Is there any fish that can eat faeces?

Question

Well, recently, i have bought 4 goldfish and each of them is passing out waste at a fast rate and so i decided to buy two weird species of catfish which is 'supposed to eat faeces' but the rate of passing out waste is just too fast! theres one fish owner say that they eat faeces but the other say no. So i don no wat to do. I have observe the fish, and it seem s to eat them but in the other it don seem so. Plz help me

Answer 1

If you can't keep up with the waste in your tank, you have too many fish or too small a tank. By adding catfish you have introduced a fish that will not eat waste, but need to be fed as well, and will add more of their own. In addition, by buying "two weird species' of catfish, you don't know what they are or how big they should get, so how do you know if they're suitable?

All told, the life you have in your tank right now should have a tank of 50 gallons or more, and this is assuming you didn't end up with one of the giant catfish.

Answer 2

Goldfish are very messy fish. They need to be in at least 10 gallons a piece, or have an extremely efficient filtration system. Catfish and plecos (sucker fish) will help keep the take clean. They clean up waste, and old food particles that drop to the bottom. They also clean the algae, and keep it clean. Depending on the size of your tank will determine how many "cleaner" fish you will need. if you already have 4 goldfish in say a 30 gallon tank, I would say probably a small pleco and one cory catfish will help. You'll also need to clean the tank a lot.

Answer 3

goldfish do produce a large amount of waste. You can try getting a few ghost shrimp. The are usually pretty cheap about $0.30 each. If you do get these pick out the smallest ones in the tank at the store. They do not live too long but the bigger they are the older they are, so they wont last long after they get home, They eat the waste and left over food on the bottom of the tank and will eat a lot of it. I had them with my betta along with a filter and I never had to change the water.

Answer 4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Liposarcus_multiradiatus_01_ssj_20050321.jpg

is that the fish? If it is I advice you to get rid of it ASAP. And when i say get rid, i don't mean you just flush it in or throw it outside the window. I say put it in the sink and run some boiling water over it.

This is the so called "Janitor fish" looks like its eating the feces of other fish. But since the nature of this fish to to scavenge the bottom it would look like its eating the feces but what its really doing is looking for leftovers. But after a few months, this fish will soon learn the the food is alway on top so after feeding the fish take a good look coz you might just see this fish perform a "back stroke"

BTW, this fish is now considered a pest in the Philippines, Taiwan and Puerto Rico.

Answer 5

Catfish eat meat.
Plecos eat algae and can also eat some detritus, which is a kind of crap.

No fish suitable for a coldwater aquarium has feces as its primary food source.

Waste removal is the owner's job when keeping an aquarium. Nitrate, phosphates, and free floating waste are your job to remove. That's just part of fishkeeping.

Answer 6

No such thing as a feces eating fish. That's why you don't trust the people working at Pest-mart, Petco or Wal-mart. The bacteria in the tank will help break the poop, but you still need to get in there and vaccuum out the gravel at least one a week with goldfish.

Answer 7

Yes, bottom feeder catfish will eat a small amount fecal matter (I've seen mine do it) But what kind of filter system do you have and how big is your tank? Gold fish require a great deal of water bcause they are so dirty. I have 4 goldfish, one loach, and one bottom feeder in a 55 gallon tank and it isspotless. You should basically give 3-4 gallons of water for every inch of goldfish you have. Make sure the power filter you buy can handle a larger amount of water than you actually have because they are so dirty and love to poop! I have a 75 gallon filter in my tank. If your system is set up correctly you should only have to do a 1/2 water change every couple of months. I've had the same goldfish for 2 years now!

Answer 8

catfish don't eat feces -- you need to feed them catfish food.

shrimp will eat feces but nothing is going to keep up with the goldfish. you would need to fill the whole bottom with ghost shrimp to notice any difference.

your best bet is to get a gravel vacuum and do 30% water changes when you gravel vacuum. this gives them fresh water and a clean home. once a week should be enough if the goldfish aren't overcrowded. 4 goldfish need about 40 gallons of water to not be overcrowded.

Answer 9

There are a lot of fish that will eat feces though that isn't a solution to your problem. Learn basic maintenance of an aqurium and start following it. Do water changes on a regular basis for instance 25% per week, have a filter in your aquarium, no not have a heater in a goldfish tank, make sure your aquarium is large enough for the amount of fish you have, don't overfeed your fish just basic beginner fish stuff though learn it and follow it.

Answer 10

Dung fish from Africa, but they don't sell those anywhere.

Your best bet is to stick with a tried and true method: twice a month, start a siphon with an aquarium vacuum and suck the gleph out of the substrate. It also makes room for a water change.