How to Stop My Fish From Chasing Each Other?
Hey! Have you ever noticed your pet fish chasing each other. Watching the fish doing this is so much fun unless or until it is harming the other.
Different science theories explain different behaviors of pet fish. One of the most common fish behavior is chasing.
This kind of activity explains their mood, which can easily be understood by a human being. As a good aquarist, you must know the behavioral actions of your pet.
If your fish is chasing the other fish, then you should know why it is doing this. What is the issue behind this behavior and its purpose?
Sometimes the fish are just playing, but if the behavior becomes strange and continuous, then you should take it seriously. But in this case, you should not have to get panic, relax, and notice the behavior.
Try to understand the fish. If you notice that they are fighting, then separate one of them in another tank or bowl for some time.
Whypetfish.com will explain to you here all about this exciting topic. Here we go ;
Contents
How to Stop My Fish From Chasing Each Other?
Just like human beings, animals also conduct different actions, and we can understand our pets only by those manners. It is a kind of body language that is telling us about them.
So if you see your fish chasing others, then, first of all, you should know the primary reasons for this behavior early.
Reasons Behind Fish Chasing Each Other
The reasons behind this act can be different which are;
Coupling
Sometimes people think that this pet behavior is strange, but it is nothing other than mating. The male partner chases the female when it is breeding time.
It is quite lovely to see the couple following each other. You can observe that either the fish are only swimming after each other, or nibling.
If one partner is not harming its fellow and just chasing, then there is no problem at all. Just leave them alone and become ready for the new ones to come in your aquarium.
There is a vast difference between fighting or aggressive behavior and merely following the partner. You can understand it by merely observing.
In this case, most commonly a couple of fish is swimming fast with enthusiasm. This behavior is very ritual, and your pet needs some privacy and space.
Competition for Territory
Another primary reason is the competition for space. That is why you should not have a small aquarium in your home unless or until you have placed only one or two fish in it.
You should always have a big or average-sized aquarium can you home. It will help you to put some more pet fish in that aquarium in the future.
You will not need any other tank or aquarium to keep other fish. Besides this, it will benefit every fish to give enough space for swimming.
Animals also need some private space to live. The aquatic animals define their territory when they are in the sea. But when you make them your pet, there it is confined in four walls.
So it is your moral duty to provide freedom of space to let them enjoy their life. If you have provided them with a bigger space, they will define their specific territory in that aquarium.
When a fish defines their particular area, the other fellow fish respect that and do not come in that fish area. They swim in their specific area with complete freedom and do not let others to go there.
But if the tank is small and there is limited space for swimming, the fish get frustrated and stressed. There is no defined area for each fish, and they swim all around in a small space with exhaustion.
There should not be more than two fish in a small tank, and preference should be a bigger tank for future use and lots of colorful fish.
In this case, your fish become aggressive and start chasing the other one who has come to its limited space. The fish start chasing the other one to harm and nibble.
Chasing goes on and on until one pet harms the other one. If you notice that your aquarium pet is chasing and nibbling the other fish, then immediately take the aggressive fish out in a bowl to let it calm down.
Fight for Food
You must know that your pet needs how much amount of food. It is about feeding time and amount.
An aquarist knows very well that how much he has fed to his pet and at what time he should give next feed to the fish.
The food should be in a suitable required amount for your pet fish. You should not overfeed your pet nor give them very little food.
When you overfeed them, although there is no fighting, but there are many other issues as well. And when the food is very less, and the competition is more, then the fight begins.
You must give a decent quantity of healthy food to your pet fish. Otherwise, they will fight for getting their food.
It is quite funny to see one fish eating its fellow food, and the fish starts chasing that one which has ate their food.
Overcrowding
In a full tank, fish always stay aggressive and chase to fight with each other. Putting too many fish in a small area increases competition and stress.
Overcrowding is always bad. You should take care of your little aquarium pets because they need your love and care.
Incompatible Fish Mates
You will wonder to know that fish are the most aggressive animals after human beings. Fish are most commonly seen fighting with their fellows if they are incompatible with them.
While setting up a tank in your home, it is always advised to look for those fish only we can live happily with each other.
Because some fish are not meant to live together and when they come face to face, the active fish chase the weaker one and hurt it.
For example, two male beta fish cannot live together at all. Even two female beta fish should not be present in the same tank.
Usually, Gourami fish are incompatible with their fellows, and different others are like this, etc.
Methods to Stop fish From Chasing Each Other
If your fish is continuously swimming after another fish, then you should do the following things to stop this cycle.
Add Hiding Spots in Aquarium
Adding some spots for privacy can help a lot. Fish will consider the specific hiding spots the particle place to live in or as their home or resting area.
Similarly, the other fish will also choose their hiding spot and live a private life without harming each other.
The best hiding spots can be castles, big rocks, and other things like this. The fish will not be able to disturb other fish, and your every pet fish can rest peacefully in their spot.
Similarly, these hiding places prove best for breeding and laying eggs. The partners can protect their eggs without getting panic.
They can protect their eggs and babies in their private spot. Instead of swimming after each other, the fish partners will peacefully live in their places.
Decorate Your Tank
You can decorate your tank with different things. You might be thinking about how it can stop the fish from moving after each other. But it is helpful as fish can easily define their area.
For example, you can decorate the bottom of the tank with different colors of gravel. You can make portions of gravel with specific colors. The fish will limit their swimming only in that area, and there will be no fight.
You can place some rocks and castles at one particular distance, and different fish will occupy different corners or areas.
Similarly, you can set a line of plants and make different sections in a tank. Choose some tall plants to make a separation line. You can use driftwood also for separating the place.
Your fish will stay happy in their defined area, and there will be no issues among them.
Give Sufficient Food
You should give a sufficient quantity of food to your fish to make their tummy satisfied. When there is enough food, there will be no fight for it.
One fish will not chase the other one for eating its meal. There will be much more peace inside the dank then before.
Hunger will no more be the reason or fight among your pets. When they do not go against each other, then they will live together happily.
Fulfill the need of every fish with different types of foods in the same aquarium. Like you can give live food, fish flakes, manufactured food, or some natural stuff, like different nutrient-rich leaves, etc.
Provide Excess pace
Enough space is just when you have a large tank for your aquatic pets. Decorating your large tank is much easier than the smaller one.
You can easily decorate and make partitions for different fish in a big tank very quickly. You can give every section full of space to you every pet, and they will be happy swimming in their territory.
Furthermore, you can do other pet addition in the same tank in the future. Once you buy bigger equipment, you will never need to buy others.
All the chasing, nibbling, and other such behaviors will stop, and you will be a calm place ever. Along with this, your pet will stay stress-free and relaxed.
Use Tank Dividers
You can divide the tank into different sections for keeping the fish separate. This method has proved useful for the fish, which are always fighting.
It will also clear the issue of fish mistakenly coming into another fish place. You can divide the aquarium more if it is significant. Similarly, you can distribute a corner or some portion of the aquarium for separating the fighter fish.
There are many aquarium dividers available online. They give real comfort and do not let the fish fight. Your work also becomes less as you just put that fish separately, which is fighting a lot.
How to Provide a Proper Place to Breeding Fish?
Different fish species have different periods for mating. If you know that it is the breeding season for your fish, then their chasing behavior should not bother you.
Because they love each other, you might be thinking about what you can do and stop them from doing this. As I have told, you can provide hiding places for them.
Besides this, you can place them in a separate area or another tank. Another thing you can do is to put the fish in another container when she is pregnant.
Another common practice that is done by the aquarists is that they keep the pregnant fish in the same tank with other compactable fellows, provide a hiding space, and give care to her.
The fish lay eggs in its private hiding spot and take care of her eggs. After the hatching of the eggs, the babies come out. The aquarist practice to take all the babies in a separate aquarium.
Because the big fish can eat small babies or harm them, so that is why it is advisable to keep the baby fish separately and give them proper care and nutrition.
If your fish has eggs in her belly and there are chances that other fish can harm her or make her stressed because of any reason, then it is advisable to keep it separately until then eggs, and baby fish come out.
What If a Fish Does not Refrain from Chasing?
Sometimes the fish is going unstoppable in aggressiveness. Whatever methods you do to calm down your pet, did not become effective sometime.
If your fish do not want to stop chasing even when you have done all of the strategies, Then it is a must to put it separately.
Such aggressive and fighter fish always harm their fellows and do not pay attention to anything else. They are still busy nibbling and fighting with their tank mates. So it is better to keep them separate.
Tips to Calm Down an Aggressive Fish
You can calm your aggressive pet by doing the following things.
- Separate the fish from all other fellows.
- Give your fish the food it loves.
- A treat or live food can help reduce anger.
- Soothe down your pet by gently holding it in your hand.
Take care of your fish, understand their behaviors, and notice the mood swings. Try to keep your pet as much as happy as you can, and it will also make you relaxed to see them calm.
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