This may sound silly.. but I have to ask!

[Blackpearl]

Uh.. is it normal for fish to have such long ... p o o p hanging on their ... thing.. ?
I know I overfed, but .. I just wanna make sure it's not a disease :?

 

[An t-iasg]

Not a silly question at all!

If the long stringy poop (I know wish there was a better way to write this!!) is happening frequently, the fish may be constipated. Feeding a pea often relieves the constipation. You wouldn't believe what comes out of my bettas when I feed them a pea! 8O

I use frozen peas. They don't seem to break into mush in the tank water like canned peas. I put just a little tap water in a glass measuring cup, put a few frozen peas in, and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Let cool (I rinse in a splash of RO water but I guess it really isn't necessary), peel the skin (throw away the skin), and feed the pea to the fish. My bettas will only eat the pea if I break it into little pieces like their betta pellet food. But it gets them to accept the pea, and that's what you want. Hope this helps!

 

[Blackpearl]

Thanks An t-iasg
It happens quite regularly that I started to think it's normal...
I've been feeding them fish flakes only, so maybe it's time for a little variation.

 

[An t-iasg]

Hi Blackpearl,

I see in your sig line that you have platies. I have never had platies, but I don't think that the stringy poop hanging off them is normal. I think varying their diet is a good idea. Most fish like bloodworms and daphnia. I have read that daphnia is good for digestive health too, and helps prevent constipation. My bettas like the freeze-dried bloodworms and daphnia from Hikari. Or some lfs have a freezer with cubes or sheets of frozen food. You just break off a piece of the frozen food, thaw it in a cup of tank water, and feed! Hope this helps!

Edit: A clarification on my post about peas: Microwave, cool, peel the skin. Discard the skin, and feed the "meat" of the pea to the fish.

 

[Blackpearl]

Thanks again for the info. Just one last question about the peas.
Should I prepare the peas just before feeding, or can I microwave, cool, peel, and store them in a container, then feed when necessary?

 

[Menagerie]

I usually feed peas to my fish when we have peas with dinner. You could cook them, peel them and store them, but I suggest only for up to a week.
The platies and placo with enjoy the peas!

 

[shawmutt]

Maybe it's just an incorrect generalization, but I always heard if the poop is sticking the fish are being overfed. Are they plump? Put it this way, it's easy to overfeed a fish but difficult to underfeed.