Does My Fish Have Worms?

Hey everyone. I have noticed that one of my female platys has been pretty skinny lately and today I saw her poop and it was long and a translucent white with some brown. I hear this is usually the case of parasites and she is defiantly not pregnant. I just used melafix and primafix by API to treat the open wound on one of the other platys so should I use something like general cure tomorrow and not use primafix and melafix or can I use both with the general cure if she does have worms? Also is medicating general cure with melafix and primafix safe for a pregnant platy fish.

 

Sounds like a lot of meds to be adding all at once... I wouldn’t if I were you but then I tend to treat things the natural way rather then jumping to meds as many of them can be harsh on other fish too...

That’s a lot of meds for a fry to handle if she’s about to give birth... and probably not great with her being pregnant...

Are you certain it is a parasite and not constipation? Can be similar looking...but if she’s skinny then probably a parasite... is it every time she goes? Or is it random... also have you tried feeding her a de shelled boiled pea?

 

I actually don’t see her poop a lot at all so should I move her to a separate tank and medicate or medicate her the natural medication way. What is the natural medication way though.

 

If it’s a platy and you don’t see her poop a lot (I’m not sure if you mean you don’t catch her or she doesn’t go a lot?)

But if you mean she doesn’t go often I would
1- make sure when your feeding she is actually getting some
2- try the pea first.. boil it, take off the outer shell and squish it up a bit and make sure she gets some (it won’t hurt the other fish if they get some too)

Peas are very good at aiding in constipation rather then adding more meds... and if she is a platy and not going to the bathroom often it could very well just be that she’s constipated..
It probably wouldn’t hurt to give them a day or 2 of a fast... those types of fish (as with most) don’t need to be fed daily... they can survive quite a while without food.... is it possible your slightly over feeding them? That’s one thing that can cause constipation

 

I don’t see her poop a lot but I don’t think she poops a lot either. If I don’t feed them for 2 days than should I feed the whole tank de shelled cooked peas just Incase she does not get to eat it. I do feed them probably a 1/2 a teaspoon of flakes once a day. When they eat frozen food which is every other week they eat a lot of it. Thanks for your advice

 

A constipated fish will normally be bloated in the abdomen though....

Is she eating well? How long have you had her? Have you added anything new to the tank? Anyone else showing the same symptom?

To answer your question, unfortunately there's no way to tell for sure if your platy has worms unless you look at the poop under a microscope. I just went thru an episode with a good chance I had worms in my tank. I suspected they were callamanus worms based on a pic when I saw the worms hanging from the vent of one of my fish after deworming. By the time these worms are visible, it's often too late, and they are really hard to see while they are alive. I lost 6 of my cichlids before I realized the was a problem I never saw white poop either btw.

If she does have worms, the whole tank would have to be treated. General Cure is not a dewormer. It would have to be a dewormer like Levamisole or Fenbendazole.

Idk if I would jump to dewormers just yet though, depends on how skinny she is and if she's eagerly eating. Some females may lose weight if they carry young ones too often.

 

They are eating and behaving well. I had her for about 9 months. I have added 2 rainbow fish about a month ago. She seems like the only one in the tank with a skinny belly. There is 2 pregnant platy fish in the tank. She has not been pregnant yet in the tank and are those medicine you listed above safe with shrimp and the bacteria and the snails and the pregnant platy and plants? I hear general cure mixed with food can get rid of worms

 

Is it possible she just looks skinny because your others are pregnant? Lol

 

I may have an old video of her and see what she looked like. Maybe she is just naturally skinny because of her longer body structure.

Also I saw one of the baby platys pooping out thick translucent poop but she has a big tummy

 

I wouldn't trust Levamisole with snails, it was fine with my assassin and nerite snails at a 2ppm dosage, but it is meant to kill/hurt nematodes.....

It does not bother plants, affect the nitrogen cycle. Not sure about baby fish.

I would wait and see how she does. A skinny fish suffering from intestinal worms will look like a skeleton. It's horrible. The fish becomes skinnier and skinnier despite a good appetite. She could be a naturally skinny fish. Just make sure she gets a share of food at feeding time. I have a smaller fish out of the group as well, she's just a little shyer at feeding time.

 

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Maybe it’s just the picture but she doesn’t look that skinny to me... could be because it a side view...
Also are you sure she wasn’t pregnant at one point... some get huge and others don’t get that big especially if she was young.... possible she gave birth and the fry just got eaten and you didn’t know? I had one give birth in the middle of the night and not a fry was left by morning and she was back to her normal size....
But before meds I would try the pea... if anything it won’t hurt

 

Yes I will wait and see how she does. I think she always a little bit skinny so maybe she Is naturally skinny. So far she did not seem pregnant since I got her but she has a long body so it may be hard to tell. Maybe she was pregnant in the stores a long time ago but not since I got her. Also I’m not sure what the white poop means since one of the baby female platys has some today but looked like it had a big stomach. Does that seem normal for baby fish. Thanks

 

Good news, the platy just pooped brown normal poop.

 

Translucent poop could mean lots of things, not just parasites. She probably ate something funky

 

Maybe. I usually feed them TetraMin Tropical Flakes, TetraMin 3 foods in one (crisps,granules and baby shrimp) which I’m not sure if the 3 In one is healthy, Omega One Veggie Rounds, frozen daphnia and once in awhile I give them sera o nip tabs. Thanks

 

I much prefer Omega One, NLS and North Fin fish food brands. The best foods only have only one of these binding agents:
wheat, soybean, potato starch. I also like brands that use whole fish instead of fish meal. The inferior brands are using cheap ingredients and adding probiotic bacteria to help the fish digest it. A bandaid solution.


Also pea and corn can cause digestive issues long term.

Good nutrition is very important for good health.

 

That’s very helpful thank you

After I was feeding the fish algae pellets today, I saw one of the rainbow fish have a tiny growth on his lip. I’m not sure if one of the other fish bit him or the gravel scraped him when the food sank to the bottom but I hope it’s not serious. The growth is pointing downwards a little bit and is similar in color of the lip.

 

Not sure. It doesn't look serious to me just yet. Keep an eye, but it may be he scraped his mouth on something. If it gets red or fuzzy, we'll have another look.

 

Sounds good thanks again.

 

Not sure, but I think mine might.

 

Try some peas

And maybe a salt bath

 

Sorry, bad pun I guess.

 

I have API Aquarium salt but I do not have an extra quarantine tank but I’m planning on setting one up soon

Also are Sera O-Nip tabs healthy to feed fish every day and can I use them as a tablet food for my spotted Raphael’s Catfish daily?

 

I have API Aquarium salt but I do not have an extra quarantine tank but I’m planning on setting one up soon

I don't think you're fish need salt baths. That was directed at the goldfish.

I'm not super familiar with Sera O nip foods, but when I searched it said treat tablets. The ingredients don't seem horrible for a rafael cat who eats crustaceans. I would get him some Omega One shrimp pellets and feed the Sera tabs 2-3 times alternating a week.

 

She seems a little bit more skinny and slightly sluggish today. She also gasps for air at the surface. Is this normal

 

I will make them peas and garlic today thanks.

 

She is becoming kind of lethargic and skinny but she does eat what is going on with her?

 

What’s going on with her?

 

Sometimes my other fish have clear poop also. Is that normal?

 

If she appears skinny then the peas may not work... they are for constipation mostly and if she’s skinny then she wouldn’t most likely be constipated... do you give your fish a starvation day? For example I don’t feed any of my fish on mondays... the odd time I have a fish with an odd poop and I keep an eye on her and then it’s normal again... I haven’t had a chance to read through everything yet but the pea won’t hurt anyway it will just make any fish that eats it go to the bathroom so it worth a try... poop really depends on what the fish has been eating... if mine have had like frozen brine shrimp then Sometimes it’s more clear looking and then the next day they may get their NLS food and it’s brown and then I have color flakes and it’s a bit red... so try and remember what they have been eating... also I apologize but is this a new fish? Sometimes fish stores don’t feed them properly (some times it’s not possible to make sure in a tank of 60 fish that everyone has eaten) if he’s new then it could be from that... I apologize again I did not get a chance to read all suggestions but I would try everything natural first... even an Epsom salt dip (about 5 mins and all you need is a bucket- clean and never used for anything except fish stuff) can help with a lot of different problems... if you want to try that and don’t know how I can provide how I do it and make sure it’s pure Epsom salt (no other ingredients except for magnesium sulfate)
And no gasping at the top is not normal.. it’s thwir attempt at trying to get o2 for one reason or another

 

Thanks for your reply. I have had her for about 7 months now so she is not new. She does not poop clear all the time and sometimes the other fish have long clear poop also. I do feed them frozen daphnia sometimes but I feed them mainly flakes. I’m not sure why she gasps at the surface though. I will try to feed them peas and I am not sure if one of the other platys I got with her is pregnant because she has a big belly and is skittish and hides a lot. I think I may see a gravid spot in her but she had that in an older video.

 

Gravid spots don’t necessarily mean they are pregnant... you can tell the difference between pregnant and bloated.... if you post a picture I can most likely tell you if she is (if had my fair share of pregnant livebearers lol)
If it’s more off then on I wouldn’t worry too much about the poop however
Pooping odd + gasping is not good....
Is it a constant gasp? If so have you tested your dissolved o2? It could be a lack of oxygen but I would expect more fish to be gasping also...
I would def. get the pea in there ASAP....
It sounds like it could be something else... coupled with the pea I would do either an Epsom salt bath or dip (I find dips easier and more effective... difference is stronger amount of salt but way less time and I would do it twice a day) I’ve saved fish that we’re laying on their sides on the bottom of the tank with a couple salt dips... but you will need to start doing this stuff like today if possible because gasping is generally heading towards the end... especially if it’s constant.. you also need to watch that the other fish are not picking on the sick one...
And lastly if your one platy is pregnant and not bloated when she is ready to give birth she will change from a round belly to a \_/ shape... after that it’s not long... do you have any floating plants or fry food? It’s best to be prepared when you have livebearers as they are pregnant most of their lives... if you have a male and female then most likely they will be pregnant at any given time lol
I just let nature take its course... I provide them with a floating plant and let the strongest survive... the rest will be eaten by the mother father or any other fish in the tank.... I would not use a breeder box (that’s my opinion) because they really stress the mother out...
hope some of that helps

 

The gasping is mainly by that one fish and she gasps for a little while a few times and the swims again. I will try some peas but I’m not sure if anyone is constipated. Also I have not yet see the males really follow the pregnant platy or maybe they used to. Thanks

 

I know when mine are pregnant or not they are always after one female or another lol but they will really follow her close to birth waiting for a snack... again if you post a pic I can tell you for sure

Gasping is more of a symptom then a diagnosis (unless most or a lot of the fish are doing it then it means you need more aeration because there’s not enough oxygen) but I’m thinking this is not the problem because it’s one fish

 

I'm so sorry you are still dealing with this. I don't feel this is constipation either. There are many reasons for white poop, but if you are seeing it often, it might be an indication of something more serious. So you are seeing isolation, white poop, lethargy, gasping?

And your tank params are on par?

I will let you know when I dealt with worms in my tank, the most infected fish were gasping often at the surface. Idk the reason, they just did. Healthy fish did not do this. Lethargy is also a sign of something else. So is bloating. Is the skinny fish eating enthusiastically but losing weight?

FYI If you think it's worms, GC won't do the job. But it does treat trematodes and cestodes which could be responsible for wasting.

 

I will try to get a picture on the one I think is pregnant. Her belly has been more of a circle than a square and has been acting skittish for quite some time. I’m not sure how parasites could have gotten in the tank if the last fish I got in there was 4 months ago. The fish are not lethargic really. Yes she does eat but not seem to gain too much weight or lose to much. I saw a 6 month old platy pooping clear poop with no symptoms and a couple of the fish do that to. What is a safe way to medicate the tank with out harming the biological bacteria and the Amano Shrimp,plants,nerite snails and pregnant platy fish? Thanks

 

Because Levamisole HCl is not harmful to the bio-filter, fish, plants, or invertebrates, you can safely treat the within the community tank. In fact, it is best to do so to eliminate possible parasites in any intermediate hosts that may be in the tank.

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If the fish is not really skinny, I'm not sure I would use meds if I wasn't already paranoid about worms. That's your call. Read the article I posted and decide for yourself. My fish that had worms were obviously skinny and continued to lose weight despite a healthy appetite. I lost all my skinny fish even treating the tanks, but I also know I saved some younger fish who were probably affected but not as badly.

I had the nematode in my system for 3 years before I noticed a problem. A healthy fish can carry parasites without any symptoms. Something stresses them out for some reason and they can't battle them. Once one fish goes down, it seems the others are at more risk. I lost 5 of the 6 cichlids to the worm in the final year meaning I never noticed a problem until then. I didn't see any worms until I dewormed and an affected fish was expelling them. The only symptom I had to go on was emaciation. When a second fish started to waste away, I knew I had a problem. But like I said, I lost 6 cichlids because I took action too late.

 

I may have an old video of her and see what she looked like. Maybe she is just naturally skinny because of her longer body structure.

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As mentioned already, this fish doesn't look that skinny to me, but she looks like something is bothering her because of the clamped fins. Is this for sure a female? I'm not a platy pro.

 

Thanks for replying. I’m sorry that you lost some of your fish from the worms. She is a female platy and yes she does clamp her fins a few times. They may be no worms and this is my second day of feeding them omega one freshwater flakes and she does seem not as skinny so far so that is good. They are not acting lethargic or sick .