Siamese fighting fish, commonly known as the Betta fish, is native to Asia and is a beautiful inclusion to any office tank or home. They are robust and are easy to take care of. Yes, there are certain health conditions such as dropsy, common for Betta fish, but easy solutions to overcome that.
Betta pooping is also a point of concern when you want to take proper care of your fish’s health. You can determine if your Betta fish is in good health or not by just observing their poop. Read along with the guide so that you understand Betta pooping. The poops of these fish are very tricky to spot around in the aquarium.
This article will act as your handbook to understand how the Betta fish poops, what it looks like, and how to identify if the poop is normal or has health adversities.
Table of Contents
Do Betta Fish Poop? Why Can’t You See Betta Fish Pooping?
It won’t be wrong to say that you haven’t seen your Betta fish poop in the tank. So, in that case, you might be wondering if your Betta fish poops or not. Unfortunately, there is a very small hole right in front of their anal fin from where they excrete. Therefore, it becomes very difficult for humans to realize when their Betta fish are pooping.
Over time, you will see a small build-up around their favorite toileting spot around the tank. You cannot immediately notice their poop every day, as they are very small and next to invisible. Unless they accumulate at one place to build up a pile, you cannot realize that your Betta is even pooping.
The Pooping Habits of Betta Fish
Betta fish are secretive poopers. They want privacy while pooping and pick a specified spot around the tank. They mostly pick the area that is well planted or head out to the corner of the tank. So, the next time you see your Betta fish heading straight behind the reeds or live plants, they are not just wishing for alone time but for poop time.
Poop or Pellets?
At times, with this lack of visibility for the Betta pooping, you might think that your fish isn’t eating anything and is therefore not pooping frequently. But this is not the case. Most of the time, Betta poops look just like the food they have eaten. Therefore, if you frequently spot the food items sunk to the bottom of the tank over the pebbles, then they might not be food pellets but Betta poops.
What Does Betta Fish Poop Look Like?
If you have other fish in your tank along with your Betta fish, it might be difficult for you to realize which poop belongs to which fish. Keeping an eye on the poop of your fish will eventually help you monitor their optimal health aspects. Knowing the poop color and shape, you can eventually distinguish their excreta in your tank of multiple fish.
Colour and Shape
Betta poop is not the same as any other fish poop. The fish poop of others is easy to identify, as they are probably the long brown stingy goo that excretes from that of the anal canal of the fish. But the Betta poop is more pellet shaped and is mostly reddish-brown. It always stays at the bottom of the fish tank.
Betta Fish Poop Size
Even though Betta poop looks similar to food pellets, the size of these droppings is small. Therefore, you need to keep a keen eye on the tank to spot the single poop amongst everything else within it. But as Betta fish goes to poop to only one place within the tank, it becomes easy for you to take note of a pile of poop or solid build-up, rather than looking for single and small droppings.
How Can You Tell If There’s Something Wrong With Your Betta From Their Poop?
The healthy poop size, color, and shape are described above. If the poop of your Betta fish is looking any different than that, then it might be an indication that your fish buddy needs a little help. Like humans, the Bettas also go through constipation problems, stomach upsets, and diarrhea.
These health conditions affect the look of your fish’s defecation. Therefore, it becomes important for you to track the health of your Betta fish by monitoring their solid excretion. Below are some of the unhealthy Betta pooping types that indicate they need medical attention. Apart from that, you will also get a glimpse into how you can make your Betta fish exercise.
Stringy Poop
If your Betta fish is passing brown-colored stools that are stringy in texture, it is probably an evident sign of constipation. In contrast to the research, fish experience constipation problems due to hydration through the diet, resulting from overfeeding, as it is a problem triggering stringy poop.
Large Globular Poop
It is yet another possible sign of constipation in Betta fish. If you observe the fish’s poop to be larger than that of the usual size of a pellet, then it is a possible outcome of overfeeding and dehydration. Therefore, Betta fish needs, the correct amount of exercise, and a good diet for overcoming constipation problems.
Betta Fish Exercise
You cannot manually make them exercise; they exercise throughout their day by swimming around the tank. Exercising is part of their natural behavior in the water. But if you find your Betta fish lethargic and not exercising by swimming around the tank, the problem might be something else.
Lethargic Betta fish are considered sick and might be constipated due to the lack of many movements. Hence, this aspect is possibly a side effect for something much worse. Talk with the vet if you notice any behavioral changes in your fish. For example, you can add toys to the tank or get them to flare to encourage them to exercise.
White or Pale Poop
You should keep proper food habits for your Betta and then observe their health aspects. If they are still passing while stringy and pale poop, it is a probable symptom of parasites. If that is the case, you should immediately seek a check-up and treatment for your Betta fish.
Internal Parasites
The white poop of Betta fish is the poop that has no food in it. In such conditions, the Betta fish often passes white stringy stools. It is mucus from the digestive tract. The food that is present within the excretion is not ingested by the Betta or eaten by parasites. If there is a parasite problem, the entire tank needs to be cleaned up, and your fish needs medical attention.
Watery Brown Poop
Watery brown poop is when Betta fish expels more water from the pooping region than the pellets. If that is the symptom, it indicates diarrhea as the prime problem. It is a brownish white watery poop that vanishes away in the water. Therefore, it becomes hard to spot, but you need to look for it if you haven’t witnessed any pellet poop in 12 hours or more.
Bad Diet or Bad Infection?
Betta pooping is unusual and has some texture, color, or quantity deformities; it is mostly due to a bad diet or infection. Diarrhea in in Betta fish is treatable, and its severity depends upon its cause. You can always look out for symptoms while the infections develop inside betta fish. You can pick a proper diagnosis for your betta fish by citing these symptoms.
It is possible that the food you are giving them is of poor quality, or you are feeding them too many treats. You can seek their cure by changing their food habits and reducing the treats.
If your fish is getting a good diet but is still pooping watery, it is due to bacterial infection. If that is the case, it is better to seek vet care for proper diagnosis and treatment for your Betta fish.
What Colour Should Betta Fish Poop Be?
The color of Betta fish’s poop is mostly stated as reddish-brown. But with some fish, this color can vary to be dark brown, offish red, and tan. In addition, food coloring is also seen in Betta food, which possibly affects the color of the poop. But this food coloring has no adversities upon the health concerns of the fish.
What Does Different Colour Poop Mean?
The change in color of your Betta fish’s poop might indicate some underlying health problems in the fish. However, it might be due to several factors. The fish don’t need to be going through some health problems in response to a change in poop color. A change in diet routine or introduction to a new treatment might change their poop color, completely normal.
But if you haven’t made any diet changes, haven’t given them new treats, and their food has no added colors, but still, they have changed poop color, then it might indicate some health problems. Such signs include black poop, red poop, or sudden other color changes.
Why Is Your Betta Fish Not Pooping?
No poop or less poop are signs of constipation problems that might just go severe. If your fish isn’t pooping, you can get in touch with vets to get ideal treatment solutions. But the possible reason is dehydration due to constant eating and overfeeding.
How Often Should a Betta Fish Poop?
Betta fish poops around 5 to 6 times a day. If they are pooping any single countlessly for the day, then there might be a problem indication.
Conclusion
This is a clear understanding of Betta pooping and how to identify if the fish are healthy or not, right by observing their poop. Betta fish are cheap and low-maintenance aquatic pets. But you need to keep an eye on their health aspects without negligence. They might be low-maintenance but cannot survive negligence at all.
So, if you are a first-time fish owner, it would be better for you to understand fish maintenance discipline. In addition, if you own Betta fish, then this poop analysis guide will be helpful for you in the long run.