Goldfish poo trouble. Sorry its kinda gross!

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freakinfishgeek

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 22, 2010
Messages
25
Location
Oregon
I have fan tail goldfish that is around 1 year old. I have had her for nearly 8 months and she has been the poor fish i learned with. She has been through allot but for the last 5 months she has been super healthy in a well cycled 10 gallon tank. I moved her to a 45 gallon tank that had been cycled well about two weeks ago. I brought her proginal filter with her to be sure all was well. Her water is testing perfectly and she has really been thriving. I noticed however that the night I put her in her new tank she had three or four really long thick sausage poos. Not ab normal for her but just allot. I contributed it to stress and kept and eye on her. Since then she has been having these encredibly long thick poops very often. In her old tank I would acctually see her poo maybe a few times a week. Now its a few times a day. I have not increased the amount of food she gets and the tank has no other living inhabitants. I finally decided to ask for advice because this morning I notice a long stringy clear and white poo that looked ab normal it was curled and un even. It stayed attatched to her for hours and now she has another poo comming out. Its like thin and clear on the end but as it gets closer to her its more like normal. What the heck? I usually fast her for 24 hours once a week should I up this? I am a newbie so this makes no sense to me. Please advise!:rolleyes:
 
Sounds normal to me. Goldfish are high bio-load fish and poo alot. They are just like plecos IMO.
 
Peas will work, but so will all sorts of veggies. Having long thick poop isn't really normal for goldfish. normal goldfish poo should be short fat chunks that breaks up in the water quickly, so you almost never see it attached to the fish.

Not having enough veggies is the #1 cause of constipation. Feeding veggies at least a couple times a week is a good idea.

Another reason may be temperature. Low temp will cause goldfish to get very constipated. Generally, you should not be feeding goldfish when the temp is less than 60. Some fancies will get gut problem when the temp is in the 60's. It is worth checking the temp, esp. for daily swings (and have a heater set on low 70's in cold climate).

The white thin poop may indicate an intestinal infection. However, I would give the veggies cure a try first before getting too excited. Esp. if the fish is otherwise normal.
 
What about trying Brine Shrimp? They are a natural laxative. Does sound normal that it is stringy, but they do poop a lot! Good choice on moving it up to a 45 gallon tank!
 
Try shelled peas or the flower part of blanched broccoli, and I agree goldfish are poop machines that is one reason they needs a big tank like yours was lucky enough to get. Try some Anacharis they love that too.
 
I have heard if the fish is having prolems pooing, try feeding half a blanched pea. Anyone else heard of this method?

I used the pea method on my fancy goldfish last week - worked wonders for my guy, who had a lot of gas (he kept floating to the top of the tank). He had like six ginormous poops within 24 hours, and then all was well. Someone else on the boards explained to me that the pea acts like a laxative of sorts and helps the fish clean out its intestinal tract. Yay for peas! (y)
 
Thanks I will try the peas today. I do feed veggis twice a week. I'm getting a bit concerned though cause she has had this 4 inch lony skinny strong of poo attatched for almost 24 hours. That is not normal. Could I be over feeding the flakes? I'm thinking of going to a homeade gell and sinking pellets. FYI I started freeze dries bring shrimp right before the whole po
o problem started. Could that be the cause? I
 
Freeze dried foods do cause problems but usually after it is stopped things get back to normal. If you use freeze dried in the future always soak it in some water or vitamins. Flake foods may have to much protein for goldfish to really digest well without a good healthy helping of vegetables often.
 
I forgot to mention in my earlier reply, I use Aquatrol's Spirulina 20 for my goldfish. Allthough it is not a 'goldfish' flake food, my fancys stopped having problems like the ones you are experiencing and also the swim bladder problems that you may also see. I also feed mine frozen daphnia, bloodworms, and brine shrimp soaked in Kent's Zoe twice to three times a week. The vitamin regiment and food variations keep the fish healthy and much more colorful. Hope that helped.
 
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