# goldfish poop.....



## shellyann1971

Hi

Can anyone help

I have 3 goldfish, have had them for 8/10 months now.

Over the past couple of days I have noticed there poop, is getting very very long, longer than there body, is this ok?

I do everything I am suppose to with them, 20% water change etc etc, and the tank is big enough(70ltrs)

thanks

Michelle


----------



## sullivan

MINE USE TO GET THIS SOMETIMES. sOME GOLDFISH ENJOY SOME COOKED PEAS, OR A SMA;; PIEVE OF RAW POTATO BUT DONT LEAVE IT IN THE TANK TO LONG. aRE THIS FANCY GOLDFISH BY THE WAY.


----------



## Fishyfins

if the poop of the fsh is long and drawn out, its usually not too much of a problem in itself, but could be a sign of other things. it could simply be that the fish are bloated, which could be as simple as a dietry problem. what are you feeding the fish? goldfish need a well ballenced diet consisting not only of the generic fish food, but aso greens such as cooked peas, and higher protein snacks such as bloodworm. a varied diet will lead to better health.

the other thing it could be is a sign that the internal workings of the fish are not doing so well, and you may have given a clue that this may be the issue in your post. you say the tank is only 70L? well, im afraid 70L is far from big enough for 3 goldies. what sort of goldfish do you have? fancy goldfish such as orandas and moors require about 40-50L per fish, meaninfor 3 you would need minimum of 120L. standard goldfish such as comets and shubunkins require 90-100L per fish, meaning you would need a tank around the 300L mark. if you dont do something quick, then you will have some serious problems, as they will need this sort of size tank from a young age. if they are not given this spce then their growth will be stalled. sadly, for goldfish, their internal organs dont stop growing when they do, and can get squashed up, leading to a slow deterioration of health, and an early, painful death. the long trailing poops can be an early sign of this. what size are the fish at the moment? at the sort of age yours are they should be about half their adult size. this will mean if they are fancies, they should be about 4-5" long, if they are standard, then about 6" long. any smaller than this will be due to the aforementioned dwarfing, which is not a good thing.


----------



## shellyann1971

Hi

I read that it should be around 20l per fish, and the pet store said the same?
this is why I have 3 fish, and no more, they are your standard goldfish. 
I would say they are around 5/6inch now.
They get flake fish food and blood worms, alternative every two days. 
didnt know they ate cook peas, which I will try on Friday next feed. 
The long poop has only happened the past couple of days, I wonder if it could be the new plants I put in a few days ago? could this be the reason?

thanks

Michelle


----------



## Fishyfins

if they are standard goldfish then you were read and told very wrong. even fancies need twice that much! your gonna need to move then to a much larger tank very soon, or preferably a pond, or you will have some serious problems very soon. dont forget, shops will usually tell you what you want to hear, to sell you stuff. they will tell you the fish need little space, fish then get ill, you go and buy medication, fish die, you buy more fish, fish get ill, you buy medicine..... repeat until either you get lucky survivors, or you give up. if the shops told the truth, the wouldnt make the money off you. but as i say, the accepted minimum requirements stated by the experts are 40L per fancy, or 90L per standard

saying that, they dont seem to be dwarfing as much as i would expect. certainly they are smaller than they should be, but i would expect a lot more dwarfing. it could be due to high protein from the bloodworm, usually when people keep fish in too small a tank, they feed only generic fishfoods and neglect the rest of the diet.


----------

