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ORANGEMELLY

Okay..this might sound a bit odd.....Fish poop looks like a strand of hair???

By ORANGEMELLY, in Help with Fish Health, Diseases and Water Quality

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ORANGEMELLY

ORANGEMELLY

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Hi everyone,

I am a bit concerned about one of my mbuna. Today (was not happening yesterday) he/she is up near the surface perched on the top of a rock. He/she is the only fish doing this. he/he has been up there most of the day. There is a string of very fine clear/white poop streaming about 2-3 inches from anus. It looks more like a fine strand of hair than a poop. The area around anus looks swollen - fish is black/blue so cannot detect any redness. Thinking it may have been constipation I gave my fish some shelled peas which she eagerly dived off rock and ate but then settled back onto rock. There is no other visible signs of disease on fish - it otherwise looks healthy. Fins are not clamped but is breathing a bit harder than normal. Where it is perched it is getting a good flow of the oxygenated water from the airstones and spray bar flowing overhead. At times she has moved in a circular motion with anus rubbing on rock. My small neon spot male is doing his jiggy dance in front of her but she is ignoring him...

My question is: is he/she sick or trying to lay eggs? I have not seen this kind of poop before. I have not altered diet and she seems to be the only one with poop like this. All other poops look normal from other fish. Fish get regular greens in their diet peas/zucchini as well as mbuna pellet. Water parameters are good nitrite 0 ammonia 0 nitrate 10 and water change was done only yesterday. My pH is 7.4 which I know is on the low side for africans - but it is stable.

I am still pretty new at keeping mbunas and as they grow I am observing all kinds of different behaviours - but I am not always sure if what I am observing is normal mbuna behaviour or not. Any advice??

Thanks.

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ORANGEMELLY

ORANGEMELLY

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He/she is the smallest of a 4 yellow tail acei..the largest two are the tank bosses...I have not seen he/she being picked on..there is 19 mbuna in tank...280L..most are juvies..I was considering just treating tank with those tetra parasite guard...that way if it is worms or some other kind of parasite it might knock it on the head..

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ORANGEMELLY

ORANGEMELLY

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would you recommend me to dose tank with tetra parasite guard then? I looked at the tetra website at product details and it seems pretty broad spectrum...she/he is still on rock but is moving about and in a correct swimming position..just never seen any of them do this before..and the weird poop...is there another medication I might try?

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ORANGEMELLY

ORANGEMELLY

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I had a read of article..what is coming out is more white/clear and long and fine, whereas that article says that camallanus worms are red and short. Plus fish is still wanting to eat...I dont know, I will see how she/he is tomorrow...I am wondering if it is constipation...which is kind of difficult to believe as 2 days ago they were all swarming over zucchinni..I will keep researching..thanks for replying.

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I think all the above suggestions are a massive overreaction. Orangemelly you were on the right track in the first place! Put the fish in a bucket with an airstone and add an eight to (ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM) quarter a teaspoon of epsom salts; - or ideally add epsom salts to the tank. (PM me for the dose). Do that first - sounds like constipation.... What is the brand of "Mbuna pellets" you are feeding??

As to the suggestions of "it's worms" - not good advice. In no way does the description match it being worms.. Worming and anti-parasite treatments can have serious detrimental impacts on fish. You don't just add these products without knowing you need them!

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jc12

jc12

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Post a photo might help so we don't have to speculate. There are a lot of possibilities for stringy white poop ranging from constipation to worms, bacteria to parasitic infections. Even worms have different types. Anyone who posted a possible solution could have GUESSED correctly.

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ORANGEMELLY

ORANGEMELLY

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I feed them aqua one and hikari pellets (the ones for mbuna)..I use the mini pellet.. I also feed spirulina flake from ocean nutrition. I do two small feeds a day. One in the morning when light comes on and another in the evening about 2 hours before light goes off. All food is gone within 2 minutes. I also give them either shelled peas or steamed zuchinni every 3 days...Fish has since passed long stringy hair like poop but is still sitting on rocks. On inspecting today he/she (i think she) looks more round than usual and is not as tapered as the other acei..I have been reading about constipation in fish and this is what I think it is. It is not dropsy as scales are not sticking out and she is not as round as the fish in the pictures I saw.but she is more stout looking than usual.. she is listless and inactive..is starting to become rubbed up on side by the rock...not looking for food today, but did eat half a pea yesterday..I will buy some epsom salts, seperate her and try the epsom salt.. I read 1 teaspoon per 5 gallon is this correct?...and thank you for replying..It is really hard when you are really just starting off learning about how to keep these fish (I also have juvenilles: severum, oscar and chocolate cichlid in another tank)...so much to learn.

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Heintz.G

Heintz.G

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Ok if you're going to do Epsom salts, this is what I recommend and I have used this method on Americans with good results.

Short Dip:

In a large container filled with water from your aquarium, add 1 tablespoon Epsom salts per 4Lts of water. Swim the fish in this solution for 15 to 20mins or until stress shows or feces are released. Repeat daily until fish shows signs of recovery.

Check for signs of bacterial infection or parasites for further treatment.

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ORANGEMELLY

ORANGEMELLY

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Thanks for this...just been watching her and am noticing that scales around abdomen are looking like they are starting to swell outward but only in that area...I will have to wait till morning to do epsom bath as cant get to the shops right now ...I just hope it works on her as she is a sweet little fish...just does her own thing ..looking at the size /texture of all the other fishes poop in same tank, there is a huge difference, so I think we are on the money. Thanks again.

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Post a photo might help so we don't have to speculate. There are a lot of possibilities for stringy white poop ranging from constipation to worms, bacteria to parasitic infections. Even worms have different types. Anyone who posted a possible solution could have GUESSED correctly.

Worms do NOT magically appear overnight as described nor are the symptoms of worms compatible with the description given by the owner. Big problem with forums and the like when GUESSES are made that people may take as INFORMED opinion that can then lead to mass fish loss due to incorrect treatment. Anti-parasite medication can have very serious detrimental effects on fish.

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I feed them aqua one and hikari pellets (the ones for mbuna)..I use the mini pellet.. I also feed spirulina flake from ocean nutrition. I do two small feeds a day. One in the morning when light comes on and another in the evening about 2 hours before light goes off. All food is gone within 2 minutes. I also give them either shelled peas or steamed zuchinni every 3 days...Fish has since passed long stringy hair like poop but is still sitting on rocks. On inspecting today he/she (i think she) looks more round than usual and is not as tapered as the other acei..I have been reading about constipation in fish and this is what I think it is. It is not dropsy as scales are not sticking out and she is not as round as the fish in the pictures I saw.but she is more stout looking than usual.. she is listless and inactive..is starting to become rubbed up on side by the rock...not looking for food today, but did eat half a pea yesterday..I will buy some epsom salts, seperate her and try the epsom salt.. I read 1 teaspoon per 5 gallon is this correct?...and thank you for replying..It is really hard when you are really just starting off learning about how to keep these fish (I also have juvenilles: severum, oscar and chocolate cichlid in another tank)...so much to learn.

Firstly a bit of advice - often the first instinct is correct. In your case - condstipation. Constipation is different to what is commonly known as "Malawi Bloat". Mbuna can be very susceptible to bloat. Bloat can be caused by poor quality food (very common) and change of diet - e.g: if you buy fish fed on Sera Flora exclusively for example and then feed a different food = bloat can be caused. Bloat is hard to treat. Epsom salts is your first step - tackle as if it is constipation first. Personally I treat the main tank with a small dose. I find this normally sufficient. I then increase dose if necessary. There are other treatments for bloat however they are very difficult to use effectively and it takes an extended time - pm me for more details. I would recommend using the best quality foods available. I use 4.5kg of food a week which would give you an idea on how many Mbuna I have. Even with this much food I use only premium foods. Premium foods over the long term can actually save money when you look at the whole picture including fish health etc. I am making this point as a generalisation and am not commenting specifically on the products you are using. Epsom slats needs to be added very soon. Do not feed your tank for at least three days if you are dosing your main tank. Feeding the fish in question will make matters worse. Adding pool salt to the tank will be advantageous if you don't already add salt. PM me with your tank volume for quantity. As a very good rule on medicating: Do not medicate your fish without knowing what you are treating. Treatments outlined in this post can destroy your beneficial bacteria in your tank; can be toxic to some fish; weakens the fishes immune systems if using multiple treatments that are not properly targeting the problem area. There are some instances where broad spectrum type medications are good - bacterial infections is one example where without a microscope diagnoses of exact bacteria are impossible hence a broad spectrum product can be used. In your case use the Epsom salts - it wont harm your fish used at the does recommended in my above posts. Wait three days. Do not feed. Advise results. Proceed from there. Cheers

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ORANGEMELLY

ORANGEMELLY

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I have 19 mbuna, 2 are over 3 inches all the rest are juvies 1-2 inches. Tank is a 5ft 280Lt running a aquis 1050 and 2 airstones. Surface has good agitation. All the other fish are behaving as normal..looking for food, active and eating algae off the rock work. I wont treat whole tank as they seem fine...I will be treating fish seperately from tank mates in a container and then will keep her isolated from others as it is hard to catch fish when there is so many rocks. I saw her this morning before I went to shop to get epsom salts but she hid before I could get net on her...I have not been able to find her since but brother will be home soon so he will help me remove some of the rocks. (Some of the rocks are big and I cannot get high enough leverage (not tall enough) to feel comfortable with moving them by myself)...When I saw her before I saw a bubble of air escape her mouth..I have epsom bath mixed, I just need to catch her now...I will keep you posted.

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I will be treating fish seperately from tank mates in a container and then will keep her isolated from others as it is hard to catch fish when there is so many rocks. I saw her this morning before I went to shop to get epsom salts but she hid before I could get net on her...I have not been able to find her since but brother will be home soon so he will help me remove some of the rocks.

Although I used the word "treatment" Epsom salts really isn't a treatment as such (in that it is not a medicine) and there is no reason not to use it in the main tank. It will not harm your other fish. Just use a small amount. Start with one heaped teaspoon wait a day then add another if no signs of improvement. I do not find a high "dose" is needed for this purpose. By pulling rocks etc out all you are going to do is stress your fish and then they'll make new territories once the rocks go back in so there may be some aggression. If you can't net out the fish without removing all the rocks I wouldn't do it - but up to you of course.

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ORANGEMELLY

ORANGEMELLY

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Found my fish under the rocks...dead unfortunately.. I inspected her body...her anal area looks swollen and discoloured, her belly is more distended than usual but I can not see any other obvious signs of disease on her with the naked eye. I gave my fish a feed of shelled peas after I put all the rocks back..they love their peas...and thank fully my lot dont seem to get to stressed out when I move the rocks...probably because they are still maturing and my tank boss is pretty chill (yellow tail acei 'Tanzania'). I will keep a close eye on them all and hopefully this will be just a one off event...what brand food do you give your mbuna? I thought that hikari was suppose to be a good one..Is there a better one?

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