# So what does healthy Betta poop look like, anyway?



## jriley

It's not an emergency--I don't think. My previous Betta apparently had internal parasites, so his poop didn't look right. Now I have a new Betta, who seems healthy, but I'm trying to avoid previous mistakes. So--today's question: what does *healthy* Betta poop look like, anyway?:-? Thanks for all info!


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## Bettas are Betta

Im pretty sure healthy betta poop first starts as a stringy thingy then when it gets to the bottom of the tank its usually a lumpy bumpy thing. So in other words... round. LOL


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## bettalover2033

WOW!! i never thought i would see a thread like this lol but its a question that needs to be answered,

It looks like a Cinnamon bun lol


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## Bettas are Betta

A really really tiny cinnamon bun! LOL The colour sometimes is mostly red ish brown but it depends what he eats.


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## jriley

*I know you think my question is funny, but it is dead serious*. My very first fish--a beautiful orange-red fantailed betta--died over a month ago. I hadn't had him very long, but took good care of him, so his mysterious death was particularly upsetting. His feces, as it turns out, should have alerted me that he had internal parasites...but since I diidn't know what normal feces (as in poop) looked like, I didn't even list that as a symptom of whatever illness it was that was killing him. No one asked, either--maybe poop is too funny to talk about? And he died from my lack of knowledge... 

But so I'll know better with my new Betta--and so maybe someone else won't make the same mistake I did--I asked the question. For those of you who took me seriously--thank you. I'd STILL like a honest answer to my question. Thanks again.


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## bettalover2033

Hey no need to get protective i took it serious i answered your question and all i was saying was that its kind of funny to actually discuss poop.maybe if you actually told the whole backround then someone would know exactly how serious it had to be! 

Everyone had a betta die before im sure, but no need to get mad at me for not knowing how serious discussing poop had to be! like i said if i had know the reason why i had to be really seriouse then maybe i could have desribed it in a more formal way i was having a good day so i wanted to make some one smile as i was by making a joke and still having to inform them of what they are seeking! 

See i can be very formal and i can be very informal, im sure you have had some slips like this one, not exactly like this but made a few mistakes. so sorry about your fish and just try to be a little more positive. even though you are right about how serious it can be, i kind of took that remark really offensive because it reall wasnt that serious. You even said it yourself " THIS ISNT MUCH OF AN EMERGENCY" or something like that!


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## Adastra

Normal betta poop tends to be rounded and brown to orange-ish, depending on the color of the food. The poop should be in small clumps, not necessarily spiral shaped--probably about as big as a grain of rice. If the poop is long and stringy, translucent, white, or vibrantly colored, it's a sign that there may be something amiss. If the poop is large and round, getting up to the size of a pea, the fish was constipated.

This question is definitely a valid one.


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## FuulieQ

This is kind of gross, but maybe it would help to have photos of healthy vs. diseased poop in the betta disease sticky? 

It's distasteful, but I imagine it would help tons of people to have photos.... just as with other diseases such as ich or velvet. It's hard to find photos online of sick fish that are properly diagnosed.


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## bettalover2033

FuulieQ said:


> This is kind of gross, but maybe it would help to have photos of healthy vs. diseased poop in the betta disease sticky?
> 
> It's distasteful, but I imagine it would help tons of people to have photos.... just as with other diseases such as ich or velvet. It's hard to find photos online of sick fish that are properly diagnosed.


I agree.
Yes it is hard, But you have to dig deep!


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## davyj0427

When a living thing gets sick the first sign of such an illness is found in the everyday processes of life, one being excretions. I a hospital you wouldn't imagine how much "poop" is collected and analysed to try and discover what is wrong. I think the best thing for people to do is spend time with there fish and get to know how it acts and eats and poops. Then when something is wrong you will know it right away. Poop is not gross just a normal function of life, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't say Ewe if I stepped in some.


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## jriley

My concern was someone's Betta having to suffer because a person "new" to aquarium life is embarrassed to ask a question--or doesn't know what question to ask in the first place. Thanks to those who took me seriously, I now have very useful information to refer to--and maybe it will help someone else, too. Thanks!


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## dramaqueen

I think your question is very legitimate . If the poop isn't normal then it could be a sign of illness. I'm so sorry your fish died.


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## Cassandy

*How do internal parasites present in Bettas?*



jriley said:


> It's not an emergency--I don't think. My previous Betta apparently had internal parasites, so his poop didn't look right. Now I have a new Betta, who seems healthy, but I'm trying to avoid previous mistakes. So--today's question: what does *healthy* Betta poop look like, anyway?:-? Thanks for all info!



Can you tell me what the parasites looked like or any symptoms.. something's wrong with my poor Luda and I'm not sure but I'm about out of options.


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## dramaqueen

The most common sign of internal parasites is white, stringy poop.


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## Cassandy

uh oh... what is the treatment for it?


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## baylee767

Sorry to ask a question in a thread... but it is on topic.

Neon's aren't NEARLY as big as Adastra said.

There's usually a dozen little Betta poops about the size of a medium-large grain of sand. VERY tiny. And I do water changes once a week... what the heck is wrong?


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## Cassandy

Hey Drama,

What's the healthiest way to treat and prevent intestinal parasites?


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## dramaqueen

Maracide and Clout are the only things I know of that treat parasites. Jungle makes an anti parasite food. It might work if you can get your fish to eat it. Also, garlic is good for treating parasites, from what I've read.


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## Cassandy

garlic sounds like wicked a cool little trick! 

Thank you SO much Drama!


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## dramaqueen

You're welcome.


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## Bruce2015

*Bruce's Poop*

Is this healthy?









I need to know if this is healthy poop from my male betta. He eats on a regularly basis, he some what of an active fish. He seems to be fine overall.


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## Siee

Hi  I actually ran over your betta poop picture by a really random coincidence but I'm glad I did. I'm actually just starting out with Bettas too and only got my first one in September. The people on this site are great and have actually been really nice so far. I always got fast responses from everyone too. But...the reason I'm writing you right now is because since you posted on an old thread you probably won't get any answers to your picture. You should start a new thread (post a new question) or join a recent one and then I'm sure you'll get the answers you're looking for. In the future to help get you fast answers if you're going to post something make sure to read the date of the original post and most recent post on the thread your on and most of the time you'll notice they're sometimes years old. Example is the post right before yours was from 2010. That means basically that the thread is a good reference to read but that no one will probably answer your question there. Sorry. I just want to make sure you get the best and quickest answers to anything (poo or otherwise) you need to know about your fishy in the future. I hope this helps


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## MrPink

Hi -- I just came across this picture randomly too! I too am new to bettas and I have been looking on line for pictures of "normal" poop because one of my bettas seems to be prone to getting constipated. Recently, he looked constipated again, so I fasted him for a day, and the next day I found something that looked very much like your photo above (maybe a little bigger). Anyway, he seems fine now so I'm assuming that's pretty normal-looking for betta poop.


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