Oscar Poo Pics! Yeah!

[Kivstev]

Never thought I'd be photographing poo, but...

I have a 6" Oscar and am unsure if his poo is 'normal' from what I've been reading. He eats voraciously and is always hungry which I understand is a good thing.

The poo in the pics is 'tubular' and not flat or like string. It is half 'clear' and half 'brown'. It also floats around the tank sometimes and does not sink to the bottom. It's about 2" long.

I feed the Oscar pellets and assorted frozen food like blood worms and some veggies. Even if I feed him pellets for a few days straight his poo is often still like this. The other fish in the tank do not have poo like this.

Can anyone diagnose, or at least tell me if this is the 'norm' for Oscars?

One pic is the poo removed from the tank and the other is the poo floating around on top.

I'm thinking of treating the tank with Prazi to be safe.

 

[isaiah]

I think its normal. I used to have oscar's and fed them all kinds of stuff. And there's looked like that, kind of like a floating sausage. haha

 

[MikeSmiley]

ive got 5 oscars and it all looks like that, comes out in weird shapes, it freaked me out the first couple times i thought they were craping out their insides.
think your safe
cheers

 

[Pharaoh]

looks normal to me

 

[Lupin]

Praziquantel doesn't hurt. It might actually help eradicate any unseen flukes and internal parasites even if you don't plan to treat the fish but don't abuse its usage. Like antibiotics, it can potentially create resistant strains of flukes and parasites. Once in awhile is okay.

 

[Kivstev]

Thanks for the responses. I'm somewhat at ease now considering what I've read here. I've read where some female Oscars will excrete stuff (eggs) similar to this, but I haven't seen any pics that will confirm if that's what it is. I don't think it would come out with the poo.

I've also read in a few places that 'slimy' feces is a sure sign or flagellates or worms - so I'm still a bit worried. I'm not sure if the poo above qualifies as 'slimy'???

I'm leaning toward still treating with Prazi as it's supposedly gentle and tough to OD. I'll also keep in mind Lupin's advice not to abuse it.