Can Fish Be "Potty Trained?"

crownsbroyal

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I know this is a weird question, however, I have a white tail bristletooth tang that goes to the same spot on the sand in the back corner of the tank to relieve himself. He will literally go to the corner of the tank, get very close to the sand and lay a turd on the sand, each and every time. This is quite the opposite of my other tang or fish in the sense that they will usually go wherever they are swimming into the water column. So that got me thinking.......... Anyone experience this?
 

SDguy

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IME all bristletooth tangs do this... Obviously the corner of the tank is the furthest they can get from their normal territory in the aquarium. I wonder how far they go in the wild to poop?
 
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crownsbroyal

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IME all bristletooth tangs do this... Obviously the corner of the tank is the furthest they can get from their normal territory in the aquarium. I wonder how far they go in the wild to poop?
Oh wow. Good to know. Interesting....... I wonder if any other types of fish do this?
 

WiscoFishNut

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Great thread lol!! Fish poop is a frequent topic in our household.. We have a coral beauty sh!ts like a yetti and my wife is always griping about how gross it is when he's swimming around with a 6" - 8" klingon.. Little punk usually finds an acropora to snag it on too.
 

JasonK84

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I know this is a weird question, however, I have a white tail bristletooth tang that goes to the same spot on the sand in the back corner of the tank to relieve himself. He will literally go to the corner of the tank, get very close to the sand and lay a turd on the sand, each and every time. This is quite the opposite of my other tang or fish in the sense that they will usually go wherever they are swimming into the water column. So that got me thinking.......... Anyone experience this?
See if you can get it to change pooping spots. If you can then “training” might be the word you can use. Otherwise it is just pooping in its preferred spot. Untrained.
 

Paleozoic_reefer

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My Kole Tang always goes right in front of the power head.....
Then he eats it!

giphy.gif
 

saltyhog

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My Kole Tang always goes right in front of the power head.....
Then he eats it!

Yep tangs truly are coprophages! Wish I had taken a video of my yellow tang the other night. My large Ear Muff wrasse was in the process of taking a big one. It was taking a while and he had about 3/4" of pooh hanging out. The tang followed him like a dog for several minutes until he dropped his load and promptly ate it.;Smuggrin:D
 
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crownsbroyal

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Yep tangs truly are coprophages! Wish I had taken a video of my yellow tang the other night. My large Ear Muff wrasse was in the process of taking a big one. It was taking a while and he had about 3/4" of pooh hanging out. The tang followed him like a dog for several minutes until he dropped his load and promptly ate it.;Smuggrin:D
Ha that’s great :)
 

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