Okay, so i noticed my betta's belly is slightly bloated, so he's constipated. Im gonna fast him until it goes away, but what is the white stuff?

 

White feces usually indicate internal parasites. I'd recommend soaking his food in garlic juice and medicating him with something like Jungle Parasite Clear until his feces are back to normal. You can also try adding aquarium salt to his tank (1tbs per gallon) and upping your water changes.

As for the bloating, fast him for a day or two and feed him some frozen daphnia.

 

Can you maybe get some pictures?

Also, AQ salt is not recommended for a laxative in getting out parasites and not at 1 tablespoon, you'd want a teaspoon for proper dosing. Espom salt is what you want for drawing out the parasites. I'd go with the meds in this case though but I'll wait till we get pictures to see how extreme this is.

Is he a new fish or did you just move him into a different tank or did you switch his food?

 

I will try to take a picture ASAP, but could the white stringy feces be because of constipation? He was a bit lethargic this morning but more "normal" now.. can fish be stressed from constipation?
Also, if it's parasites what should i do until i get some medicine for it? Im putting some API stresscoat right now and if he doesn't get better in 2 more days i will buy some more medications.

 

And also, i don't think frozen daphnia is sold at my nearest aquarium, so any other suggestions i can try for constipation?

 

Nvm, i researched more of the symptoms and it's probably internal parasites. *sigh*
Im gonna get API General Cure but what should i do until i get it? I plan on doing very small water changes maybe every 2 days.

 

Just keep up the water quality to reduce stress, but there aren't any proven "natural" methods of clearing out internal parasites. I'd get the meds asap.

Is he pooping a normal amount? If not, a very small piece of a thawed, deshelled pea can be used for constipation (feed it once), as can epsom salt.

By the way, the whiteness that you are seeing is excess mucus due to intestinal irritation.

 

Yeah, i know the white is mucus. But im not sure if he's pooping normally since i only saw him poop once . . but the poop doesn't come out for a few hours, it's just stuck and then after half an hour it goes away but there's another poop just beginning to come out. :I
He has a little lump on his belly by the way. I think he always had those parasites since he was a little skinny ever since i brought him.
Oh, and also in case i can't find API general cure what are some other medications you recommend?

 

+1 to Kim

Sorry I wasn't on sooner, it's difficult when we're at opposite ends of the world lol.

With the questions I asked, sometimes doing a big move or suddenly changing their diet completely can cause stress which can cause some white feces but they are generally more solid like normal poop, it's just a shock to the system. That's all, but if it's persisting then it's not that at all and more likely the internal parasites.

API StressCoat is a good water conditioner but it's no antiseptic or antibiotics so it won't do anything for his health condition. I agree, best to find some medications for parasites, anything with Praziquantel in it will work.

 

This has been going on for 3 days now, and my fish is a bit lethargic and the poop is more wonky and awkward-looking, so it's internal parasites. I was adding API to hep with his slime coating and stuff.. but anyways, im getting a medication on Thursday. Also, do internal parasites infect the water and ornaments? Im guessing they only stay inside the fish but just making sure..

 

Some parasite eggs can be expelled in the feces, settle in the gravel, hatch into a free-swimming stage, and infect other fish. Don't share any water/equipment between this tank and your healthy ones.

Also, the type of medication depends on the parasites involved. Anything with praziquantel will do cestodes and trematodes (tapeworms and flukes respectively), fenbendazole or levamisole treat nematodes (roundworms), and metronidazole is an antibiotic generally used to treat protozoal infections. Since you don't know what it is, go for a parasite remedy that contains several active ingredients from the list above. I usually make my own since there are none currently available that are comparable to the food that Jungle Labs used to make - it contained prazi, levamisole, and metro all in one).

 

Is API general cure alright?

 

Okay, just found out the ONLY treatment available in Australia for parasites is Serazin, but guess what? It kills snails. -_-
So im gonna move my snails to a different container, but should i use serazin or order API general cure? Please help, i don't know if my betta can hang on for 6 more days!

 

API general cure is ok. It only treats 2 of the 3 broad classes of internal parasites, so there is a chance it won't help if the problem is roundworms. That being said, none of the popular manufacturers include roundworm treatments in their parasite remedies anymore (I'm not sure why this is), so it may be the best you can do aside from mixing your own meds.

I can't find the active ingredients for the sterazine, so I can't comment on its efficacy unfortunately.