Goldfish Poop: constipation, overfeeding, fasting, etc.

[PatriciaH]

Hello! 

I have two goldfish, Firebolt and Carol Queen of the Coral. We just got them three weeks ago and I've been feeding them pellets. I've been feeding a pinch twice a day, and recently Carol had a long dark brown poop so, at the advice of the internet, I let her fast for a day, then fed her a pinch of pellets. Then the next morning I noticed she and Firebolt were eating the live plants in the aquarium. That night (tonight) she had a long stringy green plant-looking poop. What do I do? More fasting? Is eating the plant bad for her? 

I have two little girls 3 and 7 who have grown really attached so I want to make sure I'm being proactive and doing what's best for these fishies. 
Thank you to everyone!

[Colu]

I have a 12 in comet goldfish I feed a combination of repashy super gold spirulina flakes and de-shelled peas as well as bug bites goldfish pellets and once or twice a week frozen blood worms or brine shrimp and duck weed  a good variety of foods will stop them eating your plants  

[StanF]

Goldfish like to constantly forage for food and are omnivorous so don't worry if they ate some of the plants, it won't harm them.

If you want to know if your feeding your goldfish the correct amount, look at thier poop.  If your overfeeding, the poop will be long, solid, and hanging down from the fish.  If your underfeeding then the poop could be stringy and clear/white.  When your feeding the correct anount, their poop will be the same color as their food, firm and break off in small pieces.

Another rule of thumb that I use is to feed them a couple of mouthfuls each meal.  I feed Repashy Super Gold as my main feed and I cut it into bite size chunks that the fish can get entirely in their mouths in one bite.  I give them a few minutes to chew it up and then feed them another bite.  If your feeding them pellets, then feed them enough to fill up their mouths once or twice.  You will know when their mouth is full because they stop foraging to "chew" for a few minutes.

A final word of advice:  I also stressed out over how much to feed my goldfish when I first started out.  I was so worried about overfeeding them that I was actually underfeeding them.  If you believe everything you read on the internet, overfeeding is the most deadly thing you can do to goldfish, and this is flat out untrue.  It is not the amount of food that you feed them, it is how often you change the water to keep the water parameters in check. The more food you give them, the more they poop and the more ammonia/nitrite/nitrates they produce.  You have to REALLY overfeed them to cause bloating or constipation.  They are little eating and pooping machines!

Please reply if you have more questions.

StanF

 

[Flumpweesel]

My goldfish demanded two feeds a day (mainly flake they liked the red ones best) if I missed a feed or they thought I was late all the plants live or plastic where uprooted and any hardscape moved.

As mentioned above with these fast growers it's quite hard to overfeed and the advice is more about feeding less to persevere water quality.  Maybe get a more veggie food and alternate to keep their digestive systems in order. Mine wouldn't eat peas but loved algae wafers.

[PatriciaH]

Thank you so much everyone! I test the water weekly and nitrate levels are low and under control.  

Is it a good idea to make them fast for a day or two so their digestive systems can normalize? Or should I simply keep feeding them but change the amount/type?

[StanF]

No need to put them on a fast. Make some small changes to the way you feed them and monitor them for a couple days.  You'll be fine - goldfish are very hardy!

Keep us posted 😀

StanF

[PatriciaH]

Hey StanF: 

I've been experimenting with how many pellets I've been feeding my fish, and the frequency. Since my last post, I started watching them eat from the top of the water, swim down and "chew", like you said and then go up for another mouthful, for a total of two mouthfulls, then I don't feed them any more pellets.  For a few days following, that seemed to still result in a long hard poop trail. So I reduced their feeding to one mouthful, once a day, and that seemed to be the perfect amount for about three days. Then Carol (the smaller of the two) had a super long (4 inches!) white stringy poop trail, which I read was a sign of underfeeding. So that day I gave her two mouthfulls at her regular feeding, and continued that amount for two days, watching her every day. Then she produced another long hard poop.  So the past three days I've gone back to one mouthful, and today she's got another long hard poop. 

I can't seem to find a good balance, and I'm getting pretty frustrated!  Maybe she's just a unique fish that has different poops than other fish? 

 

[StanF]

Hi @PatriciaH.  I know how frustrating it can be sometimes.  And yes, every fish can be different.  One of my oranda's doesn't do well on pellets while the other one doesn't have any issues at all with the same exact food.

In your case, I would be a little more patient before changing how much you are feeding them.  A day or even three days may not be enough to have a good idea if the changes are having the desired effect.  Be consistent for a week or two with the feedings before you make additional changes.   If things are still not coming together after a few weeks, you could also try a different brand of fish food.  I really like the Repashy Solid Gold gel food.  Hikari and X-treme also make good pellet and flake foods.

Keep us posted!

StanF

[PatriciaH]

On 2/24/2022 at 8:08 PM, StanF said:

Hi @PatriciaH.  I know how frustrating it can be sometimes.  And yes, every fish can be different.  One of my oranda's doesn't do well on pellets while the other one doesn't have any issues at all with the same exact food.

In your case, I would be a little more patient before changing how much you are feeding them.  A day or even three days may not be enough to have a good idea if the changes are having the desired effect.  Be consistent for a week or two with the feedings before you make additional changes.   If things are still not coming together after a few weeks, you could also try a different brand of fish food.  I really like the Repashy Solid Gold gel food.  Hikari and X-treme also make good pellet and flake foods.

Keep us posted!

StanF

Thank you StanF! That's super helpful. Good to know that fish can be individuals just like other pets! 

[PatriciaH]

Things have been going well, and I think I've found a good balance. 

In another topic: has anyone heard of adding baking soda to the water to increase calcium hardness? I know products like Wonder Shell are used to add hardness, but a friend told me she used baking soda instead.