If you love keeping fish, you might end up filling up your aquarium without noticing. You might think that there is still space there but do not forget that fish breathe there too. Over-population in the environment will result in competition for resources.
Of course, things won’t go bad immediately. At first, you will see some signs and later on things will start to go bad and might result in the death of a few fish. So if you observe such signs in your aquarium, you should immediately do something to reduce the population. You can donate your fish to someone else and if you do not want that, buy another aquarium.
However, there is another thing that you can do. For example, if you do not have too many fish but you are facing signs of overpopulation, you can use Prodibio. It promotes optimal water conditions and not only for fish but also for corals and plants. So if it is about one or two fish, you do not need to put them away from others. Instead, you can use such methods to ensure a proper living environment.
You can buy these supplements, aquarium kits, and other things from JustForPets. They have products not only for fish but also for other pets like cats and dogs and even birds. You can go to their website and look for the products that will be beneficial for your little partners.
Signs of overpopulation in the aquarium
1. High aggression level
Aggression in your fish is an important sign that you should never ignore. When they are running out of space, they start to get aggressive. As a result of this, they will hurt themselves.
However, the aggression level depends on the species. If the fish is more aggressive, it might even hurt others in the tank. This will be their way of telling them that this is my territory and you cannot come here. On the other hand, less aggressive ones will hurt themselves and will end up dying.
Therefore, you should regularly check your fish and see if there are any signs. Furthermore, you should make sure that there is always enough space for your fish to swim in the tank. If a fish can swim to the length of the tank it means that the space is enough. If some of them remain in a certain space and do not let anyone in there, it means that they are marking their territory.
2. High ammonia levels
You cannot notice the amount of fish excreted but you can check ammonia levels. Fish excreta is rich in ammonia, so if its level is increasing, it means that there is overcrowding. In addition to this, you will see a lot of compost in the tank. So even if you are cleaning regularly and still there is all that compost it shows overcrowding.
Because if there is too much compost it means that the nitrogen cycle is not working properly. Problems with the nitrogen cycle will result in failure of converting Ammonia into nitrates. Thus, you will need to buy another aquarium.
3. Frequent disease attacks
If you are fond of keeping fish, you should also learn about their diseases. It is quite easy to find diseased fish because they will have spots on their body. Furthermore, there will be other signs of disease like strange behavior and laziness, slow swimming, and dizziness.
So if you see such behavior and there is no apparent cause, it is because of overcrowding. Overcrowding will result in water saturation and a dirty living environment. More ammonia in water and less oxygen will make them sick. There will be competition for natural resources and therefore, the oxygen level will reduce.
In addition to this, the fish will also ignore food and will become physically weak. All these things result in deteriorating their health. Thus, less immunity and more risk of diseases.
4. High-stress levels
Another sign that you will see among the fish in your tank is the high-stress levels. Less space will increase stress levels and will cause problems in the tank.
Different fish species will show different signs of stress. However, one thing that you will notice is the swimming speed among them. High-stress levels will make them sick of each other. So they will be fighting each other and hurting themselves. Furthermore, their swimming speed will also reduce. Instead of swimming to the tank length, they will be floating and moving around in a fixed space.
5. Frequent deaths
All the stresses and competition in the tank will change the eating habits of your fish. Thus, their immunity will also be reduced. Furthermore, there will be a high disease rate.
So what can you expect from all these factors?
Of course, your fish will die. So if a few fish died in the tank and you brought another few in their place, nothing would change. The competition will start again and there will be more deaths.
So if your fish are dying, you should find out the reason behind that and work on it. Only this will help the other ones.
6. Algae blooms
One of the major causes of algal blooms is a high concentration of ammonia in water. So if the nitrogen cycle is not functional in the tank and there is a high concentration of ammonia, algae will increase.
In addition to this, algae are self-sustaining. Therefore, it won’t end naturally. Furthermore, algae consume oxygen and this will result in less supply of oxygen for fish. What will happen then? Fish won’t get oxygen and will die quickly.
Furthermore, high concentrations of algae will reduce visibility in the water. Thus, water will become dirty too often. So if there are high algal blooms, you should clean the tank regularly. Cleaning the tank will get rid of algae. Furthermore, you will be able to remove some extra ones from the tank.
