MissMTS

Today I noticed that my swordtails have been massively pooping all day. The poop that comes out of them is as long as two inches. It is not white or anything (its the normal brown color), but I am sure that this is not normal. Help! What do I do? I think they may be sick. They are not acting sick, but this is just really wierd.......

sirdarksol

Any food changes?

It could be that they've got the swords' equivalent of diarrhea, or, conversely, they could be getting over constipation if they had been getting too much protein before this.

Sorry, I'm not much help.

MissMTS

They are in a tank with two juvenile firemouth cichlids and a lobster. I feed them a mixture of frozen brine shrimp, live bearer flakes, and emerald entre (frozen food). The fish in the tank all have different diet requirements, so it is hard to regulate who eats what. Any suggestions?

sirdarksol

The lobster's easy. Feed it when lights go out.
Unsure about the other ones. Maybe feed the tank some bits of thawed pea and see if there's any change.

COBettaCouple

It sounds like the swords have been getting most of the food. Livebearers are such hungry little stomachs with fins. The way we feed our angel, Fred, is to drop food in for the livebearers first, then while they chow down, he knows to come to where my fingers are and I feed him.

KittieKat

i noticed this when i had platys.. just dont feed them for a day (theyll be okay dont worry) and the poopy trails should stop.. if they dont then try 2 days off from feeding. its true that its because they probably eat the majority of the food. the fish will be fine with smaller portions..

MissMTS

LOL! They really are little piggies! Every time I am near the tank they swim to the top hoping I will feed them. The problem is my firemouths are just as bad I'll try your suggestion out though and hopefully it will work.