Just not seeing the poo

[Rhaethe]

Never thought I'd make a thread about ... poo. But here I go. :11:

I've read through a number of threads here and at other forums about DG's, and there seems to be quite a bit of remarking about their poo and sheer quantity of it.

I'm just not seeing it in my tank. And I think I've only seen mine poo once.

Am I not feeding him enough? I know they can be prone to constipation so I try to limit his feeding ... especially since he's such a greedy gus. I hate to think I'm starving him though :(

[gm72]

How much are you feeding? What kind of food? How often?

[Lady Hobbs]

Depends on what substrate you are using, as well. With sand, poo just lays on top and is very visible. With larger gravels, poo settles down into it and is not so noticeable.

[Rhaethe]

How much are you feeding? What kind of food? How often?

I feed once a day, 7 days a week.

2 of those days, they get TetraVeggie Spirulina flakes. 4 of those days they get Omega One flakes. On day 7, it's (frozen) bloodworm day.

As far as how much, I think it's about the equivalent of 3-5 large unbroken flakes that get broken up into bits.

Lady Hobbs, good to know about the substrate. I have gravel in the tank, currently.

[VoidParadigm]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. If there's no poo then the most likely chance is that it's either settling into the cracks in the gravel, or your filter's getting it quite well.

If you're really worried about constipation, though, just boil your fish a peeled pea.

When my Gouramis were alive they were on a schedule of flakes for five days, treats for one day, and then a day of fasting to make sure they had passed all of the previous week's food.

[Northernguy]

When you do your next water change give the gravel a good deep vacuuming.
This will show you where its all going!lol
Fasting your fish one day a week is good for them and the tank.