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View Full Version : any photos of normal discus poop?



lksdrinker
04-17-2015, 10:07 AM
I've seen plenty of photos showing white, stringy, discus poop which is an obvious sign/indication of a problem. I've got a few discus which all seem active, healthy and all have voracious appetites. But I sometimes notice a few of them have very long poop hanging from them. Does not appear white or slimy at all, just quite long. Its almost as if the fish cant quite finish expelling it completely and it hangs from the body for a while. Anyone have photos of what healthy discus poop should look like?

Solid
04-17-2015, 10:30 AM
I've never taken a picture of my discus poop, lol, but it might not be a bad idea for new discus owners to see. I have noticed their poop can look different depending on what I am feeding. When I was feeding live blackworms their poop was thick and very sticky. It would stick to the background, rocks and wood. In general I would say normal poop should be completely black, 1-3 mm thick and 3-10mm long. Occasionally it can be a bit longer, but its unusual. In my experience it shouldn't hang from the body for very long, maybe 1-2 minutes while they push it out.

lksdrinker
04-17-2015, 11:11 AM
LOL...I guess it is an odd request! Had to go convert from metric; but I'd say the poop I sometimes see is easily 35-50 mm long. Its dark (between a dark brown and black); doesnt seem to stick to anything though. I guess it is completely expelled within 3-5 minutes. Still seems odd to me that it gets so long though. I do feed pretty heavily as they are young fish so maybe that contributes to the size. I suppose since I've had the fish for about 6 months and its showed no other problems then I've got nothing to worry about.

Solid
04-17-2015, 11:28 AM
Yea, I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you see other signs. Maybe someone else can chime in. What kind of food are you feeding?

lksdrinker
04-17-2015, 11:52 AM
mostly beefheart flake. Sometimes freeze dried bloodworms, frozen bloodworms, frozen beefheart, freeze dried tubifex worms, cobalt discus pellets (or sticks or whatever they're called). (which brings me to another question...are the freeze dried tubifex worms safe to use? The fish LOVE it but I'm afraid to continue using it based on things I've read).

Solid
04-17-2015, 12:01 PM
I have also used them in the past with no issues, however stopped using them based on the same stuff that you probably read. That they have heavy metals and are not very good nutritionally.