AboutJosh Sean Expertise Freshwater and saltwater fish, plants, invertebrates, corals, live rock, live sand, etc.
Experience Maintained all types of aquariums in the home since childhood. Worked in 4 different pet stores specializing in aquatics, and co-owned a store in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Organizations Las Vegas Valley Reefers
Education/Credentials Obtained Masters in Biology and Microbiology with a minor in Oceanography.
Question I am conserned about my guppies i have female guppies that are having babies and i have noticed, her stool ia a long white string
she has been carring it around most of the day,i am thinking maybe she has a disease, and will the abies be infected,and how can i cure this ?
Answer Hi, Lori -
It is possible that your guppy has an internal parasite, bacterial infection, or simply constipated. This all depends upon all of the symptoms combined. Do some searching on reliable sites for information on these and possibly stop by some of your local fish stores and inquire about symptoms and medications, if necessary. Other symptoms for parasites or infection would include such things like clamped fins, sunken belly, worms attached to the body, spots that are not normal coloring, bloating, etc. If the mother guppy has internal parasites or a bacterial infection, it is possible to spread to her fry (babies) as well as other inhabitants in the same aquarium. It is also possible that the fry already acquired the parasites or infection from growing inside the mother.
Another thing that I have noticed in my own aquariums is that a few of my fish eat a lot of the live plants which also produces the same stool as you described on occasion and rapidly returns to normal. I haven't really observed any of my guppies nipping at my plants, but it is not something that would be completely impossible.
My suggestion is to do some research on your concern and see if you can match the symptoms to any type of parasites or diseases and seek a medication to treat that specific problem, or a more broad medication that treats the concern and a few other similar ones at once.
I always suggest to quarantine your new additions for a few weeks or so to ensure that they are healthy before adding them to your show tank. I am sorry that I could not offer much specific help, and I do hope that the information I was able to provide is of some help to you. Diseases and infections in fish are not uncommon and are very difficult to treat, in my experience.
