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Do Betta Fish Poop?

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Yes, betta fish do poop, everyone poops! You may not witness your betta pooping but you will see it accumulating at the bottom of your tank. A lot of time it’s mistaken for uneaten betta pellets because betta fish poop tends to be clumpy and more round than long and stringy.

Just like other pets, bettas gravitate towards pooping in the same general spot. You’ll often see most of their waste in one location unless you have a strong current or other tank mates disturbing the bottom of the tank. They are also quite picky about being in a safe place when they poop, often near a planted area for privacy (ha!). This can make take cleaning easier too.

How Often Do Betta Fish Poop?

Bettas will poop as often as they need to just like you and me. If you feed them in similar quantities and they eat regularly, they will poop regularly too. The frequency may decline or even stop for periods of time if they refuse to eat, are constipated, or sick. Don’t worry too much about monitoring their bowel movements unless you see something abnormal (i.e. stringy poop, white poop).

Where Do Betta’s Poop From?

Betta fish poop comes out of their butts (figuratively of course)! Betta fish gobble up food using their mouth and mash it up using their teeth. Then it’s swallowed and ingested into their stomach where digestion occurs before passing into their intestine. In the intestine, nutrients are absorbed from the broken down food. Any leftover matter is the waste, which is passed through the intestine and out the anus; located in front of the anal fin and behind the ventral fins.

Betta Fish Huge Poop

Betta Fish With Hanging Poop

One instance where you may see your betta fish’s poop is when it’s stringy, stuck, and hanging down from their anus. This is generally a sign of overfeeding and constipation as long as it’s brown and not white. White, long and skinny stringy poop may be a sign of internal parasites. Healthy betta poop is brown and globby. Larger than normal globs can also be a sign of constipation like the photo above from cooneyms on Fishlore.

Remember, a betta’s stomach is about the size of their eye, so only feed 2-4 pellets 1-2 times daily. Fasting one day a week can also help to promote digestive health for betta fish. In the wild their access to food may vary, however, in captivity you should be feeding them regularly. Because of their natural instincts, they may eat every time you feed them and too much.

How To Help A Constipated Betta

If your betta fish isn’t pooping, and they have a bloated stomach, he or she is probably constipated. This is a common ailment because uneducated owners tend to overfeed their bettas. Some betta food canisters also have misleading instructions, which can lead to overfeeding and constipation. Avoid flake foods as that can increase a betta’s susceptibility to constipation.

Prolonged overfeeding and constipation can cause a betta’s digestive tract to expand and press on the swim bladder. This causes buoyancy and swimming issues (SBD – swim bladder disorder). You have to treat this or it can cause a lot of problems.

Follow These Steps:

  1. Ensure tropical water temperatures of 76-81 Fahrenheit. Colder temperatures slow down their metabolism.
  2. Fast (don’t feed) for 1-3 days, and depending on the severity of constipation up to 7 days.
  3. Place a mirror near the betta’s tank or another betta to encourage them to flare. Betta fish often poop when flaring.
  4. If fasting doesn’t help, try a Pea Diet: Place a frozen pea in hot, hot tap water for 2 minutes. Transfer to cold conditioned water until cool. Feed 1/2 frozen, thawed and peeled pea per day. He or she should poop within 24 hours.
  5. Feed thawed Daphnia which also helps digestive health if your betta refuses the peas.

Relieving constipation is focused on increasing fiber in their diet and moisture in foods. Some brands of food lack both, especially flakes and freeze-dried variations. Peas can also be used every 7-10 days to encourage digestive health.

About the author

Hey, I'm Bryan(founder of bettafish.org) and I’ve been caring for and keeping betta fish for over 9 years. I’d like to extend you a warm welcome to the best community and informational place to learn all about this wonderful tropical, freshwater fish.

31 thoughts on “Do Betta Fish Poop?”

  1. What product/procedure do you recommend if they have white stringy poop. boyancy problems, gets stuck unable to swim down

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  2. Bryan – Thank you for a great, informative care guide. This is my first Betta Fish. “Little Dude” has a great personality and I adore him. He seems a little standoffish lately, so I’m really glad I saved this site. I see where I made a few errors in judgment, but will correct this today! I’ve heard about the green pea use, but no one could explain how it is provided to the fish. You are the ONLY person. Now if my Little Dude should be constipated, I’ll know what to try and HOW to do it. Happy Holidays!!

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  3. Thank U!!!!! Finally, someone that knows how, what, when, where…….Thank U Bryan!!!!! “You’re not new too it but true too it”

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  4. How many times a day should a betta poo? His poo looks normal, but there is a lot. I have a turkey blaster to remove it at the advice of the fish store lady, and am removing the equivalent of 2-4 per day (if not more). I am possibly overfeeding, although I do what the container says and feed him what he can eat within 3 minutes, although he normally eats about 6-8 little pellets within 2 minutes. I don’t know what is right lol. He’s active, is very curious and seems healthy. Just tons of poop since I got him a couple months ago.

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    • The containers provide very general advice. Every betta fish is different, and I recommend feeding 2-4 pellets, 1-2 times daily.

      Reply
  5. Thank you for the information. If my beta has long white slimy poop, sounds like it has an internal parasite. Is there a way I can help it? Or get rid of the parasite? Thank you – Sammy

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    • Sometimes it can be from what you fed him or her? If it appears your betta is losing weight, it could be a parasite. You would have to administer an anti-parasitic medication like API General Cure. Also, a thorough cleaning and disinfection of the tank and replacement of filter media would be required. If you have tank mates, they would need to be treated too.

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  6. Hi Bryan – So glad to find your site, thanks so much for being a resource to us Betta parents! I love my Betta, he is a double tailed male that I got in July of 2017. For about a week and a half now, he has been very lethargic and we are very concerned about him. He mostly hangs out at the top of the tank and is very still. Then he started floating on his side and having trouble staying down when he swam and I learned about swim bladder disease. We took a break from feeding him and then tried the thawed and shelled pea, but he won’t eat it. He has been eating his food over the past couple of days (although sometimes he kind of swims past the food, while still seeming to want it, as if he’s confused or can’t see), which has been good and his floating has been better. We are about to go away for the weekend so I gave him some fresh water tonight and it was really scary because he started swimming upside down and panicking and then just kind of floating at the top and gasping for air. He righted himself and looked OK eventually but I want to help him so much! His coloring is fine, he’s not flaking … Any suggestions? I wish there was a fish vet I could take him to 🙁

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    • My suggestion would be to continue fasting him, or feeding him less than normal for now until things improve. Ideal feeding is 3-4 pellets daily, or 2-3 pellets 2x-daily. If he wouldn’t eat the pea, he’s not going to get the fiber through that method. You could try soaking the pea in some garlic juice sometimes that helps entice them. Another problem may be your food source, make sure it’s not expired and make sure it’s a high quality brand. Another piece of advice, if your betta is eating the pellet quickly, soaking it in some tank water to let it expand and get more moisture before feeding can also help with constipation and bloating.

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  7. Why is my betta fish pooping a clear liquid . is it possible that that is a parasite? Also another one of my betta has poop stuck to him is it possible that he swallowed a cat hair?

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    • Yes, it’s possible it’s a parasite, but not definite. Stringy white poop, hanging from a betta is also a sign of constipation – if it resembles that.

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  8. Hi, would I just leave the poop on him or should I try and take it off, I’m new to owning a betta but thanks for the other advice.

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    • If it’s not falling off normally, he’s probably constipated. I wouldn’t recommend trying to take it off as that would cause stress that’s unnecessary. Review what you are doing feeding-wise and adjust as necessary.

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  9. Hi! I’m a beginner at keeping betta as pet. It’s been five days since I purchased my male betta and it seems like he only pooed today. I feed him 3 pellets in the morning and at night. For the past days since I got him, his bowl was very clean as if I just changed the water. On his fourth day, he stayed on top of his water and didnt move much (inactive) so on the same day, I bought him a new bowl and a new fake plant and put him there. Today (his fifth day), while watching him to see if he’s active, he pooped twice within a minute and its color is not brown. It is very dark green like the color of the beta pellet I feed him. This is the first time I saw poop in his bowl since I took him. I know this is the first time because I dont put substrate in his bowl. What does this mean? Do betta poo color depends on the color of the pellet he eats? Or is this an indication that something is wrong? Im worried.

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    • Betta poop can change colors, but the warning signs are no poop (constipation) or stringy white poop (disease). Betta’s tend to poop the color of what they eat. I’ve not personally seen green pellets. Is the pelelt made specifically for bettas? You shouldn’t have anything to worry about right now unless it’s the incorrect pellet for a betta.

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  10. My juvenile betta has been having string white poop. I was treating with API GC but still no improvement. Each time the poop will not release and I see him trying to get it off! Today I managed to scoop out the latest poop for a closer inspection and it was more gelatinous, or mucus-like? He stays more in one area near, or on, the bottom of his tank. When he does swim to the top, he won’t eat the food he used to eat, only wanting brine shrimp now. Could the brine shrimp be causing the poop to look like that? But it started out stringy looking before I began trying the brine shrimp. His body looks normal otherwise. I was repeating the GC, but now am not sure what to do. He had the 2 dose of GC, a water change, then another dose. Another question, he’s in a 5-gallon tank. Will the GC dissolve correctly in a 5 gallon? (I cut amount in half). Saw something posted elsewhere that seemed to indicate it may not work.

    Reply
    • White stringy poop is usually a sign of parasites. If it’s just stringy and not actually white, it could just be constipation. Their poop tends to be the color of what they eat. Hard for me to say that the brine shrimp would be causing it. If you’re solely feeding brine shrimp and they are freeze-dried, this could lead to constipation. If you think it’s constipation, try fasting for 2-3 days and see if things improve. Also, you may need to try another high-quality pellet that he will eat as it’s not recommended to be feeding the brine shrimp (freeze dried) daily.

      Reply
  11. I have had my two Betta fish for a couple of months now, my husband was downstairs feeding them and saw that the male one looked a little swollen he’s swimming but he’s floating on his side. We put a mirror next to his tank he flared just a little bit. What should I do. I’m going to wait til morning to see if he is ok.

    Reply
    • It could be from overfeeding or constipation – is he pooping regularly? If it doesn’t get any better try fasting him for 2-3 days. Then reduce the amount of food you’re feeding if it’s more than 4 pellets per day. If the betta is instantly eating the pellets the moment they hit the water’s surface, they can then expand in the stomach too. You may need to soak them in a separate container of tank water for a few minutes to rehydrate them before feeding.

      Reply
  12. Hello, I just bought a Betta fish today and I am new to the whole caring thing and I saw something different..

    It has white poop stuck on it and since I just bought it I didn’t observe it that much until I came home. I don’t know if the fish cant defecate or it just did and it doesn’t came out fully. I am willing to learn how to properly care for it since this is my first time. I have read the white poop thingy on your post but I still do not know what to do about it. I really do appreciate if you would help me a little bit. Thank You so much!

    Reply
    • White stringy poop is normally a sign of internal parasites. This is possible if you bought a sick fish. Stringy poop on its own, without a white color, is a sign of constipation usually from overfeeding or feeding low quality food. It can also happen from only feeding freeze-dried foods. Daphnia can help with constipation issues, and so can fasting for a few days.

      Reply
  13. Hi Bryan, we just got our first Betta on March 4, about 8 days ago, and after a few days learned I was massively over feeding him:( On day three or four the water was already murky (assuming because of too much food) so I changed the water, fasted for 24 hr and have only been giving him a few pellets every other day because his tummy is super bloated and I have yet to see a single poop. I’ve tried giving him a pea three times now and while this past time he seemed more intrigued with it he still hasn’t eaten but a TINY nibble. Any suggestions on what I should do next? He seems like a sweet little guy with a personality and would really love to get him better.

    Reply
    • I would do another round of fasting for 2-3 days to help ease the digestive tract. You can also try freeze-dried daphnia as they can aid with constipation. Some bettas are picky with peas. You could try soaking the pea for a minute or two in some garlic juice if you wanted to continue that route.

      Reply
  14. My poor Phineas (almost 2 years since his gotcha day) is severely bloated and it looks like his bottom is swollen trying to pass a large poop. This is the second day that he’s been like this and although he was acting normal yesterday, he seems a bit more labored today. He fasted both yesterday and today and I’ve been getting an ok flare from him with the fish picture on his food container. I’ve added a small handful of epsom salt to his 25 gallon tank, but nothing yet. Would a pea be overkill? He looks terribly uncomfortable as is. Thank you!

    Reply
  15. Hello! I just recently got a baby betta. He seemed a bit lethargic the first 2 days. Today his colors became faded. I feed him mini pellets and try to cut them up to make sure they aren’t too big for him. However, I feel like I may be over feeding him. I also believe he pooped only once or twice?

    Reply
    • Baby bettas are tougher to care for as they’re more fragile than adults. They do need an additional feeding each day so 2-3 feedings per day. Lethargic behavior and loss of color is a sign of stress. Make sure your water is heated to the proper temperature and that the water is within all recommended parameters for a betta. The pooping seems normal based on what you described.

      Reply
  16. I have a female batta who is constipated, she is in a 3 gallon tank by her self, how much Epsom salt would you recommend putting in her tank and how often would I do this ? I would appreciate any help to help her feel better. Thank You

    Reply

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