How to Tell If Fish are Happy in New Tank

How to Tell If Fish are Happy in New Tank?

Did you just bought and set up a new tank and wondering that your fish is happy in it or not? Yes, every living organism has feelings, and they express it in their own way. There are some of the specific signs that your fish shows to tell you about their happiness.

How to Tell If Fish are Happy in New Tank? You can check if your fish are happy in the new tank by looking at their fins, swimming activity, feeding behavior, and social interaction.

You can keep your fish happy in the tank by keeping the water clean, providing sufficient light, maintaining pH, providing proper food, and adding plants and toys in the aquarium.

It is we who don’t understand those signs. Love has many languages, and if you are a good owner, your pet will express it in multiple ways in front of you. There is a need to understand those signs to understand what your pet is feeling like.

How to Tell If Fish are Happy in New Tank?

Too many pet fish owners asked me this question repeatedly as they were all just wondering and curious to know about it. It is also your moral duty to make the pet fish happy, which you have bought in your home aquarium.

If your fish is loving life and living happily, then definitely you will understand from their behavior. Though you may not spend too much time with your fish, you should know about their behavior.

The way your fish behave can easily tell you that either it is sick or healthy. If your fish is healthy, it will ultimately be happy, but other things matter too, like the environment you provide, etc.

Here are some of the common signs that assure you that a fish is happy.

Swimming Actively

If you have just introduced your pet fish to a new tank and are swimming actively in it, it is a sign of fish showing happiness. Notice that if your fish are hanging at some specific place or just lying in a corner or at the bottom, then it indicates their unhappiness.

It could also be a symbol of any illness. May be your fish is liking the new place in, but the water conditions are bad. Make sure that the new place you are going to set for your fish is suitable for living.

The tank water conditions should be clean and pure. You do not have to glance over your fish behavior but watch it for a few minutes after putting in a new tank.

Because some of the fish are shy or some hide for some time period if the new place is introduced to them. If your fish is also hiding behind plants and stones, then it means that they are making their selves feel safe.

But watch your pet fish for a few minutes; if it finds the water completely okay and a good environment, it will not hide then and swim actively and freely in the whole tank. This is what when your fish is enjoying the place and is really happy.

It is a real joy seeing your fish happy and swimming in the entire tank. If your fish is also behaving like this, then congratulations, your fish is extremely happy with the place you provided to it. A healthy and happy fish always swim back and forth energetically in all of its tanks.

Eating properly

Usually, pets don’t eat well when they are ill or sad until they are not with their tummy already full. If your fish are not eating well, then it means that they are not happy.

The other reason might be a bad odor or smelly food. Try to feed your fish the food they love because some fish are picky eaters. If your fish is still ignoring her favorite food, then there is definitely some issue with its health and behavior. 

But if your fish is eating well and loving its food, then this indicates their happiness. At least, your pet fish will not ignore the food they love the most if their mood is fine.

Breathing properly

Now, this is another indicator. If your fish is expanding gills properly and normally, then it is fine. But if the gills are expanding very quickly and the fish shows unusual behavior, then there must be something wrong in the water.

There can be some of the harmful compounds in the water which you have filled in your tank. It can lead to fish to distress. In this case, immediately take the fish out of that water and put the fish somewhere else in water for some time.

Change the water and check it using the test kit. Fill the tank with pure water, and its temperature should also be fine. After that, put your fish in the tank back again and now notice their behavior.

I hope that your fish is now behaving normally and having proper breathing. Proper breathing and swimming tell you that your fish is now happy and you can use these best names for your pet.

Fine fins

When the fish fins are torn or ragged, there are some issues with it for sure because a ragged or torn fins and some white spots on the body indicate that your fish has got some disease.

You should immediately cure that disease and separate the diseased fish from all other fish because it can spread the disease to all of its aquarium fellows.

Proper fins and freely movements show the fish is happy and just playing in its place. Similarly, bulging eyes also indicated that your fish is fighting with its disease. But this case doesn’t apply to goldfish because they already have the bubble type bulging eyes.

Social interaction

If your fish is happy, it will show a good social interaction with each other. But every fish has a different nature too. Your pet fish will also give you a good response when you are trying to play with them, and they give a really positive response.

A happy fish don’t fight with their other fish fellows. Give them a proper space to live in, and they will never fight. A good social interaction also helps you with the mood of your fish.

Brightly colored

A  bright-colored fish is a symbol that your fish is happy. The pale color of fish is because of stress or disease. If your fish is leaving its color, then it is very dangerous. You should take quick action here.

A fish loses its color if there is too much nitrogen in the tank water. Fish waste is highly nitrogenous based, and when it remains accumulated in a tank and it is not cleaned, it causes problems and black goldfish can change its color to orange.

Nitrogen results in discoloration from the fish body, and fish are extremely unhappy and uncomfortable in this case. Otherwise, a happy, normal, and healthy fish has a vibrant glow on the body. Their good and bright skin color is a sign that they are well and happy.

How to Keep Your Fish Happy In a Tank?

There are several ways by which you can keep your pet fish happy in its place.

Keep Water Clean

High-Quality clean water is a key for fish happiness. A fish has to live in water, and when it is dirty, how can fish live there with comfort.

So, keep the tank water clean by doing regular water changes. Use tank filters to clean up all of the mess. Make sure that water has not harmful compounds in it.

Water should be clean and clear from all of the impurities so that you can provide a better environment for your fish to live in.

Provide light, proper temperature, and pH

These are some of the essentials for every fish to survive and stay happier. Proper lighting can protect your fish from infections and keep them healthy and strong.

A normally required temperature is a must for your fish to stay happy. Otherwise, these little creatures can’t bear temperature extremes and die.

A proper pH is a must for the survival of your fish. Extreme pH changes can change the nature of water, and it is really fatal for fish. So, keep it checked and maintained so that your fish can stay happy in the tank.

Peaceful environment maintenance

A calm and quiet environment protects your pet fish from stress. Otherwise, stress conditions can be terrible for your fish health.

Some of the fish can’t bear the stress and become dead. So, take great care of your fish and provide them with a peaceful place to live.

Must provide some hiding places to your fish; either you have a little fish or an adult one. It is essential to make them feel comfortable and safe their selves. It keeps a fish happy too.

Give proper food to your fish

Feed your fish several times a day but don’t overfeed. Provide your pet fish with a variety of food to enjoy. You must know the favorite food of your fish.

Proper feeding is happiness and great satisfaction for a fish. Give your fish proper food at the proper time, and don’t forget it. It will keep your fish in joy.

Put some plants, pebbles, and toys in tank

Fish play with toys but some of the species. Other fish also feel happy and safe because of toys because they can also be the best hiding place. Besides this, they give a great look at a fish tank.

Plants will cover some of the above areas and can be nutritious for your fish as well. Whenever your fish gets hungry a little bit before its feeding time, then the leaves and plants can be their good snack. These are the mini sources of joy for your fish.

While some pebbles or gravel can help fish to lay and rest for some time, the fish will ultimately feel happy in a tank when the facilities will be there.  

Final words

Remember that every fish species has different nature and characteristics. Some of them are socially very active and playful, while some are not. But definitely, every fish express their feelings by doing such kinds of things that I have explained to you above.

Fish happiness is a combination of all the things together, which I explained in this article. So, set up a good tank from the starting and keep your fish happy. Slowly you will learn to understand the happy expressions that your fish give to you.

This article helps you learn the happy behaviors of pet fish. Learn everything from Whypetfish.com and share this guide with your other fellows who are fish lovers like you.

Team – Whypetfish.com

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