Fish Poop

Question
I have a 30 gallon freshwater tank that has been running fine for about 5-6 months.  The fish are fine and have had no deaths.  Recently (the last few weeks) i have noticed that they are all pooping a lot.  It is brown, thin, long and trails behind them, sometimes catching on the plants and other items in the tank.  Just wondering if this is something I should be concerned about and if so, what should I do? Thanks!

Answer
Hi April;

Sounds like a classic case of....constipation!

Cut back a bit on dried foods and give your fish peeled green pea chunks at least once a week. They can nibble on romaine lettuce too. I give mine cucumber chunks, green beans and squash too. They can nibble on foods like these all day because they don't rot like regular food does. Most fish really like them, but it may take a few tries for them to get used to the idea. I even throw in small leftover chunks of apple and pear cores (no seeds or pits) for them to nibble the rest. Weird, but they like it! Take it out the next day if they don't like it and try something else.

Hope things "go more smoothly" for them very soon......  ;-)

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins