Guppies are very active fish species, and every aquarist love to add guppies to their home aquarium. But many aquarists go through the phase where their guppies show hiding behavior, and they want to know why my guppy fish is hiding? So let us get into it.
Guppies hide when they are under stress or suffering from illness. Reasons for stress can be inadequate water conditions and parameters, aggressive tankmates, injuries, etc. Maintain the water condition and parameters and avoid aggressive tankmates to prevent guppies from hiding.
This article will discuss more possible reasons behind guppy fish hiding and how to make our guppy fish live healthily and happily.
Contents
Guppy fish always hiding.
The easy explanation of your guppy fish is hiding is they are suffering from illness.
Guppies can be vulnerable to sickness because of stress, bad water condition, an infection caused by parasites present in the water.
If your guppy is hiding in the tank at night, then there is nothing to worry about as it is their resting time.
Guppies are diurnal and prefer to sleep at night.
These are the several reasons behind your guppy fish hiding:
- Bad water quality.
- Angry tankmates.
- Guppy fish is pregnant.
- Guppy fish is stressed.
- The inadequate ratio of male and female.
- Improper placement of the tank.
Reasons for guppy fish hiding?
These are the possible reasons behind the hiding behavior of your guppy:
Bad water quality
Inadequate water quality will make your guppy fish sick, and they will be less active.
The sick guppy will not be active and will sink at the bottom of the tank.
In such a case, your guppy is not hiding on a technical basis.
If you notice your guppy sitting at the bottom of the tank, check the toxin level in the aquarium.
There may be a spike of ammonia in your tank, and your guppy is suffering from ammonia poisoning.
If there is an ammonia spike in your guppies tank, a major water change (at least 70%) is needed.
You have to change the water regularly every day until the ammonia level comes to 0 ppm.
Poor water conditions can make your guppy go through a critical condition, so regular water quality monitoring is essential to keep your guppy healthy.
Angry tankmates
Adding tankmates in your guppies tank is a very delicate decision.
An owner should be very careful before planning to add tankmates.
This is because any wrong tankmates can make your gyppy come into critical condition.
An owner should first see the dietary needs and the water requirement of the fish they are planning to add with their guppy.
When the dietary and water requirements match both guppy and the tankmates, there is another factor to look out for.
The behavior of the tankmates matters the most.
Guppies are calm and peaceful fish species, and if you add aggressive tankmates, it can be an issue.
Angry tankmates will try to nib your guppies fin, and your guppy will come under stress because of that, which will make them hide from the aggressive tankmates.
Never make a peaceful fish live with aggressive fish which try to fight with them and nib their fins.
Never make slow-moving fish live with the fish that likes to move erratically or fast.
If you add aggressive tankmates in your guppies tank, then your guppies will feel threatened, and it is possible that they can get injured.
Guppy who is injured and feeling threatened will come under stress and try to hide.
Guppy will become sick because of stress and injury.
Here are some best tankmates for your guppy:
- Molly fish
- Tetra fish
- Gourami Fish
- Rainbowfish
- Shrimp
- Danios
- Clown loaches
- Rasbora fish
Guppy fish is pregnant.
Pregnancy can also be the reason behind your guppy fish hiding.
When the female guppy fish is pregnant and are preparing to release the fry, they tend to hide in covered areas.
If your pregnant guppy fish is hiding, then there is nothing to worry about as it is normal.
Of course, you cannot be sure that your guppy is pregnant by just looking at their hiding behavior.
There are other signs you should look for to identify if your guppy is pregnant or not:
- V-shaped belly
- Extended abdomen
- Refusal to eat anything
Guppy fish is stressed.
Stressed guppy fish will tend to hide major of the time.
Your guppy can come under stress because of several reasons:
- Aggressive tankmates
- Poor water condition.
- Sudden changes in water temperature.
- Inappropriate feeding.
- Physical injury
Stressed guppy can come under critical condition and become sick.
The inadequate ratio of male to female
Keeping too many males and few female guppies will be the issue.
Many male guppies will try to chase one female guppy, and in this way, female guppy will come under stress and hide from male guppies.
You should maintain the ratio of 3:1, which means three female guppies per one male guppy.
This ratio will also control the guppy population in your tank.
Too many male guppies and few female guppies will result in overstocking of guppy fry in your guppies aquarium.
Maintaining population control is essential for your guppies aquarium.
Improper placement of the tank.
An owner should not place the tank where:
- There is heavy traffic around.
- The aquarium comes in contact with direct sunlight.
Heavy traffic will lead to stress in your guppy fish as they will scare off by that heavy traffic and will hide.
Direct sunlight will result in the overgrowth of algae in your guppies aquarium.
Place your guppies aquarium in a silent place where they can live peacefully.
Place your guppies aquarium where there comes indirect sunlight rather than direct sunlight.
How can we keep our guppies healthy and happy?
Guppies are very hardy fish species and can live in a wide range of aquarium conditions.
There are some essential points which can keep our guppy healthy and happy if we take care.
These are some essential things for your guppy that we should never be careless about while keeping guppies:
Feed appropriately
Providing your guppies food in an appropriate manner is essential for their health and growth.
Guppies are omnivorous and need both meat and plant matter food in their diet.
Flake food will do the work, but you have to add more to your guppy’s diet for excellent colors and better growth.
| Food | Serving Quantity | No of Times |
|---|---|---|
| Veggie pellets | One pinch at a time | 2-3 times a day |
| Brine shrimp | One pinch at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Bloodworm | One pinch at a time | 1-2 times a week |
| Tubifex Worm | One pinch at a time | 1 time a week |
| Mosquito larvae | 10-15 pieces | 2-3 times a week |
Also read: Best Homemade Food For Guppies
Provide good water condition
An owner should provide their guppies a good water condition to thrive.
Regularly changing your guppies tank’s water will help clean waste and harmful toxins from your guppies tank.
You should add a filter in your guppies aquarium to clean the water.
The filter will also help agitate the water surface, which will help provide oxygen to your guppies.
Also read: Do guppies need a filter
Provide your guppy stable water parameters
Providing your guppy with a stable water parameter is essential to make them live peacefully.
Unstable water parameters will make your guppy come under stress, and they can become sick.
There are types of equipment you can use to maintain stable water parameters of your guppies aquarium:
- Aquarium heater
- Aquarium filter
- Air pump
Add non-aggressive and compatible tankmates.
Guppies are calm and peaceful fish species.
You can add many fishes with your guppies as guppies will live happily in a fish community aquarium.
Guppies are non-aggressive fish species, so make sure not to add aggressive tankmates in your guppies aquarium.
You can add fishes in your guppies aquarium like molly, gourami, tetras, shrimps, and many more.
These all are non-aggressive fish and will live peacefully with your guppies.
Don’t overstock your guppies aquarium.
In the above article, we discussed the importance of keeping the right ratio of male and female guppies.
Overstocking your guppies aquarium will lead to many problems like:
- There will be a lack of oxygen for your fish.
- Your aquarium will be dirty very soon.
- Excessive waste will result in an ammonia spike, resulting in your guppy coming under critical condition.
If you can keep ten fish in your tank, you should keep eight fish instead of ten in the aquarium.
Also read: How Many Guppies In A 20 Gallon Tank?
Conclusion:
There can be several reasons behind the hiding behavior of your guppy fish.
Possible reasons include bad water quality, stress, aggressive tankmates, and unstable water parameters.
Providing you guppy stable water parameters, adequate water condition, nutritious food, and a good non-aggressive tankmate will make them happy, and they will thrive.
Reference: NCBI, The Washington Post, WikiHow,