# White, stringy feces



## fishboy75 (Jan 16, 2020)

While watching my tank the other day, I observed my Dimidiochromis compressiceps passing some white, stringy feces and thought great, he has bloat and ill have to treat my entire tank. I was cursing myself for adding him to my main tank and not waiting the full quarantine time. But nothing else about him seemed to indicate that he was sick. He has shortly become one of the most dominant fish in the tank and hasn't shown any signs that he is stressed. He has taken up a spot on the left side of the tank, near some rocks and chases all intruders away. So i decided to feed him and see if he would eat or spit his food. He had a great appetite and didn't spit any pellets. So I did a google search of white, stringy feces and while most of the results spoke of Malawi bloat and internal parasites, there was one article from a veterinarian in California who said that it wasn't necessarily a sign of disease or parasites but in fact just from a fish that wasn't eating. I will link the article below after my post. I usually feed once in the morning and once at night. There have been times where I have skipped one feeding or sometimes both, intentionally or not. I know I didn't feed the night before because I did a water change and hate feeding right after I clean a tank haha. In the two days since he passed that white, stringy fecal cast as i learned it is called, his feces has returned to normal color and consistency. Just thought this was very interesting and maybe a good question to ask next time someone says their fish has white, stringy poop. Maybe others on here knew this already but I did not and wanted to share it.

https://cafishvet.com/2020/01/25/white- ... p-in-fish/


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## fishboy75 (Jan 16, 2020)

Just re-read my post and when I said the veterinarian said it wasn't necessarily a sign of disease or parasites I should have said it isn't automatically a sign. Obviously, if there are other symptoms at play like spitting food and hiding along with the white, stringy poop then there's a reason the fish isn't eating in the first place. Just wanted to clear that up.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Nice to find a vet that cares about and for fish.

Agree that the mucus is passed because the fish is not eating. And it is normal to see both clear and food colored feces.

I think the indicator can mean food is not passing through, as in there is an obstruction.

Maybe the vet will study fish who die from "bloat" like tropheus and demasoni and identify the organism that is causing the obstruction?

I don't think anyone meant to imply the actual parasite was being excreted.


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