage must be adhered to very closely. I'm not sure of the level of praziquantel in fluke solve vs prazi pro either, and that's a consideration. His eyes look good and he doesn't appear to have a sunken belly, has he still been eating regularly? Changes in his appetite, like becoming extremely more voracious than usual, and cloudy eyes can also be indicative of internal parasites; so something to look for.

I'm following this thread. You made a good point about considering displacement especially if the medication is based on actual water in the tank (which I assume most do). A 30g tank might only have 15g of actual water if there is a lot of rock, etc. in the tank.

 

[lion king]

I'm following this thread. You made a good point about considering displacement especially if the medication is based on actual water in the tank (which I assume most do). A 30g tank might only have 15g of actual water if there is a lot of rock, etc. in the tank.

The meds we were talking about here does; prazi pro and general cure when used in the water column. Not to get off the subject, using copper in tanks with rocks and substrate is completely different, the rocks will absorb the copper and you will need to dose more to achieve therapeutic levels. So in the case of copper, testing is absolutely necessary, and at least there's a test for copper. Using meds like dewormer and antibiotics it's a delicate balance of proper dosage to achieve results, and over dose.

 

[Oliverw17]

You did the right thing by pulling it out, he's likely going to be fine. Fluke solve and Prazi pro have the same active ingredient, praziquantel. Did you take displacement in consideration as it looks like alot of rock in his setup. While most fish do handle praziquantel well, dosage must be adhered to very closely. I'm not sure of the level of praziquantel in fluke solve vs prazi pro either, and that's a consideration. His eyes look good and he doesn't appear to have a sunken belly, has he still been eating regularly? Changes in his appetite, like becoming extremely more voracious than usual, and cloudy eyes can also be indicative of internal parasites; so something to look for.

He was eating fine before hand not overly so. But just the white stringy poo was the only indicator that anything was wrong. I only put in 1g for 250 litres it only has a 50% praziquantel concentration i believe. He still eating but just a bit more sluggish than usual right now.

My only concern was that if it was worms and they were reacting bad to the med then it might make him feel bad but itd be for his good, if you know what i mean?

Im going to a bit more of a substantial one tonight

 

[lion king]

He was eating fine before hand not overly so. But just the white stringy poo was the only indicator that anything was wrong. I only put in 1g for 250 litres it only has a 50% praziquantel concentration i believe. He still eating but just a bit more sluggish than usual right now.

My only concern was that if it was worms and they were reacting bad to the med then it might make him feel bad but itd be for his good, if you know what i mean?

Im going to a bit more of a substantial one tonight

I would search for other people's dosage in regards to puffers, puffers are a bit unique when it comes to medicating. No more so than lions, and that's my thing, so I know they can handle recommended dosages(considering displacement) of general cure, metroplex, and prazi pro. I am still a bit curious if he's been in the tank a year, internal parasites is one of those things you usually deal with within a month or so after introduction.

 

[Oliverw17]

I would search for other people's dosage in regards to puffers, puffers are a bit unique when it comes to medicating. No more so than lions, and that's my thing, so I know they can handle recommended dosages(considering displacement) of general cure, metroplex, and prazi pro. I am still a bit curious if he's been in the tank a year, internal parasites is one of those things you usually deal with within a month or so after introduction.

Yeah its definitely a weird one im taking it completely out seeing if he does it again and will net it out, put it in some still water and see if it moves? Hes a lot better today after the second water change and has ate throughout. If you have any further advice please let me know. thanks