OK, here goes... I have a question about "fish poop"

WaterBaby

WaterBaby

Senior Member with Senior Moments
Sep 23, 2002
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Florence, New Jersey
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I use an iPhone 8 camera
How embarassing...... :o

Anyway, I have a male fancy guppy in a 6 gallon eclipse with 5 others. This particular guppy has grown a little thin lately and has been hanging out by himself (usually on the bottom). He can, however swim almost normally (sometimes he bounces off the bottom a little).

Originally, I thought swim bladder, but having fish that have had that, I don't think that this is what he has. I have put him in an isolation pod hanging from one of my larger tanks so I can observe him more clearly. I have noticed that he has had a weird poop hanging ( :o again) from his rear all day.

Here's what it looks like.. it's segmented: the segments are clear and stringy, then thick and clear, then thick and dark, then clear and stringy again. It's been there all day.

I've been trying to search for what it might be, and I keep coming up with internal parasites. Could this be what it is? I've had him (as well as the others) for about 3 or 4 months. None of the others show any signs of wasting (yet). If he has parasites, shouldn't the others have them also? If you do think he has internal parasites, should I treat the others also?

Water parameters are:

temp 80 degrees
pH 7.6
no ammonia, nitrites
Nitrates 10ppm
I also add salt to their water (about 1 tea per gallon-I don't measure exactly)

What do you think?
 
hmm... could just be constipation from over feeding, in which case, not feeding him for a day or two and feeding him less forever afterward is what you should do.
 
It could also be from an internal parasite. I would not keep him in your big tank if you are concerned about him. A smaller tank is less expensive and easier to treat. Is he eating? If not you might want to try soaking some food in garlic before feeding him...it acts as a stimulant to make him hungry. You might want to also try feeding him some blanched peas to see if that will help clear up and flush out his digestive tract.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Fishcatch22, I really don't overfeed them. They get fed every other day. I also vary the food. Flakes, Frozen foods (bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp).

Bunny13, he is not actually swimming freely "in" the tank, but in one of those plastic holders that the stores usually hang on the outside of the tanks when they scoop them up to bag for you. He is in one of those on the "inside" of the tank, so that the water temp is constant.

I have just, in fact, fed him a pea. He also got one last night which he gobbled up. I haven't tried the garlic yet. Gotta get some.

Thanks again
 
Just my guppy tank. I have read that they like a little salt in the water. I only add about 1tea per gallon though. They don't seem to mind the salt. I do not add salt to my other tanks.
 
if it turns out to be an internal parasite you will need to try and determine which parasite to treat for.

many of the internalparasites can be cleared up using jungle parasite clear.

but do try and determine if it is. if it turns out to be an internal parasite..you should treat the whole tank...unlike bacterial infections..parasites will spread quickly to other fish..they may also be infected but have not shown signs.
the general consensus is to treat the whole tank.

which is why you need to try and determine if it is a parasite..
on the flip side.the treatemenst tend to not be too stressful on the fish.

keep in mind.that bacterial stomach infections will sometimes produce Sx that resemble parasite infestations.
 
WaterBaby said:
Just my guppy tank. I have read that they like a little salt in the water. I only add about 1tea per gallon though. They don't seem to mind the salt. I do not add salt to my other tanks.
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WaterBaby,

Please do not add salt to your freshwater fish tanks. The adding salt to the tank is an old aquaria myth that seems to refuse to die. People seem to think that adding salt to the tank makes the water harder and more fitting for livebearers and other "hard water" fish. It does not make the water harder; it makes it salty and thick -- which is *not* good for freshwater fish. In order to make the water harder and "replicate" what livebearers an other hard water fish might have in the wild, you'd need to add magnesium, calcium, postassium and a lot of other "iums", but little if *any* salt.

Guppies and other livebearers can do quite well in any hardness of water and adding salt will actually shorten their lifespans. By making the water thicker you are actually making their bodies to work harder at regulating themselves in tandem with environmental changes. Make the water thick enough and they can no longer cope.

One of the key things I wrote above is "in the wild" -- these are not wild fish. They are domestic and have been bred for countless generations on fish farms in local waters. They are very far removed from their cousins that live in hard waters.

One other point of note is that adding 1 tsp per gallon is *far* more than anyone should add to a tank and is the base amount for salt + heat ich treatments. Salt can only be removed via water changes, so most likely your tank contains a lot more than just 1 teaspoon per gallon. In other words: that's a heck of a lot of salt, girl! They're fish, not pickles ;)

Roan
 
I've seen this behavior with my guppies when they eat too much ...

I was feeding a cory a bottom tab after feeding my fish and one guppy figured she could eat it right infront of the cory!

She ate the whole thing.

guppies will always eat when food is available but if they are already full they don't digest it. It will just get pushed out the other end. It gets long and stringy and it doesn't break off right away. My female was flashing to try and break it but the noble male came along and ate it right out of her butt ... EEEW

Maybe the problem isn't how often you feed them but how MUCH you feed them when you do feed them.
 
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