# Q. About Stringy White Poop



## marten (Jan 23, 2018)

I've occasionally notice some stringy white poop over the past year or so. Fish look healthy, and there are no other signs of problems. Is this symptom by itself an indication of anything, or is it just normal?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

It means the fish on that occasion is passing mucous instead of fecal matter.

This can be normal on occasion or people see feces with some solid food colored sections and some clear sections. Normal.

If the fish passes nothing but mucous it can mean food is not moving through the digestive system. Something that catches your attention and causes you to look for issues. If he is also not eating then it is likely a symptom of a blockage.

A common illness people refer to as bloat can have symptoms of not eating and thready white or clear feces.


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## marten (Jan 23, 2018)

Thanks for that explanation. I didn't know it was mucous. And yeah I've always seen it with bits of normal feces. And I always pay close attention to how the fish is eating after seeing that.

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## Ichthys (Apr 21, 2016)

If it happens regularly it's often a symptom of Capillaria.


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## patcage (Oct 23, 2020)

Im in Canada with no medications available due to the government putting a ban- any suggestions for me? I've lost 6 fish already


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Epsom salt can help if some of your fish are still healthy. Isolate any aggressive fish. Can your vet prescribe metronidazole for your fish?


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## marten (Jan 23, 2018)

I'm also in Canada, and it seems that some people are still able to get meds like metro. I'm not sure if they found some kind of loophole, or done something illegal, so I'm curious how they're doing that. But it sure makes me try to be as proactive as I can with my fish.

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## patcage (Oct 23, 2020)

just ordered some general cure from ebay and it seems to be shipping...keep you posted if it actually makes it into Canada


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## patcage (Oct 23, 2020)

DJRansome said:


> Epsom salt can help if some of your fish are still healthy. Isolate any aggressive fish. Can your vet prescribe metronidazole for your fish?


how much epsom salt per 50 gallons would you use?


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

patcage said:


> DJRansome said:
> 
> 
> > Epsom salt can help if some of your fish are still healthy. Isolate any aggressive fish. Can your vet prescribe metronidazole for your fish?
> ...


1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. Dissolve the Epsom salts in a separate container of either fresh or tank water and add to the aquarium over the course of 6 to 8 hours. Be sure to use only plain unscented Epsom salts.


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## patcage (Oct 23, 2020)

Deeda said:


> patcage said:
> 
> 
> > DJRansome said:
> ...


Thank you Deeda!


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## patcage (Oct 23, 2020)

Any idea how long to wait after internal parasites to add more fish?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You pretty much always wait 3 weeks after the last symptom.


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## Idech (Nov 8, 2020)

patcage said:


> Any idea how long to wait after internal parasites to add more fish?


How did you treat your fish ? Did you get the meds ? I'm in Canada too, so wondering.


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## patcage (Oct 23, 2020)

Still waiting on meds I ordered online. Not even sure if they will cross the border. I've lost all my fish at this point


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## patcage (Oct 23, 2020)

DJRansome said:


> You pretty much always wait 3 weeks after the last symptom.


If *** lost all my fish white waiting for the meds should I dose the meds anyway when I finally do them in case there is any parasites in the substrate?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Sorry for your loss. No need to dose meds if there are no fish. The "parasites" are always present in healthy fish...they just multiply when the fish is stressed and immune system is compromised.

I would not put johannii in this tank when you restock...the tank is a little too small for them.

I would still wait three weeks however.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Sorry for your loss!


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## patcage (Oct 23, 2020)

Thank you. I very much appreciate all the help and wealth of knowledge on this site.


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## marten (Jan 23, 2018)

patcage said:


> Still waiting on meds I ordered online. Not even sure if they will cross the border. I've lost all my fish at this point


Sorry to hear about your losses.


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## Idech (Nov 8, 2020)

I'm sorry for your loss. It really is a shame that we can't get any meds in Canada. :-(


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

How do they expect you to care for your pets??


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## Idech (Nov 8, 2020)

DJRansome said:


> How do they expect you to care for your pets??


There is actually no way to treat fish in Canada. I managed to find a vet who could have seen my fish once but they wanted me to make the drive to their place (the only one in the province, a 1 1/2 hour drive one way) and pay more than 100$ just for the visit + fees for the meds.

In Canada it is illegal to sell meds for animals if you are not a licensed veterinarian. And vets don't do fish. It is totally absurd.


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## patcage (Oct 23, 2020)

I have a local Youtube channel star close by here in Montreal (Quebec Cichlides, shes actually the one who recommended this forum) and she suggested i buy meds on ebay or amazon.com (over priced BTW) - she also suggested i use API turtle fix to help and it did start to work but i ran out and because anything is hard to find because of covid i was only able to find 1 bottle and it was over an hour away.
needless to stay im still waiting for meds to cross the border but they wont get here in time but ill have them at least if this ever happens again. the vet option in not practical or economical and its beyond frustrating to even find an aquatic vet!

what Im more interested in avoiding this all together in the future - all I can find is that internal parasite are attributed to poor water condition and or stress.


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## Idech (Nov 8, 2020)

patcage said:


> I have a local Youtube channel star close by here in Montreal (Quebec Cichlides, shes actually the one who recommended this forum) and she suggested i buy meds on ebay or amazon.com (over priced BTW) - she also suggested i use API turtle fix to help and it did start to work but i ran out and because anything is hard to find because of covid i was only able to find 1 bottle and it was over an hour away.
> needless to stay im still waiting for meds to cross the border but they wont get here in time but ill have them at least if this ever happens again. the vet option in not practical or economical and its beyond frustrating to even find an aquatic vet!
> 
> what Im more interested in avoiding this all together in the future - all I can find is that internal parasite are attributed to poor water condition and or stress.


I buy my fish and supplies at Québec cichlidés. They did have the APi turtle fix in stock last time I checked. I even bought one for myself, since it's the only thing available to help a little.


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## marten (Jan 23, 2018)

Another product that's still available in Canada is Seachem Stress Guard. It's an antiseptic, and I always keep it on hand now. You have to really stay on top of things for it to be useful, but that's a good habit anyways. I still worry that something will happen, and I'll have no options to medicate. I still have a tiny bit of metroplex but it's most likely expired by now.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

patcage said:


> I have a local Youtube channel star close by here in Montreal (Quebec Cichlides, shes actually the one who recommended this forum) and she suggested i buy meds on ebay or amazon.com (over priced BTW) - she also suggested i use API turtle fix to help and it did start to work but i ran out and because anything is hard to find because of covid i was only able to find 1 bottle and it was over an hour away.
> needless to stay im still waiting for meds to cross the border but they wont get here in time but ill have them at least if this ever happens again. the vet option in not practical or economical and its beyond frustrating to even find an aquatic vet!
> 
> what Im more interested in avoiding this all together in the future - all I can find is that internal parasite are attributed to poor water condition and or stress.


The thing that happened to you can be avoided by choosing a larger tank when stocking an aggressive fish like johannii, and providing the fish with the right aquascape (lots of rocks in this case) and having a spare tank cycled to remove extra males promptly as they cause trouble. I guess in Canada prevention is all you have and this is easily preventable...but only if you know what to do and when.


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## marten (Jan 23, 2018)

Even the most experienced fishkeeper might need to medicate a fish from time to time. Considering the learning curve for keeping africans I'm not really sure I'd suggest it to anyone living in Canada who hasn't done it before.


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