# pooping once a week? help!!



## LuxC (Oct 3, 2010)

My betta fish Riki, is a healthy looking fish with tail regrowth since I bought him and now I think he has an issue with pooping, he only poops once a week? the poop size is pretty large.. i feed him 3-4 pellets, 2 times a day. (morning and night).. Can someone please help me. Does he have constipation? If so what can I do to treat it?


Housing 
What size is your tank? 2.8 Gallons
What temperature is your tank? 81 degrees
Does your tank have a filter? no
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? no
Is your tank heated? yes
What tank mates does your betta fish live with? no one

Food
What type of food do you feed your betta fish? pellets (Hikari)
How often do you feed your betta fish? 3 pellets x 2 times per day

Maintenance 
How often do you perform a water change? 100% once a week
What percentage of the water do you change when you perform a water change? 100%
What type of additives do you add to the water when you perform a water change? ammonia and chlorine neutralizer

Water Parameters:
Have you tested your water? If so, what are the following parameters?

Ammonia: n/a
Nitrite: n/a
Nitrate: n/a
pH: n/a
Hardness: n/a
Alkalinity: n/a

Symptoms and Treatment
How has your betta fish's appearance changed? his fine, acting normal and is active
How has your betta fish's behavior changed? he poops once a week and the size of the poop is large..
When did you start noticing the symptoms? last week
Have you started treating your fish? If so, how? i've just started fasting him today
Does your fish have any history of being ill? he had fungus but healed
How old is your fish (approximately)? 7 months old


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## CrowntailxKing (Mar 18, 2011)

3-4 pellets twice a day might be too much. He could be constipated. Try feeding him some blanched peas to act as roughage to clear his system. Also, do you crush his pellets because I heard before that if you don't they could swell in their stomachs because they swell up in the water.


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## LuxC (Oct 3, 2010)

how many blanched pea's do I feed him? and i'll reduce the amount of pellets next time and no I didn't crush them, but thanks for the advise.. i'll try crush them and feed it to him.. the reason why I fed him 3-4 pellets is because he goes into his feeding corner and looks for more or waits :lol: it's like his asking for some more but now I guess I got to put him on a diet.. and also I bought cubes of frozen bloodworms, any suggestions on how to feed it to him?


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## CrowntailxKing (Mar 18, 2011)

Well, you can feed him like one or two (I'd just go with one since you are fasting him as well). Also, it is their instinct to try and get as much food as they can...you have to remember in the wild it's hard for them to get food so they eat as much as they can when they can. They are little piggies 
You can feed him 3-4 pellets once a day, that's what I do when I feed mine pellets (usually I give him flakes). And as for the bloodworms, what I do is put them in a small bowl of water to dissolve them then pick one up at a time with tweezers and feed them to him like that


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## denaliwind (Feb 27, 2011)

Instead of blanched peas, I feel like that should be a last resort, you should just fast him for 3 days. Then, go back to his regular feeding schedule with one day per week that you don't feed him. And for future feeding, you might want to pre soak the pellets before feeding.

For the frozen food, I keep a cube in a glass jar, feeding time I just take it out, cut a little slice off and put it in a plastic cap and run warm water on it. It defrosts really quickly, then using a skewer (dull side) I drop one piece at a time into their tanks. I get their attention first and then feed them and wait for them to eat the piece before I offer another one. ^^ Have fun, your betta will LOVE those little guys.


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## CrowntailxKing (Mar 18, 2011)

denaliwind said:


> Instead of blanched peas, I feel like that should be a last resort, you should just fast him for 3 days. Then, go back to his regular feeding schedule with one day per week that you don't feed him. And for future feeding, you might want to pre soak the pellets before feeding.
> 
> For the frozen food, I keep a cube in a glass jar, feeding time I just take it out, cut a little slice off and put it in a plastic cap and run warm water on it. It defrosts really quickly, then using a skewer (dull side) I drop one piece at a time into their tanks. I get their attention first and then feed them and wait for them to eat the piece before I offer another one. ^^ Have fun, your betta will LOVE those little guys.


I heard it was healthy to feed blanched peas to your Betta :/ Also I heard that pre-soaking them makes them lose their nutritious value.


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

This is not entirely true. You can pre soak, or space out the feedings more evenly.

3-4 twice a day is too much.

AND NO. NO PEAS.

Peas do more harm than good IMO/E. I would not do them, even as a last resort.

Like said, you should fast the fish for at least 3 days. Keep an eye on the poop.

Here's a tip for pooping, try showing him a mirror for about 5 minutes every other day. Sometimes males poop when they see another male, which will speed things up. It worked for me and a few others, and might help you too.


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## CrowntailxKing (Mar 18, 2011)

PewPewPew said:


> This is not entirely true. You can pre soak, or space out the feedings more evenly.
> 
> 3-4 twice a day is too much.
> 
> ...


What's wrong with peas? On another note, mine pooped when he saw a female as well! so perhaps it's just another Betta in general


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## denaliwind (Feb 27, 2011)

PewPewPew said:


> Here's a tip for pooping, try showing him a mirror for about 5 minutes every other day. Sometimes males poop when they see another male, which will speed things up. It worked for me and a few others, and might help you too.


It's true, I've witnessed my bettas do it. XD


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

CrowntailxKing said:


> What's wrong with peas? On another note, mine pooped when he saw a female as well! so perhaps it's just another Betta in general


Lots of things, I just explained to another member too, so I can forward the message XD

And Im sure- Ive just never had that happen because Alle just flirts and gets all cute when there's a female around. Oy, this kid. He kills me sometimes <3


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## LuxC (Oct 3, 2010)

Thanks for the advice guys!!, all of you helped and I'll try fast him for 3 days now.. so no feeding him for 3 days? oh god it's going to be a pain to be unable to feed him T_T  but oh wells, I'll listen to your advices.. and yeah I have witnessed Riki pooping when I flashed the mirror in front of him once! I'll take that advice to mind and do it.. 

BTW one last question.

Is it okay if the window is 2m away from his tank (direct sunlight) not too bright? His got a dark spot in his tank to hide if needed.


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## CrowntailxKing (Mar 18, 2011)

I don't think direct sunlight is good for them.


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## PewPewPew (Nov 26, 2010)

They dont overly like it, like if it was all day. Its sort of annoying. But, if you truly think he has enough shade, then it shouldnt be to bad. Id say move it away if you can, though. Or make sure he doesnt get too too much. Yoy might also get algae, which is a pain if it gets bad enough.


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## LuxC (Oct 3, 2010)

quick update, my fish hasn't pooped yet and it's the 2nd day and im so eager to feed him.. can i start feeding him tomorrow? or later on in the evening?


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## CrowntailxKing (Mar 18, 2011)

I know how you feel...I always feel guilty trying to fast them for even one day -_-


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## LuxC (Oct 3, 2010)

okay it's been almost another week since i done the 3 days fasting and still not pooping T_T his in fine shape, looks healthy and everything.. active.. only lays down for alittle bit to rest up, sleeps well at night and eats like a piggy? any other ideas to make him poop? its almost 2 weeks and no poop T_T i've tried using the mirror trick and all.. today im going to fast him for 1 day.. ANY OTHER IDEAS PLS HELP IM OUT OF IDEAS!!

p.s. maybe i should switch foods?


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