Guppy parasites

Question
"internal parasites...is often distinquished by the fish having white or continously stringly droppings"

Actually, some of the guppies have had stringy, mostly white droppings. What kind of parasites cause this?

Last month I was in a pet store and noticed two baby guppies in the females' tank. They were so tiny, the clerk let me have them for free. Then a lot of guppies started dying off. It had been a couple of weeks since the babies had joined the tank, so I figured it was unrelated--but I can't think of any other way the gups could have "caught" something.

Do you quarantine new fish before adding them to an established tank?

Answer
Dear Janet,
It is fine for guppies to have occasional stringy white droppings but droppings that are continously like this could indicate a problem. Like internal parasites. I've never dealt with internal parasites in guppies but if you believe your guppies may be ailing with something feel free to let me know and I will do my best to research into it.

Baby guppies are so adorable, but it is possible they could have brought something into your aquarium. Or it could have been coincidence and there is really something enviromentally related or maybe the other guppies just became ill from a weakened immune system.

It is very important to quarantine any new fish before adding them to an established tank. A 10-gallon quarantine tank with heater and filter works well. I would never think that a tiny newborn guppy could bring illness since he hasn't even been alive for very long! But I know it could be possible.

I hope this helps and feel free to write if you have anymore concerns as always!

Best wishes and Happy holidays!
Karen~