View Full Version : Waste build up
marsupialvomit
12-14-2003, 12:35 PM
THERE IS SO MUCH POOP ON THE BOTTOM IT'S GROSS. I cleaned it thruoughly yesterday but today there is still crap on the bottom. Is it possiable for fish to have explosive diharea?. Can anyone reccomend something to help keep waste down.
kveeti
12-14-2003, 12:50 PM
Yes, less feeding!
What kind of fish are we talking about? How many in what size tank? How often and how much are you feeding? Anyhow, food = poop, so first off, I would cut down on feeding, maybe even put them on a 3 day fast for right now and do another gravel vacuum and water change.
marsupialvomit
12-14-2003, 12:59 PM
Yes, less feeding!
What kind of fish are we talking about? How many in what size tank? How often and how much are you feeding? Anyhow, food = poop, so first off, I would cut down on feeding, maybe even put them on a 3 day fast for right now and do another gravel vacuum and water change.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cichlids, 12 in 55, 2 or 3 times a day. 3 days won't kill them?
Yeah, 2 or 3 times a day seems a bit excessive. I only feed my fish once a day, and I have had tanks where I only fed them every other day, depending on the fish and the food. What kind of food are you feeding them? Live food makes more of a mess than flake, and it isn't good to feed them too much live all the time anyway, so if you're using that, try alternating between that and flake. Also, with any food you use, only feed as much as they will consume in a minute or two while you're watching them. Anything more becomes more waste in the tank.
As for three days killing them... No, not at all! Fish are amazing creatures that can "store" what they need to survive (a.k.a. fat reserves) in their bodies for tough times so that a healthy adult fish could actually go a week or more with no food.
My recommendation would be to go a couple days with no food (2 or 3), then feed them ONLY ONCE the day you start feeding them, and go for a week where you feed once every other day, then when they've had a chance to poop out all their excessive waste and you've had a chance to get a handle on it through cleaning you can go back to every day, though only ONCE. :D
Hope that helps! Good luck!
marsupialvomit
12-14-2003, 1:27 PM
thanks guys you've been a big help. Ill try what as40 said to do, but ill move my 2 juvinile to another tank and feed them once a day or twice, i fear doing what im about to do would kill them. i fed them brine shrimp everyday so im going to stop that for now and i only usually fed them flakes. but the reason i kinda overfed at times is because some fish were so totally scared out of their mind taht I was their they wouldn't eat infront of me (I caught them once using a night vision camera).
SayersWeb
12-14-2003, 1:52 PM
I feed my cichlids at least three times a day and have no problems. It does matter what you feed them. I like to mix up their diets, but never feed live food, only frozen, freeze-dried, and pellets.
It may be that your filter system is not strong enough. Are your intake tubes down near the bottom? Also, if your substrate is finer like sand then you will notice more fish waste on top of it. This would not be a bad thing, but you may want to vacuum off the bottom every few days. Should only take a gallon or two of water.
marsupialvomit
12-14-2003, 2:33 PM
the filter part where it sucks everything up is mid way and it looks like the filter is strong i guess.