Silver Poop

[yamilovemyfishies]

Today as i looked at my fish Yam today and I realized he was pooping just a little brownish silver what is that supposed to mean?

[Cynders]

Was it an air bubble? What have you been feeding him?

[yamilovemyfishies]

i have been feeding him tetra fin 2 times a day breakfast and dinner. The poop was more like a clearish silver though.

[yamilovemyfishies]

im not going to feed him for three days then just feed him some peas should i take some tiny peas because he has a small mouth

[yamilovemyfishies]

well im going to feed him im just going to soak the flakes though

[Cynders]

It's probably due to the flakes and him gulping air. I would try and get a good quality sinking pellet food. You'll definitely see an improvement Tetrafin foods are really awful for them.

As for peas you can feed him birdseye frozen peas. (They last a suppper long time) Just frozen peas, none canned because they contain salts.

[yamilovemyfishies]

which quality? what brand?

of pellet food?

and he does gulp air.

[Cynders]

You want a high quality food. Saki Hikari and progold from the goldfish connection are excellent. They are all sinking pellets.

I think it's also due to water quality and either ammonia or nitrite, if it's present in the water there will be less oxygen and it will stop blood flow in his gills which causes him to gulp air because he's not getting enough oxygen.

[yamilovemyfishies]

how do i get rid of ammonia? and i never understood nitrite i really need a lot of guidance!

[Cynders]

Ok get ready this might be a long post

There is a thing called the Nitrogen cycle that happens in your aquarium and it is essential. It is very ahrd to maintain in small tanks, and the bigger the tank your fish has the better. First you start out with wastes from the fish which comes out as ammonia. Ammonia is highly toxic to your fish, and the fish put out A LOT of it, goldfish especially. Now in your filters in all of that filter media, there are bactertia called beneficial bacteria. This is why when you get a filter you do not want ot use those catridges, you will want to use sponges and as much floss as you possibly can stuff into that HOB (hang on the back) filter. This will allow more surface area for the beneficial bacteria to grow and flourish. Within 2 weeks or so you will see that you will have no ammonia, or very small amounts of it, and nitrite. At this point the bacteria have begun to turn the ammonia into nitrite. Nitrite is less toxic than ammonia, but still very toxic to the fish and causes blood to bind and clot in their gills which makes it hard for them to breathe. In another four weeks you will begin to see nitrate. Nitrate is the least toxic and is the final product of cycling of the tank. It can go up to 20 PPM with no problems and then you need to do a water change. When cycling a tank with a fish in it you need to do water changes DAILY of at least 50% or more to reduce the toxins in the water. This is why it's best to do a fishless cycle, no water changes and all you have to do is add pure ammonia to the water and let nature do the rest This is the safest way for you and your fish.

You can read more about cycling here. Cycling

[yamilovemyfishies]

thx so much i fed my fish flakes for dinner and soaked them he seemed to ate it very quick but he did not consume any air eating but he still pooped out clear air bubbles! What a fish!

[Cynders]

That's good news Sounds like he's clearing himself out! I would give him a frozen pea just to be safe If you need anymore help please do let us know

[yamilovemyfishies]

frozen not warmed up? i thought it was warm when you fed it to them seems like they have to be frozen but i told you he has a small mouth. should i feed hin 1/3 of a pea and small like. And what about the pooop with the air bubbles still? Oh aint that cute? hes hiding in his little house! But he`s gulping air again!

[Cynders]

Yes warmed up, but I'm saying the peas that you feed must be the frozen brand and not canned or anything else. Make sure you deshell the pea first and give him half of the fleshy inside. The bubbles will eventually pass with the pea.

Is that house hollow? I would take it out, hollow ornaments harbor toxic gases that build up due to stagnant water and can casue dropsy. Do you have a picture of your tank?

[yamilovemyfishies]

i`ll try to. And yes it is a hollow ornament i have had that ornament for 3 months already nothing has happened yet. But every time i cahnge the water i clean the hollow ornament out.

[Cynders]

There is still a risk, Koko had hollow ornaments in her tank for awhile with no issues and even though she cleaned her tank weekly her fish kept getting dropsy. Are there little holes in the bottom of the ornament so water can get in?

[Cynders]

Would you happen to have a picture of it at all? There is a way to fix the problem if it's got little holes on the bottom.

[yamilovemyfishies]

here is the pic i just took

[yamilovemyfishies]

[Cynders]

Did you upload the pictures to photobucket? I'd upload them there and just link the pictures from that point.

[yamilovemyfishies]

http://C:\Documents and Settings\Talia\My Documents\My Pictures\fish yam\DSCN0084.jpg

[yamilovemyfishies]

ok i tried all my best so take a look.

[yamilovemyfishies]

[/img]

[yamilovemyfishies]

[/img]

http://

http://i1117.photobucket.com/albums/k592/kittyyam1/DSCN0084.jpg[/img]"]My link

alright try the one that says my link on the bottom you`ll see the tank

[yamilovemyfishies]

There is still a risk, Koko had hollow ornaments in her tank for awhile with no issues and even though she cleaned her tank weekly her fish kept getting dropsy. Are there little holes in the bottom of the ornament so water can get in?

yes there is hole at the bottom to get water in it.