What Next? "White Stringy Poop"

[Cinnebuns]

I'm certain this is a confusion a lot of people get. In fact, in my research I have read some posts on this forum about it. So far though I have found 3 answers to the "white stringy poop."  I didn't get 1 minute of sleep last night cause of RL issues plus I'm on day 2 of treating ich so I wanna make for sure for sure for sure i handle this right and don't create more problems for myself. The fish in question is a glo tetra (black skirt tetra).

 

Commonly I am seeing the diagnosis as "constipation."  These people suggest offering veggies and otherwise fasting the fish. This is what I originally assumed was the issue and solution until I read more. 

A vet article I read says "fish don't get constipated and worms are extremely rare."  They suggested the only cause is from lack of eating and therefore the solution to only offer a carnivore veggies is not wise. 

Obviously the big fear is that it is an internal parasite, which is exactly the solution I found on previous posts on this forum. If that is the case then I need to know (or research further with my tired brain) how to treat this WHILE also treating ich. Omg I'm a mess!  

 

Side note:  my female guppy has also had a couple long poops that I'm confident were actually poop because they weren't white and came off after a bit. 

[Cinnebuns]

Update:  literally about 10 min after posting the "poop" is no longer on him. I'm taking this as a huge sign it's not a parasite. Keeping post up just in case. 

[Cinnebuns]

Update:  the white stringy poop came back so I'm just assuming it is a parasite. He's now in a hospital tank and has been treated with Gen cure. 

[2000tetras]

I would try general cure or prazipro first. It looks like an internal parasite. Redose again in 2.5 weeks to get any hatched parasites not killed by first dose.

[Colu]

White stringy poop can poop with no food in it just mucus covering I would finish treating the  ich and if you notice your fish flashing and more fish having White stringy poop and weight loss then I would treat for parasites

[laritheloud]

All things told that's actually not that stringy. Sometimes 'stringy' poop can look white and cottony, almost; mostly mucus and casings. I would take Colu's advice and continue treating for ich and monitor for other symptoms.

[Gator]

@Cinnebuns; Our fish can and may get internal parasites from time to time, I've seen white, stringy poop in an Angelfish I had years ago, but it went away on its own without meds, that was before I started feeding my fish a varied (Flake food one day, Bloodworms the next, Bug bites the next day, pureed earthworms the next day, and finally frozen Brine shrimp to round everything out) diet. With the exception of the Brine shrimp, these are all foods our fish will find in the wild, but Ghost shrimp can be found in lakes in the Southern US and make an excellent fish bait. Google internal parasites of tropical fishes to see if you can find one or more articles that have photos of anything that looks like what you're experiencing with your fish. Any article from the University of Hawai'i, the University of Florida, and Virginia Tech are more than well worth looking into as well as articles from any States Department of Natural Resources.

The best of luck and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sincerely

Gator

[Cinnebuns]

Whether he has a parasite or not, the fish in question isn't looking well so I feel good that I seperated him last night. I did dose general cure along with the ich treatment. He's not eating at all. I have checked on him at least every 2 hours today.