Guppy fish are disappearing because they are under constant stress. There are many reasons why guppies must be in stress in your fish tank. When a fish gets missing from a tank there are mainly two reasons
- Some fish are dead and eaten out by bigger fish
- They are just hiding and no more visible from outside.
Let’s have a look at these in detail.
Some fish are dead and eaten out by bigger fish
In a community tank it’s a common reason that bigger fish will attack smaller ones and kill them. If this is happening in your tank then don’t get surprised to see fish disappearing now and then.
Guppies are tiny fish and other fish are likely to attack them for dominance. If guppy gets killed in such attack then they will get eaten by other and disappear from your tank.
They are just hiding and no more visible from outside.
There are many reasons why fish are hiding in a tank.
They are scared
It’s obvious that fish will get scared because of other bigger fish. To protect themselves from attacks guppies will try to hide behind plants and decorations.
They are stuck in equipment
Guppies being tiny in size it’s possible they are stuck in filters, decorating items etc. In such cases you must observe every part of your tank and this equipment carefully and release fish if you find them stuck.
Guppies jumping out
It’s sad that fish sometimes jump out of the tank. This happens because the stress in the tank becomes unbearable. Since a fish tank has a confined and limited area, fish has no other way but to jump out of the tank to save themselves from death. Fish obviously don’t have any idea that there is air out of the tank so they jump out to protect themselves from stress that is being exerted on them from other fish.
Is your guppy sick?
Sick fish are lethargic and tend to stay calm at the bottom of the tank behind plant leaves or decorations. If their disease gets prolonged for a longer time they will continue to remain calm and prevent any movements. In such cases it is likely that you will not see them moving around in the tank.
How to prevent fish from disappearing?
There are not just one but many parameters that you must look for so that fish feel safe in a tank. Fish will get attacked by other fish if you have wrong combinations of fish together which is termed as “fish compatibility”. In case of fights fish can kill each other and get eaten by other fish. Here are some of the things you must check
1) Fish compatibility
It is necessary that all fish species living in a fish tank are compatible with each other to live happily. There are certain rules to this that you must follow. If fish species are not compatible then they will fight to death and you’ll see fish disappearing fast from your tank. In case of guppies it is necessary that you check their tank mates and only keep those fish together.
2) Male to female ratio
This is an important point in fish keeping and many owners tend to ignore it completely. Some fish are really aggressive when it comes to mating and it is necessary that you maintain male to female ratio in the tank because male fish will try to fight over females and even kill each other.
3) Water quality
If water quality is poor or not maintained then fish will be constantly under stress and not feel comfortable to swim around easily and freely. They will try to find their own comfort spot in the tank and find tiny spaces to hide, disappearing from the front portion of the tank. To avoid this always make sure that harmful gases are constantly being controlled in the tank making it safe for fish.
4) Water temperature
Guppy fish and many other tropical fish are sensitive to water temperature. Testing the temperature using a fish tank thermometer is a must and cannot be ignored. This is another reason why guppy fish go under stress.
5) Avoid overcrowding
Just like humans even fish go under stress because of overcrowding. Another disadvantage of overcrowding is that in a community tank tiny fish like guppies will feel fear of getting dominated by other bigger fish and this reason itself is enough for them to go under stress. Not just stress there is also a possibility that the bigger fish will likely kill them by attacking.
6) Cleaning schedule
Of all the other reasons this one is the most important one. Maintaining a strict cleaning schedule is must for every tank owner. This helps to maintain healthy levels so dissolved gases in the fish tank water and makes the habitat safe for fish.
To prevent fish from hiding or disappearing it is necessary that you crate the best possible habitat for them so that they feel safe and are happy to swim around the tank.
How to find missing guppy fish?
Even after all the necessary precautions if you still find that one or more of your guppies are missing then you can try these point to find him.
- Make sure that you guppy is still alive and is hiding somewhere below rocks, decorations, behind plants.
- Is you guppy dead and floating or sinking at the bottom of the tank?
- Did you find any broken body part of the guppy. This can happen when he’s dead and other fish are trying to eat his dead body. Look, it’s part of the animal kingdom and these are things are likely to happen.
- Is you fish stuck in some equipment such as filter grating, heater tubes, below air stone, plastic plants, decorations etc. Since guppies are tiny in size it’s possible that they get stuck accidentally in some of these things. You can check carefully and release them as carefully as possible. If you find fish stuck in these things make sure to go gently because fish have very delicate fins and these can get torn during such operations. If they get physically injured during such operations then it can lead to other complications such as infections. Some of such infections that are caused because of accidents, or fish bites can be contagious to other fish well.
What can you do if you find dead fish?
If you find dead fish or parts of his body half eaten by other bigger fish, then the first thing you must do is remove them from the tank before their body starts to decay further.
This decaying is extremely toxic for fish tank water and can cause serious trouble for other fish. Such decaying leads to excess ammonia in the tank water that can burn delicate fish skin.
Is disappearing fish a frequent activity?
If fish in your tank are disappearing frequently then this is a matter of serious concern because as mentioned earlier one of the following scenario is happening in your tank
- Bigger fish are eating smaller ones so they go missing
- Fish are jumping out because they can’t handle too much stress
- Fish are getting stuck in equipment are dying inside the equipment itself
- Fish are constantly hiding because they are scared of other fish due to dominance
- Fish are hiding because they have chosen a favorite and safe spot in the tank where conditions such as water chemistry, temperature are suitable.
All these conditions are of serious concern and must be tackled on immediate attention. Missing fish frequently cannot be ignored because sooner or later this will affect all fish in the tank.
Should you buy new fish if fish are missing or disappearing?
You can buy new guppies but not without finding reasons, why your previous once vanished from tank. Fish go missing for definite reasons and unless you fix the issues in your tank habitat the newer ones will face the same issues. Here are some issues that you must fix before you can buy new fish.
- Are new fish compatible and good tank mates for the fish that are still living in your tank
- Is the water safe and levels of dissolved gases within permissible limits?
- Is the male to female ratio in your tank maintained? If not there will be fights over dominance and this lead to frequent deaths.
- Don’t buy too many new fish and make the tank overcrowded.
- If your fish tank equipment is faulty make sure to replace or get it repaired so that fish don’t suffer.
- Avoid using plastic plants because sometimes these fake plants are made of poor quality plastic and they can cut delicate fins of some guppy fish.