Can't seem to get rid of this!

[RogueDiscus]

Well,I've been pretty lucky up till now, but I've finally got something I can't seem to get rid of. I hope you can give me some advice with out me having to dig out my nitrate/nitrite kits. I just change water and never worry about it. I did test ammonia at 0. I really think it came in with a new fish I bought last year. I have a hard time getting good pics, but I'll try again if necessary. Please let me now if you need more information. Thanks.
Steve

1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them?

Long, translucent white poop. About 1-2 mm dia.(seems thick) Sometimes almost appears segmented, but could just be poop shape. First noticed it in another fish I bought about a year ago from a sponsor. This is now the third fish I've seen with it. It seems to happen after water changes, and then may not show up again for a while.


2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds).
The fish tends to be less active, sitting in a corner. It may have stopped eating.


3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment.

No meds yet. Just trying to keep up with water changes, but it won't go away and has seemed to spread. My medicine cabinet has rid-ich, metro, prazipro, and furan 2, if needed.

Tank/Water

4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish.

75gal community discus tank, usually 7 to 9 fish depending on whose in the 29 gal breeder. All over a year old, probably all closer to 2 years. 5 inches, except this flamingo is a little smaller.
I have another 75 and two other 29's in the same room.

5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often).
I do a 50 gal and 30 gal change each week on the 75's. The 29's get at least 2 20 gal changes a week.

6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it?
5 years, bare bottom

7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.
Not really. The RO sits in a Rubbermaid can about a day. Well water from my tap.

8. Parameters and water source;
I mix my well water with RO I make to get GH about 75 ppm (I don't have a tds meter)

Note: Water Parameters are important in diagnosing problems within a tank. If you don't own test kits for the following information, you can purchase them, test your parameters and post this info as soon as possible.



- temp ____82_

- ph ___7.6__

- ammonia reading _0___

- nitrite reading ____

- nitrate reading ____

What type of water or combinations of water sources do you use? If it is an RO/tap/well water mix, please list percentages in the mix.

- well water __x__

- municipal water ____

- RO water ___x_

75/25 RO/ well mix

9. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently.
No

10. Include any pictures or videos you have which shows the symptoms. If you can't add them to this post, please provide a link to them.

[RogueDiscus]

I'm willing to accept it's a water condition problem, but I really do think it was something that came in with the fish I mentioned above. I've seen some thin stringy white poops in fish before, but never anything like this. I don't really have any experience with worms or other parasitic conditions. Based on what I've read, could it be flagellates I should treat with metro? Any help appreciated, or please let me know if you need more info.

[nc0gnet0]

Is the white poo intermittent, to you ever see the fish pass normal feces? Or do you only notice the white poo on occasion and not notice anything other times? Is the fish eating? Any chance it may be subjected to bullying?

[RogueDiscus]

Hello again,
I think the fish has stopped eating, and when it poops, it is the white poop. It continues for an hour(?) or so at a time, producing 3" long strands. This fish used to be one of the more aggressive in the tank, but maybe less as the others grew larger. I would say bullying, just usual pecking order stuff. Thanks.

[nc0gnet0]

Can the fish be moved to it's own tank to see if it can resume eating? Do you have a QT tank.

[RogueDiscus]

I don't get new fish very often and don't keep a QT tank going, but I can use one of my 29's for this. It's not a sterilized tank, but it's been cleaned and running without fish for about a week. My other fish with the same poop problem is a blue diamond. Can I QT them both together?

[nc0gnet0]

As long as they get along I don't see why not.

[RogueDiscus]

OK, I've got them QT'd. I think FDBW are their favorite food. Should I do anything else at this point, or just watch to see if they're eating? I think I understand the need to get them eating again, but was wondering if you recognized the feces or if you had an idea as to what the problem might be. Taking it slowly, thanks.

[nc0gnet0]

The only way to tell for sure is with a microscope, and the sample has to be fresh.

Generally speaking your dealing with one, or a combination of the following:

1) fish has withdrawn and ceased eating (this could be a result of bullying, poor water quality, or another health issue with the fish)
2) hexamita
3) capillaria
4) intestinal infection
5) sever case of tapeworms (this usually doesn't manifest with white poo, just failure to gain weight)

Some people claim to be able to tell by looking at the poo which one of the first 4 it is, I for one can't. However, intestinal infections quite often have a yellow tint to the feces, but not always.

In all the above cases (tapeworms being the possible exception) getting the fish to resume eating will ultimately be the key to recovery. Many times this will not happen until a course of medication has been administered.

Assuming you do not have a scope, we want to see if the fish will begin to start eating now that it has been removed from the display tank. This would point to reason number one as the issue. If it does not, then we will then explore the other options and probably start the fish on a round of metro. The fish appears to be in relatively good shape, so I think we have some time. For the time being, perform a minimum of daily 50 - 75% water changes, and offer it bloodworms or FDBW's and observe as much as possible.

-Rick

[RogueDiscus]

Thanks Rick!
First, a tangent, I'm willing to step up my hobby and buy a microscope. What should I be looking for? I can buy through my teacher connections.
So, I'm thinking starting a metro treatment makes sense. OK?

[nc0gnet0]

I wouldnt be so fast to medicate, I would give the fish 2-3 days and monitor. See if it clears up.

[RogueDiscus]

Will do. No meds. Also, I did a 20 gal water change on this 29 this afternoon. BTW, the flamingo, which I had decided was a female, is flirting with the blue diamond, which I think is male, despite their condition. So they've got their own hormones working for them too. I have no interest in the pair, just thinking more energy was better than less.