There has definitely been spike in people reaching out and asking various questions over the last few month that directly correlates with the rising popularity of platy fish within the aquarium keeping hobby so we wanted to focus on a number of the more commonly asked questions that we have seen people asking about caring for a platy recently.
One thing that we have seen people ask time and time again is about a platy that has white stringy poop and this seems to be causing some confusion so we will be focusing on that for today’s article.
The two most common causes of white stringy poop in platy fish are problems with the diet of the fish causing constipation or nutritional issues resulting in white stringy poop or parasites.
Internal parasite infections are very common with the platy species and often look very similar to stringy poop that can often be white or slightly pink depending on when the parasite last fed.
If you are new to fish keeping then it can be difficult to see the differences between white stringy poop coming from your platy and an internal parasite but if you look close enough, you can usually tell whats happening.
Internal bacterial infections can also be a problem with platies in some aquarium setups resulting in the fish creating a white, stringy poop that will often get stuck to the fish with a internal protozoan infection also creating similar symptoms but they are much rarer.
Is It Normal For A Platy To Have White Stringy Poop?
It is not normal for a platy to have white stringy poop and this type of poop is essentially a warning that there is something wrong with the fish be it due to poor nutrition, an unsuitable food that is causing constipation or some type of infection.
It can be difficult to work out exactly what is causing the white stringy poop in your platy as there are many similar symptoms between the more common causes.
Thankfully, PraziPro is able to treat many of the common parasites that can infect your platy and either cause white stringy poop or appear like they are white stringy poop when your platy passes them.
There are other types of Praziquantel and Levamisole based medications that can work well to treat the same issues in your platy too if you want to go with a different product.
Although platies are omnivores, they can have digestive and nutritional issues if they are fed a strictly plant based diet but the majority of fish food products on the market should be fine with most platies.
If you have a single platy that has white stringy poop out of a tank of platies where the rest are fine then it does suggest that that particular fish may have an underlying health issue that means it may need a specialist food or to have its diet supplemented with various life or freeze dried foods such as bloodworm or daphnia.
How Do You Treat A Platy With White Stringy Poop?
The hardest part of treating a platy that is having issues with white stringy poop is working out if the problem is due to a parsite infection or problems with the nutritional intake of the fish.
A close inspection of the poop can sometimes help and give you and idea of what you should be treating but some internal parasites can also cause a white stringy poop that leaves no other symptoms making it look like nutritional problems in the fish.
Here are some other indicators that you are able to use to help you work out how to treat a platy with white stringy poop.
If your platy has an internal bacterial infection then it will usually stop eating, bloat up, and may hang around the top of the water gulping for air with this being very difficult to treat and unfortunately, most platies with an internal bacterial infection will die within a couple of days.
An internal protozoan infection will usually cause the fish to lose weight rapidly and be slightly less active where as a intestinal worms will usually cause the fish to either loose weight or look pregnant due to a swollen belly while swimming around and still being as active as normal.
Most types of internal parasites can also be passed by the fish as it poops so you can sometimes see them in the poop of the fish with some people mistaking the long, stringy, white parasite as poop.
As we mentioned earlier, PraziPro or another Praziquantel or Levamisole based medication should be able to help in this situation and deal with most types of parasite infection causing white stringy poop in a platy.
White Stringy Poop Due To Diet!
The main difference between a platy that has white stringy poop due to parasites and problems with its diet is that if the issue is with the diet of the fish, it will usually stay the same weight as normal and neither gain or lose weight as it would with parasites.
The stringy poop caused due to issues with diet can also be more of a gray than a white or at least have small gray areas in it.
Some cheap fish food products on the market really are not up to scratch nutritionally and can be enough to cause white stringy poop in your platy so switching over to a suitable fish food will usually be enough to correct the issue within a week.
Some fish can have health issues that can cause their diet to produce white stringy poop if they have too much plant based food in it so adding a shrimp based treat food to boost the protein in the diet of your platy may be able to help in this situation.
If your platy is having problems with its poop due to underlying health issues then you should seek the assistance of a veterinarian anyway.
In some cases, the only really issue will be that your platy will have white stringy poop for the rest of its life but with other issues, the condition can prove fatal unless medication is used.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over a platy with white stringy poop to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you but unfortunately, there really are a wide range of potential causes of white stringy poop in platies and it can be difficult to workout exactly what the cause is, especially if you are new to keeping fish. It can be a good idea to seek the assistance of your local fish store, a veterinarian or a more experienced fish keeper if you are struggling to find the problem.
