5 Signs the Fish in Your Aquarium Are Healthy

Especially for those somewhat new to aquariums, fish can be rather enigmatic. For those familiar with caring for fish, it’s easier to spot abnormal behaviors and indicators of stress and disease. Picking up the details of a healthy fish can be tricky until you’ve observed them for a time. The staff at Aquatic Warehouse, a trusted aquarium supplier, wants to share five details that can help you tell whether your fish are healthy or not.

1. Maintaining a Healthy Glow

The scales should be even and smooth with a healthy color and no rough patches. There should be no spots where scales protrude from the body. The fish should have eyes that are bright and alert, with no signs of clouding or discharge, and the fins shouldn’t be clamped to the body’s sides, but straight and intact, not torn or ragged. Color should be uniform, lacking discoloration or redness. Gills that are inflamed or red, body and fins that have spots and specks of white or grey, a bent spine, and gasping for breath are signs the fish lacks that healthy glow and needs some help.

2. Engaging in Activity with Ease

Know your fish’s activity levels and watch for changes in patterns. A normally staid fish that abruptly begins darting about the tank indicates something is wrong. The fish should be moving easily and swimming effortlessly, not circling about or lolling at the tank’s bottom. Fins that are whole and healthy will be a factor in the fish’s ease of activity.

3. Eating Well

A healthy fish has a healthy appetite. Fish that are healthy are interested in food. They don’t refuse it or show a lack of interest in it. Be observant if you have a tankful of fish to note any that aren’t pursuing the food at feeding times. Watch for a swollen belly in a fish that’s eating normally or indicating a lack of interest in food, as this could be a sign of disease or other problems. Don’t discount old age—just like us, fish slow down and become not as interested in common behavior as they did when younger, so this doesn’t always mean they’re sick.

4. Exhibiting Standard Species Behavior

Some fish move about in schools, while others are loners. Make sure the schooling fish don’t suddenly want to be off on their own and that loners don’t abruptly change their behaviors. It helps to know basic facts about different species to know what to expect from your fish. Resources abound to know the basic behaviors of each species of domestic fish and the ways different species interact.

5. Inhabiting the Usual Spaces in the Aquarium

Much like people who have a favorite spot on the couch, fish have preferred sections of the tank. Again, it’s important to know the patterns your fish tend to adhere to. If one that prefers a particular section of decoration, such as a carefully chosen, bubbling treasure chest, suddenly starts idling about in the open on the bottom, there might be something wrong.

To ensure your fish remain healthy, you need to have the right supplies to properly maintain your aquarium. Whether you need a dosing pump, filter, protein skimmer, or any other necessary piece of aquarium equipment, Aquatic Warehouse has you covered. Check out what we have to offer online, come visit our store in Kearny Mesa, or give one of our aquarium experts a call at 858-467-9297.