# internal parasite causing stringy white poop infested and killing all my fish



## Bill Pape (Oct 1, 2010)

My fish all got an intestinal parasite. First, it killed all of my gouramis in painful fashion in three months. Now it is in my community tank (which had some of the gouramis) and it is slowly wiping out all the fish there. They are normal at first, but then waste away to nothing and die of exhuastion. The young fish just never fully develop. They all get the stringy white poop, which can be as long as 1.5 inches. I assume the "poop" is full of hundreds of eggs. How do I stop this thing? Or, after all of my fish are dead, how do I get all the contaminants out of the plants and gravel?

I've tried treated food, and they won't eat it. Actually, it looks inedible. Then I tried soaking my regular food in treated water. Didn't help.

The poop doesn't occur every week, and the fish are normal at first, so quarantine doesn't help unless it's for a month or so and you watch them alot.

I have a 39 gallon community tank; and a 10 gallon breeding tank which only has corys and shrimp in it. The corys and shrimp don't seem to be affected.

Anyone who knows what this is or how to get rid of it, please let me know. 
*c/p*

Thanks,
Bill


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Bill,

I've never had to deal with parasites thankfully, but here's what I would advise:

Get an anti-parasite water treatment medication. Remove the filter carbon and dose your tank accordingly. Dose all of your tanks, as a matter of fact.

Not sure if this would help, but parasites survive on the food your fish eat, so if you stop feeding for awhile the majority of your fish will outlast the starvation, but your parasites won't.

Heating the tank might help kill off the eggs as well, but I wouldn't rely on that. The eggs are going to be everywhere in your tank, so I would strongly suggest overhauling your tank once you've determined your fish are ok. If you're REALLY concerned and have the time and effort to do so, fashion an emergency quarantine tank using a salad bowl, the filter from your tank, and do daily PWC's in that little guy to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels low, all the while without carbon and dosing anti-parasitic medication.

When you overhaul your tank, kill EVERYTHING that was in the tank with your fish. Rinse the gravel in boiling water, or just boil it in a pot, and sterilize your tank with ammonia cleaner. The ammonia residue will help seed the subsequent cycle re-establishing itself. Replace the filter media, boil the filter housing and heater and any other hardware you've had in the tank, along with the structures and fake plants. If you're doing live plants, you can either dispose of them or take the risk that they will be re-introducing parasites into the tank when you replant them. But the gravel bed is the most important thing to sterilize, IMO.

You're going to lose more fish. Acquaint yourself with this fact and focus on saving as many as you can.

Also realize these are simply suggestions based on speculation on my part. I've never dealt with parasites before, but that is what I would do.

Best of luck!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I responded to your other thread. Unfortunately, heating doesn't work and I believe it helps their growth - faster.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Have you tried to soak the food in garlic juice?It will help rid the parasites,and most finiky fish will eat it.I would do as gtm said on the sterilizing of things,and medicating the quarantine tank,and try the garlic to help speed it along.


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## inkmaker (Jun 10, 2009)

Stringy feces are due to intestinal Nematodes. Chances are you either have Camallanus or Capillary Nematodes. Both are easily controlled with Levamisole HCl. Camallanus are shown by red pricks sticking out of the anus of the fish. Theu can cause stringy feces that obscure them. One has to look closely to see them. Capillary are not so easy to find. Usually they cause the symptoms you report. Camallanus fills the intestine and body cavity with worms. Capillary just waste away the fish because they infiltrate the muscle tissue.
There aren't any medications on the LFS shelf that is strong enough to get rid of these Nematodes anymore because the low dosage has generated super bugs over the past decades.
I hope there is nothing wrong telling you where to get these medications->check my profile or PM me, email me. Let me know how much water you need to treat.

Charles Harrison



Bill Pape said:


> My fish all got an intestinal parasite. First, it killed all of my gouramis in painful fashion in three months. Now it is in my community tank (which had some of the gouramis) and it is slowly wiping out all the fish there. They are normal at first, but then waste away to nothing and die of exhuastion. The young fish just never fully develop. They all get the stringy white poop, which can be as long as 1.5 inches. I assume the "poop" is full of hundreds of eggs. How do I stop this thing? Or, after all of my fish are dead, how do I get all the contaminants out of the plants and gravel?
> 
> I've tried treated food, and they won't eat it. Actually, it looks inedible. Then I tried soaking my regular food in treated water. Didn't help.
> 
> ...


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You can post that info here. The mods won't mind.


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