Pooping MUCH less frequently

[chicagojo]

My daughter's betta used to poop pretty much every day, and the poop would be about the same size as one of the pellets he eats. In the past several weeks, though, he has been pooping only every 5-6 days and the poops are HUGE, like as big as his head. For instance, he pooped last Sunday afternoon shortly after his 100% water change and then hasn't pooped again since then until today!

Strangely, he doesn't look bloated even after 5 or 6 days of not pooping and there aren't any other changes in his behavior/habits. He is eating the same amount as always (2 Hikari Betta Bio-Gold pellets in the morning and 2 at night).

Is this potentially normal, or should I be on the lookout for other possible signs of a problem? I do have some frozen daphnia on hand that I bought for another fish back in the winter, but I was never really convinced that it did anything for that fish so I've hesitated to give it to this one. Any other thoughts about things I should be doing or watching for? TIA!

[JKfish]

Hmmm... If he isn't't bloated, and acts fine, then I wouldn't worry too much. I had a betta boy once who used to poop out what looked like cinnamon buns the size of both his eyes....

If you are worried, try fasting him once a week for a day to help him purge his system.

[Hallyx]

You might want to vary his diet... frozen bloodworm, daphnia, brine shrimp, a different kind of pellet, a mosquito or gnat, mosquito larvae (catch them on a bowl of water out back). There may be other suggestions.

Fasting may be a good idea.