Need to know what this is

[rhino4ever]

I went over to my sister's for a xmas family thing last night and noticed a lot of this in her 55g cichlid tank. I'm speaking of the ropey stuff on the sand. It's got to be some kind of waste or growth cuz it wasn't in their when we set it up.

Thanks - Mike

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m220/theheartofgod/DSCF1227.jpg

[kSpieler]

:D I got all excited 'cause I knew what kinda fish that was! (a Red Jewel) Then I realized you wanted to know with the "ropey" stuff is! :(

I have no clue. Is it solid, or does it disengrate when disturbed?
I would guess either a mutant tubifex worm, a very over-fed Pleco, or maybe plant roots?

Silly String? :confuzeld:

kSpieler added 3 Minutes and 32 Seconds later...

After looking again, is there alot of water movement in the tank? If not, how often is the sand vac'd? Could it just be an ass-load (or ass-UNload) of cichlid poo? I've noticed that some of my fish can get quite a string of poo going if they stay out of a current!

[rhino4ever]

This is the back corner of the tank away from the filter. Probably quietest place in the tank. It was home to two large convicts that were using it as a nest for their brood. This is right under a fake log. There is a huge pleco in the tank probably over a foot total. I doubt she vaccuums it.

I originally thought poo as well, just couldn't conceive of a fish pooping something that big. That jewel in the pic is at least 5".

[glostik]

tHat looks like pleco poop to me, my plecos can poop some big ones

[doughboy]

My bet is that it's the pleco. They really do poop at unbelievable rates.

[kSpieler]

:hehe: A foot-long Pleco can (and obviously does!) easily poop that big!
My little 5" BN can leave a trail for several inches at 3/32" dia.

kSpieler added 2 Minutes and 42 Seconds later...

:woohoo:
I helped! I helped!

[dannyandsarah]

Definitely pleco poop. They're known for long stringy waste that can wrap itself around the whole tank. It doesn't really matter what size the fish is, they're all capable of stringing it out everywhere. It's perfectly normal as far as I know, just vacuum the gravel and it should be fine.

BTW... kSpieler, did you really measure the diameter of your pleco's poo? lol

[EAST_TX_RN]

Definitely pleco poop. They're known for long stringy waste that can wrap itself around the whole tank. It doesn't really matter what size the fish is, they're all capable of stringing it out everywhere. It's perfectly normal as far as I know, just vacuum the gravel and it should be fine.

BTW... kSpieler, did you really measure the diameter of your pleco's poo? lol

roflmaoroflmao

[cookieboy]

its pleco pop my pleco had its own cave that it neer came out of
i dont think it evan ate :eek:
if you lift up that cave and move the rocks around half the tank would b a mess

[bassmaster]

thats alot of crap

[kSpieler]

BTW... kSpieler, did you really measure the diameter of your pleco's poo? lol

Well, not literally with a ruler ... just a visual guesstimate :D

[bra8ndy8]

Ohhhhh Gosh that's a lot of poop!!!! Jaws "toilet papers" my tank EVERYTIME I do a water change!!

[masroberts9]

lol. i can see karen measuring poop.
i agree .....pleco terds.:D

[tsunderl]

Everybody has a hobby... Some people's (Karen's) are stranger than most.

And it's pleco poop. Get a pooper scooper and get it out. Nasty stuff.

[kSpieler]

:jerod:on you both! :brandy:

[masroberts9]

roflmaoroflmaoroflmao

[mrsadler]

x2roflmaoroflmao

[rhino4ever]

Thanks for the insight everyone. I have smaller plecos in my tanks and I've never seen anything like that. I'll tell her to vaccuum it out.

[AndrewH]

Looks like pleco poo to me, too. My little 9-10"er doesn't seem to have them that large or long, but there was a lot of other larger fish in tank to swim by and break it up (plus I had lots of water movement), but that poo also looks like it's been there for quite some time.

Being mostly green I'd say the algae has started growing on it, which should age it to be somewhere in the 1 month to 6 month old range. Seems that's also the case with the "poo nest" in the front right-hand corner of the tank too.

Would recommend gravel vac more often, but being a 55 gallon with a 12" pleco and at least 1 other 5" fish I'd be more concerned about the total aquarium's health than the poo. Seems the poo is the least of the problems with this tank. I'd imagine the nitrAtes are outta control in there and bet a 50-75% water change wouldnt' bring 'em down below 50-60ppm.

She planning on getting a larger tank or changing out some of the fish for something smaller (could be the same species, but younger fish)?

[Haiven]

Karen is really into this. She has a little tool from Radio Shack that is specifically for measuring poo and also includes a little laser level.

She can recognize the spoor from every one of her fish.

[lellison]

lol not that your question hasn't been answered, but it's pleco crapo for sure :hehe:

[kSpieler]

Karen is really into this. She has a little tool from Radio Shack that is specifically for measuring poo and also includes a little laser level.

She can recognize the spoor from every one of her fish.

ShitoMeter 2000, $19.95, comes with a full-color crapalog of fish feces photos.

[dpatterson]

roflmaois that the new one with textured pics. for those hands on people

[kSpieler]

Nah, the earlier model with the laser level so you can make sure your fish are getting a balanced diet. :D

[bizzle]

I think I saw a pleco poop gauge on drs foster and smith way back when:brandy:

[lrw46]

This sounds a little too technical for me. Or a little too messy.

[bizzle]

yes, for certain, the newer gauges have textured poo guide and also some scratch and sniff spots for training purposes

[sap]

thats a pretty "shitty" looking tank

[Kathy]

Considering the concentration...it also resembles left over frozen blood worms but I hate to ruin this pleco poop party that we have goin' on here. :D

[Haiven]

balanced diet!!!!roflmaoroflmaoroflmao