How did my fish get internal parasites?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo

BichirMohawk

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Oct 7, 2016
208
73
36
Ive only had two fish for about a year that have been disease free. Now one has internal parasites. How did it get them? I only feed them pellets, frozen, and freeze dried.
 
In nature fish will live with internal parasites that won't always take over, if some stress hits then parasites can start working. What fish are we talking about?
 
In nature fish will live with internal parasites that won't always take over, if some stress hits then parasites can start working. What fish are we talking about?
Thanks for the reply. It is an albino bichir around 5 to 6 inches that Ive had for a year disease free and has white feces now. I’ve just started feeding it epsom salt soaked pellets and thawed frozen raw tuna today after reading RDs post.
 
Thanks for the reply. It is an albino bichir around 5 to 6 inches that Ive had for a year disease free and has white feces now. I’ve just started feeding it epsom salt soaked pellets and thawed frozen raw tuna today after reading RDs post.

You need to only feed epsom salt soaked pellets, no other food while it is being treated. The pellets need to be eaten rather quickly otherwise the epsom salt will leave the pellets.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RD. and islandguy11
You need to only feed epsom salt soaked pellets, no other food while it is being treated. The pellets need to be eaten rather quickly otherwise the epsom salt will leave the pellets.
Thank you for that knowledge! I was actually wondering about that and was thinking of bothering RD. It’s difficult for me to get my bichir to eat immediately I try to drop the food in front of it’s nose. I soak the tuna in the 3% epsom salt as I think they may absorb it as well , do you think that’s okay? My bichir can only swallow 1 or 2 mm pellets and chews and spits out 3 mm pellets and gives up on them. I have to chop the tuna up to 2 mm size as well. This may make it even more difficult I feel. Ahhh so frustrating.
 
Last edited:
I only saw white feces hanging out of the bichir and there’s both white and brown poo in the tank everyday which I assumed the brown came from my other fish but I’m not taking chances and am also feeding my other fish, a maybe 4 inch and rather thick leopard ctenopoma epsom soaked 4 mm pellets which it eats immediately as it actually approaches me and begs at the feeding ring and almost eats out of my hand so no problems there. The bichir takes a bit to recognize food in front of it ahhh. Wouldn’t putting epsom salt in the tank water column also work because the bichir eats pellets that soak in the water column with epsom salt in there? RD. RD. please let me know? Would appreciate it a lot.
 
Last edited:
MonsterFishKeepers.com