Been reading but can't find an answer...

T

twoksmom

AC Members
Mar 12, 2006
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Okay, we are new to fish, we have 29 gal. tropical FW tank going, planted.
So the tank was just sitting cycling for three wks with just the plants. So yesterday we took our daughter to the fish store with a list of fish that we would consider. We got just 5 fish to start with and some ghost shrimp. Getting to the point we have 2 zebra danio's and 2 glowlight tetras and one honey dwarf gourami. Well my question is in regards to the honey dwarf gourami, tonight I was watching the tank and noticed it has a long (approx. 3 inches) poo. Is this a problem? I have been scanning message boards reading as much as possible since we set up the tank... I thought I read somewhere that someone thought a long poo had something to do with a fishes death. I can't find where I read that or I'd start there looking for an answer. Sorry for such a silly question.. but if it is the sign of a possible problem what else should I be looking for in this fish? Thanks... Michele
 
Thank You ...LOL.. so I take it I'm just being a bit paranoid. I just remember scanning a message somewhere out there in webspace with someone writing about their fish being dead and the only thing they saw was a long trail of poo. So I really got worried because my daughter is mostly attached to that one fish.. why I have no idea but she loves it.
 
Usually it is associated with constipation. Feed the fish very little for a few days(if at all) and afterwards, try feeding them some cooked peas(without the skins) or a good veggie/spirulina flake.
 
I'm no expert but my gourami lived a long life, so did the pleco I mentioned. I think it's just one of those things that happens once in a while when you eat a lot of food.. Or if you have any military experience, after spending a good week eating MRE's.
 
Sometimes long poo is a sign of internal parasites.....but not always, so don't panic....lol.....

Once in awhile one of my fish will occassionally drag one of those around, but only occasionally.....I make a mental note about it and take a good look at the fish to be sure all is well....but it never amounts to anything.

If they start loosing wieght and getting a sunken belly, then it's something to worry about...but if they're eating well and seem healthy I wouldn't be concerned....
 
As Emg noted :)

Also, take into account the color of the feces as well as their consistancy. If the color is white-ish, stringy and thin, rather than more the color of what they have been eating and "thick", then you may have a problem.

I never actually seen the pleco defecating, just the mounds of feces it leaves. Reminds me of a horse in that it likes to go in the same spot all the time.

Platys! Man, talk about feces! Huge, thick, long strings of feces. Now THAT is gross :eek:

Roan
 
Thank you all... The fish is new, however it looks good at this time I did notice one more of the fish had a long trail. Both fish's trails were fish food colored so that is a good sign. I'll just keep watching the fish.

We did lose a ghost shrimp today, not sure what happened to it but it was dead tonight when I was looking at the tanks.
 
you probably didn't loose a ghost shrimp unless it was a pink hunk of shrimp

they molt as they grow and leave little exo-skeletons laying around

make sure you read about cycling in the article corner of this forum

the three weeks you had the tank running without fish it was not cycling unless youwere adding amonia

you'll need a basic understanding of the nitrogen cycle to keep those fish alive

and make sure to do weekly waterchanges and gravel vacumes
 
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