5 Symptoms That Your Fish Tank Is Overcrowded

It is not easy to know if we keep a lot of fish in the fish tank, in this article we will show you some clear symptoms that your aquarium is overcrowded.

It is not always easy to know if you are keeping a lot of fish in the fish tank. The truth is that it really depends on many factors, but there are some clear paths to follow and some good indicators to check.

Below is a list of 5 symptoms that your fish tank is overcrowded.

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1. Aggressive Fish

If the fish are aggressive and start to hurt themselves, it could be a symptom that they are running out of space.

There are some species more aggressive than others, that is a fact, but the fish must behave well and not start hunting each other. Your fish must have the ability to swim the entire length of the fish tank. Unless you are mistaken for those fish that like to mark territories and stay in a certain space.

This is one of the most visible symptoms that an fish tank is overcrowded. Therefore, it is important that you observe this behavior, and check if it is part of the species’ natural behavior or if it is fighting for more space inside the fish tank.

2. High Levels of Ammonia

Fish excreta contain ammonia. And if you have a lot of them in the fish tank, you will have a lot of that compost in the water.

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• How To Solve Oxygenation Problems Of The Fish Tank?

It is a clear symptom that the aquarium’s “Nitrogen Cycle” is not working properly, as it is not able to convert all Ammonia into Nitrites. This usually happens when you have a lot of fish or they are too big for the fish tank.

3. Diseases Are Appearing Frequently

If you are having problems with diseases and have already tested the fish tank water to make sure that the Ntrogen Cycle is working properly, this can be a sign of excess fish.

It is not always easy to identify that the fish are sick. Some spots on the body are symptoms that they are in trouble, but the most important thing is to check the animals’ behavior, many of them exhibit strange behavior when they are sick.

Some fish may begin to swim more slowly or simply become dizzy or disoriented. They can stop eating if they get sick or eat less than they should.

So pay attention to how they behave when you introduce food to the fish tank. Any visible signs, such as ignoring food, are a sign that they may be in trouble.

4. Stressed Fish

Fish can react in different ways, some are more passive and others are more active. Anyway, excess fish can cause problems in the animals’ behavior. If you have too many of them in an fish tank, they can quickly become stressed.

They will start hunting each other, and due to this frequent behavior, they can become very tired and show signs of stress.

If you are new to fishkeeping, it may not be so easy to identify whether the fish are stressed or just playing. So, here are some symptoms you can look for:

– Are they swimming fast all day?
– Or are they swimming in circles without interacting with the food?
– Are they panting on the surface?
– Are they rubbing each other or the fish tanks ornaments?

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• Why Is My Fish Spitting Out The Food?

If the answer to these questions is YES, your fish is probably suffering from stress. Therefore, it is good to start looking for ways to decrease the aquarium fauna.

5. Short Life Span

Short-lived animals are also a symptom that the fish tank is overcrowded.

When the aquarium is full, there is simply not enough space for all the fish to swim and grow properly. So the fish will often live for a short time.

If you start to see premature deaths in your fish tank, you should definitely remove some fish to lower the amount of organic matter in the water and free up more space for them to swim and thrive.

Conclusion

Some symptoms of overcrowding in fish tanks are easy to spot, such as fish fighting over space all the time, sick animals and high levels of ammonia even when the aquarium has already been cycled. The ideal is to acquire the fish little by little and never buy several at once, unless they are animals that only live well in groups.

Always have a little common sense, and especially research about the species you are thinking of having in your fish tank. There is a lot of information in books and on the internet about the behavior of fish and especially the minimum capacity in liters that the aquarium needs to have for the species.

So, for you … what are the other symptoms that show that the fish tank is overcrowded?