White Feces - Advice Appreciated

[Discus Plus]

I have a sick fish that has what I believe may be a stubborn internal parasite. The fish has not eaten in about 1.5 weeks and will periodically pass white feces. She is a bit darker in color as well.

Have you found an effective way to treat fish with white feces?

Treatment so far:
- Isolated in a 25 g QT tank.
- Raised the temp to 88F.
- Daily 75% water changes with aged tap water.
- Treated with Prazi twice. First time I waited 24 hours and then did a 75% water change. Second time I waited 48 hours and did a 75% water change.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

[David Rose]

Does this sound like your situation?

Intestinal Flagellates:
Symptoms: Your discus may quit eating or spit out it's food. White, stringy, muscus-like feces will hang like a thread from the anus. He may be dark in color and stay in the back of the tank away from the other discus.
Treat with Metronidazole sold in pet stores as Hex-A-Mit or Metrozol. Can be purchased online from several sources. 400 - 500 mg per 10 gallons of water. Tank temperature 92 degrees +. Dose each day after a 50% water change for 3 to 5 days. Use 92 degree water for water changes. Feed sparingly of favorite foods. Keep water temperature elevated for a week after treatment ends. It may take a week or so for the discus to regain it's appetite. In severe cases of long standing you may need to dose every 8 hours for three days. May dose all fish in tank or remove affected fish to hospital tank. Should not hurt your biofilter.

http://www.forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=34834

[Jhhnn]

What David said, with caveats. The need to raise the temp is a matter of opinion, but it should decrease the lifespan of individual parasites because of increased metabolism. Metro interferes with their lifecycle. If the temp is raised, aeration should be increased because of reduced oxygen solubility at higher temps.

Good source for metro-

http://www.nationalfishpharm.com/about_us.html

Do the math, figure out how much you'll need for your tank for a full week's treatment.

You can start treatment with supplies from the LFS, but it gets expensive, fast, and the tablets have binders that don't dissolve in water.

A small, inexpensive electronic scale is something every self respecting fish freak should own, one that's accurate to .01G, like this-

http://www.gramscales.com/product_info.php?products_id=1895

Resistance to metro occurs, and other organisms can cause white feces, particularly cryptobia- very bad ju-ju.

John Nicholson wrote a very good piece on the subject-

http://home.flash.net/~tcichlid/cryptobia.html

Dimetro is available from Foy's pets as naturazole, if it comes to that.

Good luck. Sometimes we need it.

[Foxfire]

When raising the tank temp to 92, an air stone is critical - I second the need for it. In general, always add an air stone with meds - gills can be stressed and the extra O2 is always good for fish and helps with many issues.

[David Rose]

Hey Discus Plus...any updates on how your discus are doing? Post pictures of your fish and set up if you can.

BTW, Prazi is for flukes and tape worms. Will probably not do anything for white poop.

[Discus Plus]

Thanks for the help guys, much appreciated. I plan to get Metro and treat accordingly. I'll keep you updated on progress.

Derrick

[scottthomas]

I have used metro effectively in a similar case. However, I dont see the need to raise the temp. I found a good price on metro from Dan at Elite Aquaria. Fast shipping also. Good luck!

[Eddie]

I have used metro effectively in a similar case. However, I dont see the need to raise the temp. I found a good price on metro from Dan at Elite Aquaria. Fast shipping also. Good luck!


Ditto

[Elite Aquaria]

Thanks guys...click here (http://www.eliteaquaria.com/Discus_Medication_s/41.htm) for the link to the medication section. Metro should be back in stock in a few days.