Poop eaters???

[Aquacal]

Hey I was wandering is there any animal that will literally eat poop?

 

[bthomas]

Dogs...but theyre not fully aquatic. Seriously though I don't think there is. I always get a laugh at feeding time when all the fish take turns on trying to eat poop. The fish think its food gulp it down then spit it out to the next fish. They think its a big hunk of food(afterall it IS feeding time)...& it goes on from there. Noone ever really eats it though.
A planted tank will help breakdown waste on your substrate,but you'll still need to vacuum around the plants

 

[dmolavi]

Look at the packages on reefcleaners.com . They have snails (I think) that are poop connoisseurs.

 

[bthomas]

Sorry.didnt see this was a saltwater tank question!

 

[bettaowner]

In the wild, scatophagus argus has been known to feed on the feces of humans so it might do the same here.

 

[dmolavi]

Nasty.

But they may cause more poop than they clean:
"The Common Scat is omnivorous and an indiscriminate eater. Food includes vegetables, small animals and debris, and they usually readily take frozen and flake food. They also tend to eat aquarium plants. And due to their eating habit they are quite messy fish, requiring a strong filtration. In seawater, their messy eating habits make buildup of toxic protein decay products a significant issue to be controlled."

(From Scatophagus argus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

 

[Tkey3425]

Some starfish. I'm pretty sure the sand sifter eats it. I had a ton built up on my sand from cycling my 180 and put a sand sifter in and it's gone now. Never changed the flow or anything else and to this day haven't seen a single piece of poo on my sand

 

[Catfish Lover]

Dogs...but theyre not fully aquatic. Seriously though I don't think there is. I always get a laugh at feeding time when all the fish take turns on trying to eat poop. The fish think its food gulp it down then spit it out to the next fish. They think its a big hunk of food(afterall it IS feeding time)...& it goes on from there. Noone ever really eats it though.
A planted tank will help breakdown waste on your substrate,but you'll still need to vacuum around the plants

My black mollies will occasionally eat each others poop. They are pigs

 

[Andy Sager]

I saw a documantary about 3 years ago that stated the Centropyge interruptus ( Japanese Pigmy Angel) was a feces eater due to it's inability to break down and digest certain foods. ( I do have a mental picture of the fish following a wrought Iron Butterfly in the show for this purpose.) Unfortuately, I can't confirm or dispute this as the only 2 interruptus Angels I've ever worked with both died fairly soon after arrival. Maybe this explains it tho?

 

[Aquacal]

A 20 gallon is to small for a San sifter starfish right?

 

[dmolavi]

They get to be about a foot across. You might be able to keep a juvenile, but have plans to re-home it once it gets too big.

 

[Rutrag]

Even animals that eat poop, still poop themselves. My tomini tang actually eats feces.

 

[Ronald Marcelo]

Some starfish. I'm pretty sure the sand sifter eats it. I had a ton built up on my sand from cycling my 180 and put a sand sifter in and it's gone now. Never changed the flow or anything else and to this day haven't seen a single piece of poo on my sand

Agreed... My sand sifting star eats poop lol. However, i'm not sure if he is burying it in my DSB as it goes under? Or it eats it... Regardless poop eaters, if any... Will create poop no? Oh the irony...
I hear halloween hermit crabs enjoy poop.