What to do if an aquarium fish. Overeating in fish: to feed or not to feed, that is the question

Each aquarist tries to create ideal conditions in the aquarium for his wards. However, many breeders are faced with such a problem when all the negative factors seem to be taken into account, but some fish lie at the bottom. They become irritable, with troubled breathing. When trying to swim up to the middle of the aquarium, the fish have difficulty, give up and begin to sink with their tail up.

Before moving on to solving this problem, it is important to study the anatomy of fish. The body of bony fish is a very complex and multifunctional system. The fish maintains its stable position in the water, and moving through the thickness, with the help of a special organ - the swim bladder. It is an internal outgrowth from the esophagus and is responsible for stabilization, breathing, and even hearing.

The hydrostatic function consists in the ability of the bubble to shrink when immersed in depth, and vice versa, to straighten out when surfacing.

So, if in yours you notice fish that outwardly look quite ordinary, but sink or lie at the bottom, then it is more likely that the reason lies in the disorder of this very swim bladder.

Problem symptoms:

It is very problematic to determine what exactly the reason befell your fish.

Solution:

Unfortunately, if you have tried all the points in practice, and they have not brought a positive result, then you are unlikely to be able to save the fish.

How to prevent this from happening in the future?

Don't Overfeed
Keep the water temperature in the aquarium at least 24 degrees
Keep your water clean

We wish your fish good health and hope that you will not face similar problems.

Welcome to our fishing portal! A real angler should be well aware of all the features and nuances of fishing. It is important to be prepared in order to be able to get out of any situation and come home with a good catch. Everyone knows that there are times when the fish may not bite. It is important to find out the causes of this phenomenon, as well as take the right actions.

In this article, you will learn about the various factors that affect the bite. We will also provide a detailed algorithm of actions so that you can improve the bite at any time. By following the recommendations in this article, you will never come home without loot. Our advice is used by both professional anglers and beginners in this field. Therefore, you are sure to find something useful for yourself!

What factors affect bite?

To understand what actions to take to improve the bite, you need to understand the main factors that affect it. Consider the most important conditions that can improve or worsen the bite of a fish:

- can complicate the fishing itself, but can improve the bite. Waves and ripples do not allow direct sunlight to penetrate into the reservoir, which makes the fish less cautious;
rain- if there is a slight precipitation in the form of rain, then the activity of aquatic inhabitants increases. This is due to the fact that the upper layers of the reservoir are saturated with oxygen, and nutrient particles are often washed into the water itself;
pressure- the lower this indicator, the more active the fish will be. The most optimal are the periods before the onset of cold weather or before a storm;
water transparency- The cleaner the reservoir is, the more its inhabitants will be careful and hide deeper. But even too muddy water will not allow the fish to see food. Therefore, you should choose a suitable place or time when the pond will be cloudy enough so that the fish do not behave as carefully as possible, but also allow it to see your bait;
water temperature- for different types of representatives aquatic environment different temperature conditions will be optimal. Peaceful and heat-loving representatives in sufficiently warm water behave actively and feed well. Very high temperatures cause the fish to faint, so the bite may worsen;
sharp fluctuations in the water level in a reservoir- able to worsen the bite. Slow changes practically do not affect the bite, but with sharp drops, the inhabitants of the aquatic environment stop actively feeding.

As you can see, the activity of the inhabitants of the reservoir depends on various natural factors. Therefore, when choosing a day or place for fishing, you should pay attention to all these indicators. Then you can avoid situations with bad bites and properly prepare for the process in order to bring a good catch.

What to do when the fish stop biting?

If, nevertheless, you are faced with the fact that for some time the fish pecked well, and then suddenly stopped doing it, then it is necessary to take the necessary measures to restore the bite. You need to think about how to outwit the inhabitants of the reservoir and make them react to your bait. We bring to your attention some effective advice thanks to which you can get a good catch and resume fish activity:

Change your fishing spot. Sometimes it happens that the inhabitants of the reservoir change their location. So you need to move around a bit. Remember that during the hot period, representatives of the aquatic environment can hide in places with dense vegetation or in the shade. In such an area, they feel safe.
Change the bait. It is possible that you have chosen the wrong bait for a particular type of fish. It is also effective to combine complementary foods with the bait you are using. This will make it possible to accustom representatives of the aquatic environment to a specific food, and then they will be hooked without fear.
Experiment with bait. Remember that your potential prey's taste preferences can change in minutes. The same representative may prefer pearl barley in the morning, and corn in the evening. Don't be afraid to change different types baits or a combination of them. You can also change the size of the bait. If the fish is already full, then it will probably leave large pieces without attention. But it will still react to small ones.
Try to wait out the bad bite period. Each type of fish has a time when they are more active or vice versa. So, often at lunchtime, the bite can worsen, and in the morning or evening hours it can improve. You may have fallen into one of these periods, so try waiting a couple of hours.
Be careful. The fish may be frightened by any noises or unnecessary movements on the shore. It is possible that the biting stopped because you started talking loudly or constantly moving. Fishing must be done in clothing bright colors, and also keep quiet so that the fish do not see you and are not frightened.
Change your fishing depth. If you have fished at great depths before, then try it. It is likely that the fish went to feed or bask in a more convenient place.
Change tackle. The inhabitants of the reservoir may be afraid of even too thick fishing line. Therefore, you can pick up a fishing line of a smaller diameter or even change tackle. You can attach a smaller hook and make sure the tip is securely hidden.
If other people are fishing near you on the shore, you can approach them and ask about the situation. If they do not have a bite, then you will have to try all the above methods to increase the activity of the fish. If the fish bites from other fishermen, then you are probably doing something wrong.

As you can see, there are many methods to improve the bite. We recommend that you try each of them in order to understand what is the cause of a bad bite and eliminate it. With the above tips, you will be able to learn some fishing tricks and always bring home a good catch. We wish you successful and efficient fishing!

Infectious diseases are caused by various harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi. It is more difficult to deal with them at home. Only a specialist can make a final and accurate diagnosis. In addition, it is not possible to recognize an infectious disease immediately, since it goes through an “invisible” incubation period.

Still, you can help your pets, although for this you will have to work hard.

First, you need to put the fish with signs of the disease in a quarantine aquarium. It is advisable to transplant all healthy fish, and disinfect the walls, plants and soil in the aquarium. How to do this, you will read below.

For treatment a sick individual needs to prepare three vessels with a capacity of at least 2 liters. The characteristics of the water in them should match those of the quarantine and main aquariums.

When preparing the drug, try to prepare the exact dose for your patient, for juveniles it should be 50-75% of the “adult” portion.

Having planted the fish in the first vessel, in which half of the pre-prepared medicinal preparation has already been dissolved and aeration is turned on, you will slowly add the rest. At the same time, you need to monitor the patient's reaction: if the fish rushes about, turns over, stop pouring the drug and add water to lower the concentration of the drug.

After the treatment time (it depends on the medicine you have chosen and on its concentration) has expired, transplant the fish into the second vessel, in which there is ordinary aquarium water, for half an hour.

Then it must be placed in a third vessel with aquarium water and aeration and fed. After the end of the treatment session, the fish is again planted in a quarantine aquarium. Before repeating the procedures, all three vessels must be disinfected and filled with new water.

If the symptoms of the disease are not in one fish, but immediately in the majority, then treatment can be carried out directly in the main aquarium. The medicinal product is poured in three doses, the interval between them should be at least 30 minutes. Aeration should work, the filter should be turned off. In addition, you can purchase special medicated supplements or medicated foods from the pet store.

If you find signs of an infectious disease in your fish, the aquarium must be disinfected. How to do it? It is necessary to prepare a disinfectant solution. Various preparations can be used for its preparation: 0.1% potassium permanganate solution, 3% chloramine solution, 4% formalin solution, 5% bleach solution, 5% hydrochloric or sulfuric acid solution. Choose what you have on hand and pour the solution into the aquarium to the brim for a day. Fish, of course, must first be removed.

The inventory can be processed with the same solution. Nets and sprayers are disinfected by boiling for 10-15 minutes. Thermometer, heater, rubber and plastic equipment (hoses, suction cups, etc.) must not be boiled. The aquarium soil is boiled for 30-60 minutes or replaced with a new one. After disinfection, all items are thoroughly washed several times with warm water. Water is poured into the aquarium for several days.

After that, you can pour it out and draw constant water into the aquarium with all the necessary parameters.

If harmful bacteria have appeared in the aquarium, then the disinfection solution will not help. In this case, ordinary washing powder should be used. Dilute it in the proportion of 0.5 kg of powder per 30 liters of water and wash the aquarium and inventory with the solution.

Disinfection can be carried out using water ozonation or irradiation with a bactericidal lamp (10-20 minutes). As for plants, a penicillin solution can be prepared for them in a proportion of 5 mg per 1 liter. They must stay there for three days.

Sometimes precautions do not lead to the desired results, and the causative agents of some diseases continue to exist in the form of spores. In such cases, the plants, unfortunately, will have to be destroyed.

The problem of the death of aquarium fish is more relevant for beginner aquarists, although experienced professionals often face such a nuisance. Why this happens and what you need to know in order to protect your pets - read in this article.

What to do if you find a dead fish in the aquarium

The presence of even one dead fish is already a reason to think about the state of the water and reconsider all the living conditions of the inhabitants of the aquarium, because it could well have died both from a lack of oxygen and from the attacks of its relatives. Be that as it may, you should start thinking about the situation with the removal of the corpse, since in a warm aquarium, decay processes occur at a phenomenal speed, which means that the rest of the fish are in danger due to cloudy water and the growth of bacteria. If the seized fish has not yet decomposed too much, inspect the corpse: it may be possible to determine the cause of death by eye.

Wearing rubber gloves on your hands, carefully examine the condition of her fins, scales and abdominal cavity. If your pet suffered from its own relatives, then you will surely notice traces of violent death on its body. At the same time, a strongly swollen abdomen, bulging eyes, and scales covered with plaque or spots indicate poisoning or illness. If no apparent causes of death have been found, or if you suspect poisoning, then it would be logical to check the quality of the aquarium water. For this purpose, special tests are provided that determine the increased content of nitrates and ammonia in the liquid.

Important!Among the variety of tests on the market, it is better to give preference to drip types, as the most accurate.

In case of water pollution, 20-25% of its total volume will have to be replaced immediately, without changing the conditions for keeping the fish too much. Also pay attention to the presence of metal decorative elements in the tank, because many fish do not tolerate such additions. In the case when everything is in order with the water and there are no signs of an attack by its cohabitants on the body of a dead fish, analyze other possible reasons her death.
The most common include hunger (or, conversely, overeating), illness, age, stress due to improper conditions of detention. With a single case of death of pets, you should not panic too much, but if this happens with enviable regularity, then something is really wrong in the aquarium, and it is better to seek help from an experienced aquarist.

Reasons why fish die in an aquarium

As we have already mentioned, there are a lot of reasons for the death of aquarium fish, but almost all of them are the result of rash human actions. Let's consider each of them more closely.

Poisoning with nitrogen compounds

The most famous cause of mass mortality of aquarium inhabitants is muddy, dirty and toxic water, with a large amount of nitrogenous compounds (they are the result of the breakdown of fish waste products). A weak filtration system or failure of cleaning elements lead to the rapid spread of nitrites, nitrates and ammonium throughout the water column. The fish in such water become lethargic and die quickly enough, often floating upside down.
You can determine the failure of the normal nitrogen cycle just by looking at the water: it becomes cloudy very quickly and starts to stink. At a water acidity level of pH 7.5 or higher, dissolved ammonia can be found in high doses, which leads to a rapid death.

Reduced acidity is not so toxic for most aquarium inhabitants, but it has a particularly negative effect on the well-being of small fish, as they are more susceptible to them. You can determine the level of nitrogenous compounds in the thickness of the aquarium liquid using the mentioned aquarium tests, which are sold in almost any pet store.

Did you know? The largest aquarium in the world is located in the US state of Georgia and contains 8.5 million gallons of water. More than 500 species of living creatures, brought here from 60 places of their natural habitat, live in it.

Result of incorrect adaptation

In most cases, the water levels in a pet store aquarium and a breeder's home are significantly different, and if the fish are abruptly moved from one environment to another, they will experience extreme stress. That is, the cause of death of your pets is an incorrect adaptation, especially if the pH value differs by at least one. Stressed fish often move little and lie more on the bottom, not reacting in any way to your touching the walls of the aquarium.
To avoid such consequences, the bag bought with the fish is first placed in the aquarium, attached to the glass with a clothespin, after which weak aeration is carried out and after 10 minutes the aquarium water is added, repeating this action every 10-15 minutes. After 1.5 hours, you can safely release the fish into a new home. As additional measures, you can pour special anti-stress preparations into the tank and feed your pets. If newly acquired aquarium inhabitants die within the first few days, then the reason for this is definitely in the wrong adaptation.

Disease

Various diseases are the cause of death for many pets, and fish are no exception. Usually, signs of poor health are visible almost immediately: the color of the scales fades, and the fish itself becomes less active, refuses to feed. The development of this or that disease is a consequence of weak immunity, stressful situations, infection with bacteria or poisoning with the same nitrogen compounds.
If the problem with water quality is not solved, then even the highest quality medicines will not always be able to cope with this scourge, and some of them will only aggravate the situation (for example, in case of poisoning with nitrates, you should never add salt to the water).

Important! When purchasing new fish, be sure to quarantine them for a month to ensure they are good health and protect local residents from possible, sometimes very exotic ailments (without special laboratory tests almost impossible to identify).

You can also reduce the likelihood of diseases by strengthening the immunity of aquarium inhabitants and timely water changes.

The water that enters the house through the local water supply is far from the most the best option to fill the aquarium. It contains a sufficiently high amount of chlorine, which leads to high mortality of fish from gas embolism. Symptoms of this sudden disease are expressed in the appearance of air bubbles on the body and its redness, a sharp movement of the fish from corner to corner, protruding scales. Typically, this state of aquarium inhabitants is observed when more than 50% of the water in the tank is replaced at the same time or the fish are transferred to the water that has just been drawn from the tap.
Of course, no one says to buy a special bottled liquid (although there are such cases), but it is imperative to defend the collected tap water, of course, if you do not want to ruin your pets. IN ideal it is advisable to purchase a stationary, three-section filter installed on a conventional faucet. Such an addition can help in solving many problems, and not only in water world but also in the health of the households themselves.

Aggression of other fish

Another reason for the death of aquarium fish is often too aggressive neighbors, and in some cases you may not even find a corpse. Unscrupulous sellers of pet stores are often silent about the incompatibility of individual breeds, sometimes even herbivorous pets can easily eat their small relatives.
Do not forget that some species are distinguished by intraspecific aggression, preferring to avoid contact even with their brothers and sisters. In addition, when spawning is stimulated, some fish specifically try to exterminate all their neighbors, which usually ends badly for the smallest inhabitants of the aquarium. To avoid losing all acquired pets, be sure to familiarize yourself with their character and relationship with other fish, only after that settling in a common aquarium.

Did you know?The most poisonous fish in the world is recognized as a wart, or as it is also called a stone fish, which can be found in shallow areas of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Stepping on this creature, a person dies within 2-3 hours, experiencing terrible pain in the injured leg all this time.

Lack of oxygen in aquarium water

The lack of oxygen in the water is the rarest cause of the death of aquarium fish, since even novice aquarists immediately install the appropriate devices to replenish it. However, this still happens and in most cases is due to an increase in water temperature or limited intake at night, when plants stop producing it due to lack of light and the lack of additional lighting devices.
The lack of this element may also be the result of a working failure of the compressor that saturates the liquid with it. Either way, the fish will become lethargic, open their mouths convulsively, and eventually die. Such unfortunate consequences can only be prevented by installing a high-quality air compressor in the aquarium and constantly monitoring the temperature in the fish house (the temperature should not change even by 1 degree).

Prevention

Any problem is easier to prevent than to try to cope with its consequences.

Therefore, in order not to lose your aquarium fish, it is worth taking certain preventive measures:

follow the rules for transporting from the store: use special bags in summer, and thermoses in cold weather;
newly acquired fish should be placed in a separate tank for a monthly quarantine, using liquid from a large aquarium to fill it;
at the first sign of feeling unwell (lethargy, apathy, refusal to feed), immediately put the pets in a separate container for quarantine;
do not use the same inventory for the care of healthy and sick representatives of the aquatic world;
clean the aquarium regularly;
change 25% of the total volume of water every 10 days;
control the number of inhabitants, preventing overpopulation in the reservoir;
do not use products of dubious quality to decorate the underwater world of your pets, especially with a large amount of dyes released into the water or sharp edges that can injure swimming fish;
when buying food, give preference only to products designed specifically for the species you keep, and they must be stored accordingly;
always follow the feeding regimen: fasting days can be organized no more than once a week;
control the temperature and other characteristics of the water in the aquarium (alkaline and acid balance is especially important), for which a thermometer and test strips are used;
when using special medications for treatment or prevention, be sure to strictly observe the dosage indicated for them.

Knowing and strictly adhering to all these recommendations, you will be able to avoid many problems when keeping aquarium fish, and if one of them dies, the actions taken in time will save other aquarium pets from the same fate.

Video: why fish die in an aquarium

Whether or not loss of appetite in fish should be a cause for concern depends on the specific circumstances.

It is perfectly normal for fish that have just been introduced into an aquarium to not show interest in food for some time (several hours or days) due to the stress of transport and adjusting to a new environment. Such fish may refuse to eat even if the food is unfamiliar to them. The same can apply to fish that have been living in an aquarium for a long time, if you offer them unusual food. This problem is solved when the fish begins to experience hunger. But before that, all uneaten food must be carefully removed from the aquarium to avoid water pollution.
Some fish require special foods and will refuse any alternative food. For example, some predatory fish sometimes they refuse everything but live fish, at least at first.
Fish that incubate eggs in their mouths usually stop feeding during the spawning season.
In a fish that has been living in an aquarium for a long time, the reluctance to eat may be a sign of some kind of health problem. You need to do water tests, fix any problems, and then watch the fish and see if they show any additional signs of illness.
If a fish takes food it normally eats into its mouth but then spit it out, then the problem may be a foreign body lodged in the throat (it could be pieces of food, gravel, pieces of equipment, or a tumor). In this case, the fish must be caught with a net and its throat examined. Soft and smooth objects can sometimes be removed by yourself using long tweezers. However, veterinary assistance may be required and should be sought if the foreign body is sharp (eg, some types of gravel) or has protrusions (eg, an air valve).
Sudden loss of appetite and lack of feces may indicate constipation. A few days without food usually do no harm to the fish, except for the fry, which can quickly starve to death.

Advice

Both acute and chronic stress can lead to loss of appetite. For example, affected fish have recently become the object of aggression (acute stress) or are characterized by increased nervousness and unwillingness to compete with other fish for food during feeding (chronic stress). Chronic stress should not be allowed to arise, and acute stress should be dealt with immediately.