A beginner's guide to feces and digestion

[wandg]

I'm totally clueless about fish poop and I need some guidance. What's normal when it comes to shapes, colors, and length? Is it okay if it looks like thin links of sausage? I've also heard people talk about stringy poop - what does that even mean? And is it normal for poop to be stuck to the fish's butt as it swims around? I'd really appreciate your input on this.

[graye]

I'm guessing you're not just asking out of morbid curiosity, but I suppose it's possible you want to be the life of the party with your newfound knowledge of fish poop.

Poop Rules, as I like to call them, are pretty much made to be broken - they vary greatly from one fish to another, depending on their diet. A herbivore's poop will be worlds apart from an insectivore's, for instance. What I do is keep an eye out for changes in poop patterns, especially if the diet hasn't changed. I'm also on the lookout for stringy or sausage-link type poop, but to be honest, I'm not always sure what it means, so I have to watch for other symptoms. More often than not, these symptoms come and go without any major issues.

Stringy waste, if you can imagine, looks like an empty sausage casing trailing behind the fish. It's a bit of an odd sight, but it's not always a cause for concern.

I've dealt with my fair share of parasites over the years - threadworms from breeder-raised fish, Camallanus from store-bought ones, and the occasional bout of white gutworms in wild-caught fish. But I digress.

One thing I've noticed is that whenever I'm trying to take a photo of a group of platys or swords, at least one of them will inevitably be dragging a long, dark-coloured poop behind it, just as the one I want to capture is posing perfectly in focus. It's almost as if they have a sixth sense for ruining the shot.

[coltin]

You're all a bunch of weirdos, I'm telling you.
I mean, we're discussing fish poop like it's the most fascinating thing in the world. Anyway, I guess it's somewhat interesting.

Normal poop is usually brown, black, red, or green. The color mainly depends on what your fish eats. If they eat green stuff, their poop will be green. If they eat brown stuff, their poop will be brown. Some commercial fish foods have dyes that can change the poop color.

If your fish eats a lot of plant-based foods, their poop should be green. But, if it's white, that's a bad sign. White poop can mean internal bacterial or protozoan infections, or even intestinal worms.

There's this one link that explains how to tell these problems apart.

Fish can do stringy white poop for a few reasons. One reason is internal bacterial infections. This causes the fish to stop eating, get all bloated, breathe heavily, and eventually die.

Stringy white poop is basically white poop that hangs off the fish's butt for a while before dropping off.

I'm done talking about fish poop now. You're all weirdos.

[wandg]

You're all a bunch of weirdos, I'm telling you.
I mean, we're discussing fish poop like it's the most fascinating thing in the world. Anyway, I guess it's somewhat interesting.

Normal poop is usually brown, black, red, or green. The color mainly depends on what your fish eats. If they eat green stuff, their poop will be green. If they eat brown stuff, their poop will be brown. Some commercial fish foods have dyes that can change the poop color.

If your fish eats a lot of plant-based foods, their poop should be green. But, if it's white, that's a bad sign. White poop can mean internal bacterial or protozoan infections, or even intestinal worms.

There's this one link that explains how to tell these problems apart.

Fish can do stringy white poop for a few reasons. One reason is internal bacterial infections. This causes the fish to stop eating, get all bloated, breathe heavily, and eventually die.

Stringy white poop is basically white poop that hangs off the fish's butt for a while before dropping off.

I'm done talking about fish poop now. You're all weirdos.

Thanks for the crash course. I feel like I've learned something new today. No exam needed, I'm just glad I can now identify normal fish poop.

[coltin]

Next week, I'll be expecting a pop quiz on fish poop.

[belleora]

In my line of work, I've come across a fascinating medical chart that deciphers the meanings behind different human poop types - it's astonishing how much insight it can offer into someone's health. I'm not suggesting we should all become obsessed with the subject, like a certain TV personality, but the Bristol Stool Chart is a widely used tool in hospitals and care homes.

During my time working in nursing homes, I recall each commode washing room having a poster of the Bristol Stool Chart, which helped us note any unusual findings in a patient's care file. I won't share an image of it here, but it's easily accessible online.

While the Bristol Stool Chart isn't directly relevant to fish poop, I have noticed issues with my own fish in the past. For instance, when I purchased livebearers from a store, they came with worms. In my first tank, I had nerite snails that fed on bogwood and algae, producing an alarming amount of waste - far more than the fish. I'm not a fan of nerite snails, despite their appealing appearance, as they're essentially poop machines. They also laid sticky, hard-to-remove eggs everywhere, which sealed the deal for me - no more nerites.

[coltin]

I've got a hypothetical question - say, a fish hasn't produced any poop in a year. What's wrong with it? Doc says "it's probably deceased".