There are numerous similarities between humans and fish, including the fact that both experience stress. And just like humans, stress can negatively affect fish in a multitude of ways. When a fish is feeling stress, it not only can weaken their overall immune system, but it can increase the risk of them catching a disease and possibly even dying. However, if you can identify that your fish is experiencing stress, you’ll be able to give them the proper care. Here are a few helpful tips on how to tell if your fish is stressed.

Identify What Causes Stress

There are numerous elements throughout an aquarium that cause stress. Many of these come from improper care or lack of maintenance. A list of the different common causes of stress are outlined below.

• Lack of hiding places throughout the aquarium. This can be stressful because some fish use these hiding places to relieve stress.
• Change in water temperature also causes stress, especially for Betta fish.
• Not having a set feeding schedule or providing the proper nutrients for the fish.
• Infrequent water changes directly cause elevated ammonia and nitrated levels, both of which can be harmful to many aquarium inhabitants.
• Aggressive or incompatible tank inhabitants.
• Wrong or incorrect tank size.

It is important to keep in mind that these are only a few of the stress triggers. There are many other elements that can provoke stress in your finned friends.

Symptoms To Watch Out For

How are you supposed to know that your fish is feeling stressed? It is easier than you think. If you keep a close eye and are observant of your pet, you should be able to identify some of these stressed fish symptoms listed below as soon as they start occurring.

• Change in appearance
  • Visible ailments or sores
  • White spots
  • Red streaking on fins
  • A decrease in color
• Frantic swimming or crashing into the bottom of the tank
• Loss of appetite
• Going to the water’s surface and gasping for air
• Hiding for long periods of time
• Scraping themselves on any harsh material in the tank

You don’t want to miss any of these signs of stress in fish or any other strange behaviors due to the fact it might directly cause a worse condition. Catching these warning signs as soon as possible will allow for the best course of action.

Hopefully, this helped identify how to tell if your fish is stressed. Make sure to visit our website to order fish antibiotics if they are needed for the treatment of your fish. Do your part to keep your fish healthy and stress free today!