Bettas have stomach sizes similar to their eye, which means they cannot eat much. This brings a query to every betta keeper how often do betta fish poop.
Also, betta fish poop indicates your fish’s health condition, and it is important to keep an eye on betta pooping. So, How often do betta fish poop? Let us find out.
Betta fish poop multiple times a day when they are healthy and getting enough food. They will poop after some time of eating their meal. Betta poop will look like a small reddish-brown round pellet. If your betta is not pooping, overfeeding, underfeeding, and losing appetite is the reason.
This article will also discuss what betta poop looks like and what to do if betta fish stop pooping. So, let us get into it.
Contents
How often does a betta poop?
A healthy betta will poop multiple times a day.
However, it varies on various things like feeding amount and water temperatures.
Your betta fish will poop after some hours of having a meal.
There can be various reasons for your betta fish not pooping, of which the primary reasons are not having much food, loss of appetite, and overfeeding.
Also, your betta fish may be pooping when you are not there to see, as everyone can’t sit near the tank for the whole time and see if they are pooping.
What does betta fish poop look like?
Betta fish poop looks reddish-brown.
It will appear more like betta food as it will be round and look like small pellets.
However, its reddish-brown colour will help you differentiate between food and poop.
Also, your betta fish poop will be at the bottom of the tank and mostly at one spot.
How to know that my betta fish has pooped?
It is not possible to see every time your betta fish pooping.
You can see the waste present in the tank if you want to know if your betta fish has pooped.
It will appear round in shape and small in size. It will be brown or tan.
It will look like tiny pellets, so don’t get mistaken by thinking of it as a portion of food.
Also, if your betta fish is regularly eating, it will poop; if it is not pooping and only eating, it will appear to have a distended belly.
Also, if your betta fish poop is yellow or white, then there is a possibility that your betta fish is sick.
What to do if my betta fish is not pooping?
The reason behind your betta fish not pooping is:
- Not getting enough food.
- You are overfeeding your betta fish.
- Your betta fish has lost its appetite and is not eating.
It is also possible that your betta fish pooping, but you are not being able to detect it.
Betta poop looks like pellets as it is small and round in shape.
Now if your betta is not pooping, then take care of all these things:
- Make sure that your betta fish get enough food.
- Avoid overfeeding your betta fish.
- Provide your betta fish with ideal living conditions.
Enough food
Feed your betta fish adequately to prevent such issues.
Feed your betta fish 2-3 pellets twice daily to ensure adequate feeding.
A betta fish that get fed regularly will remain healthy and poop regularly.
Feed your betta fish with varieties of food, including betta pellets (should be a staple part of your weekly betta diet), Bloodworms, tubifex worms, mosquito larvae, brine shrimp, and daphnia.
Avoid overfeeding
Betta fish have a stomach size similar to its eye, which means that they cannot eat much food at a time.
This is why we suggest feeding your betta fish in a small amount twice a day.
To ensure that your betta fish is not overeating, feed them in an amount that they can finish eating in one to two minutes.
Feed your betta fish 2-3 pellets or any other food at a time twice a day.
Overfeeding your betta fish can cause constipation, and your betta fish will stop pooping and only eat.
Constipated betta will develop a distended belly.
Also read: How Often To Feed Betta Fish?
Provide ideal living conditions.
We poop to release undigested food from the stomach; the same goes for the fish.
So, if your betta fish will not eat much or stop eating, they will also stop pooping as there is no undigested food to excrete.
The primary reason betta fish stop eating is inadequate living conditions and stress.
To ensure ideal living conditions for your betta fish, make sure of all these things:
- Ensure regular water change of 30-35% weekly to keep the water clean. (Treat the tap water with a water conditioner to dechlorinate it every time you perform a water change)
- Maintain the water temperature between 78-82 °F.
- The water pH level of your betta tank should be between 6.5 and 8.
- Add a heater to maintain a stable water temperature.
- Provide enough space for your betta fish.
- Ensure to add plenty of hiding spots for your betta fish.
- Add plenty of live aquatic plants to your betta tank.
- Avoid overcrowding and adding fish that are not compatible with your betta fish.
How to cure a constipated betta fish?
A constipated betta will suffer, and if not treated early, it is possible that your betta can suffer from a life-threatening condition.
You can use a salt treatment to treat constipation in your betta.
Follow these steps to treat constipation in your betta:
- Arrange a clean container and pour some betta tank water into it.
- Add one teaspoon of Epsom salt per 5-gallon of water into the container.
- Stir the water until the Epsom salt mixes entirely in the water.
- Add the solution to your betta tank water.
- Keep your betta fish in a treated tank until you see improvement.
To know how to treat constipation in your bettas, you can go through our article How To Treat Constipation In Bettas.
Conclusion:
Betta fish poops multiple times a day. However, it varies on many things.
Betta fish will poop after some time of having a meal.
If your betta fish is not pooping, overfeeding, underfeeding, and losing appetite is the reason.
Reference: University Of Illinois, Wikipedia