Slightly embarrassing question: is this poop or should I be concerned for my fish?

[KyleKVK]

I’m embarrassed to even ask this but I’m new to the hobby after being out of it since I was a kid.

Is that white thing by his back fin poop or some kind of problem?

[SWilson]

I was having similar questions as I just started with a few fish too.  I read somewhere that you can watch it, and if it eventually detaches and falls to the substrate, it's probably poop as worms will retract back into the body.  I also freaked out after I fed some colored flake food when the poop sting hanging out was red and looked possibly like camallanus worms.  But it eventually broke off and floated down.

I suppose this would not help if you're actively deworming and the fish are shedding them.  Here's a petmd article describing some common types of worms: 

http://www.petmd.com//sites/default/files/favicon_0.ico Worms in Fish Tanks – Are They Dangerous to Fish?

WWW.PETMD.COM

---

How can you tell if the worms in your fish tank are the good kind or the bad? And how do you get rid of the worms without harming any of the other lives in the tank? Learn about aquatic worms here.

There are probably a number of Aquarium Co-op blog articles/videos diagnosing, and may have good images/video of what worms can look like. 

Good luck and hope it's just poop! 😆 what kind of fish is that? it's beautiful!

Edited December 31, 2020 by SWilson

[FriendlyLoach]

I would say it does look a bit white, and so there could be some worms. Most fish have worms when you get them and so it is always good to de-worm. I use paracleanse, but general cure works too. I would get Cory's trio med pack on his website.