Dirty Fish

[Nenedudette]

Hi MFK,

My boyfriend and I are having a debate as to what fish are the dirtiest. So I was wondering what you think. What are the top 5 dirtiest fish (Or top 3) in your opinion. We are really looking as to whether or not Goldfish are dirtier than Oscars or Plecos, or any other fish you can think of.

Thanks for you input!

 

[Fat Homer]

Besides Goldfish, i would say Puffers rate pretty near the top... considering they are messy eaters, and like leaving rather large nuggets around the tank...

 

[Plecos_Ftw]

Goldfish..I have two "feeders" I bought 4 years ago for my snowflake eel however the eel died. I didnt have the heart to get rid of the feeders and figured they deserved a second chance. I still have them they are massive, however they pollute the hell out of my tanks

 

[vfc]

I guess we should first all agree on what is "dirty". In my mine, dirt is a combination of fish waste (urine, pooh, and respiration) and leftover food (uneaten or spew that comes out of the mouth or gills while eating).

Since we directly control the amount of dirt production by how much food we put in a tank, we can set up any fish to either excel or fail at dirt production. We also can control the amount of algae growth in a tank.

Even those so-called messy eaters (lots of spew) could be fed smaller size food that they swallow whole without spew. And don't forget that the amount of fish food input is directly proportional to fish waste output.

So I say one fish is no more dirty than the next. The real culprit is the fish owner.

 

[Jeox]

Do you mean dirty, for their size?
Goldfish and koi make more waste then most fish, due to their digestive system being different.

 

[koldsoup]

Since we directly control the amount of dirt production by how much food we put in a tank, we can set up any fish to either excel or fail at dirt production. We also can control the amount of algae growth in a tank.

Are you saying that we should starve our fish...

Even those so-called messy eaters (lots of spew) could be fed smaller size food that they swallow whole without spew. And don't forget that the amount of fish food input is directly proportional to fish waste output.

I guess this might be true for most fish, but I think plecos are an exception. They poop like crazy no matter what size food you feed them, as they scrape food off slowly. So I'm gonna vouch for plecos as the dirtiest fish; my tank is always full of poop the day after I siphon it out. I have a barebottom tank for my plecos so it's easy to see.

 

[vfc]

"Do you mean dirty, for their size?
Goldfish and koi make more waste then most fish, due to their digestive system being different. "

I wonder if it's due to their digestive system or that Goldfish and Koa fish food is typically low quality with lots of undigestable fillers like soy, wheat, corn, etc.

Since we also control the quality of food, feeding goldfish and Koi 100% digestible food (NLS is close) will make them pooh far less. In fact my fish are feed primarily NLS and I find very little pooh on my black sand.

 

[vfc]

Are you saying that we should starve our fish...

No, just remember that if you overfeed your fish, they will pooh that much more.

I guess this might be true for most fish, but I think plecos are an exception. They poop like crazy no matter what size food you feed them, as they scrape food off slowly. So I'm gonna vouch for plecos as the dirtiest fish; my tank is always full of poop the day after I siphon it out. I have a barebottom tank for my plecos so it's easy to see.

If your tank has lots of algae growing each day, then your pleco will consume it and poop it out. I have Bristlenose plecos in all my tanks. Since I have virtually no algae, the only time I see them eat is the occasional food that makes its way to the bottom. I have not detected any pooh from them.

Again, it all gets back to the fish keeper.

 

[Crispy]

I vote for the plecos. Constant waste machines. Feed em fruits/veggies and game over.

 

[flipstylex]

goldfish plecos oscars . in order imo