kaylaj2355 464 Posted April 8, 2013 Hi all! I have a question while I read up on good feeding practices. My 5 inch ryukin goes crazy for leafy lettuce. I've noticed that lately his poop...well, it's significant! Haha. They're huge strands, bright green, a few inches long and almost the width of a straw! I wonder if it's normal just because I haven't seen it before. Usually poops are very skinny and brown. They've been getting leafy lettuce for the last 2 months or so. I'm also never sure how much lettuce to give them. I love it because it keeps them away from my plants, but I'm afraid to give too much. They go nuts for it! They also get different food once a day, either flakes or pellets or brine shrimp. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dnalex 13,633 Posted April 8, 2013 Looks like you've been lots of greens. If the poop were like that when you are feeding normal food, I would consider it overfeeding. Seeing that it's lettuce with not much nutritional value, I think it's OK. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaylaj2355 464 Posted April 8, 2013 Looks like you've been lots of greens. If the poop were like that when you are feeding normal food, I would consider it overfeeding. Seeing that it's lettuce with not much nutritional value, I think it's OK. Yep, it looks like the lettuce literally went in one end and came RIGHT back out the other! Haha. It's a mix of different organic leaf lettuces. There is some red in there, too. It just gives them something to do so I like having some in there for them to graze on. It takes them all of 45 minutes to completely consume three-four leaves the size of my hand. Last night, I was afraid this poo was so big that it wouldn't make it through my siphon tube! Hahaha! Glad to know I'm not potentially harming them. That poo gave me a scare! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pawsplus 253 Posted April 8, 2013 Actually, lettuce is very nutritious. That's a common misconception, but 'tis not true for people, and I assume not for GF either. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dnalex 13,633 Posted April 8, 2013 Actually, lettuce is very nutritious. That's a common misconception, but 'tis not true for people, and I assume not for GF either. Actually, compared to other things that is in a goldfish diet, it is much lower in nutrition. http://www.livestrong.com/article/22525-nutritional-value-lettuce/ 1 gram of protein per cup is not a lot, and given that it's the "WRONG" profile of amino acids for goldfish (most likely), my statement stands. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pawsplus 253 Posted April 8, 2013 Wasn't talking about protein, but about vitamins/minerals. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kaylaj2355 464 Posted April 8, 2013 It is at least not iceburg lettuce nice artisan varieties, rather...whatever that means! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dnalex 13,633 Posted April 8, 2013 Wasn't talking about protein, but about vitamins/minerals. You are still missing my point. Nutrition encompasses many different types of things, including proteins, carbs, fats, vitamins, etc. By this, lettuce are much lower in nutrition, compared to goldfish pellets, the food I was comparing to. If you wish to address only vitamins, that's an entirely different issue, and I'd like for you to be more specific about it next time. I said that given the relatively lower amount of nutrition, that amount that Kayla has been been is fine, even though long poops like that are signs of major overfeeding. This WOULD have been a problem if this were other kinds of foods like pellets, but this is not bad at all with the artisan lettuce. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TorontoBoy 106 Posted April 8, 2013 ...They're huge strands, bright green, a few inches long and almost the width of a straw! ... Honey, I think we need a larger siphon! OTOH you might be able to net it out before it disintegrates! 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
