Fishes’ appearance gives us many signals by which we can detect if they are suffering from any problems and issues. Guppies are peaceful fish and do great with other peaceful fish in a community tank, but sometimes their strange appearance worries us.
One of them is guppy fish having black eyes. So, Why does my guppy have black eyes? Let us find out.
Aggression is the reason behind your guppy fish having black eyes. Guppy fish turn their eyes black to show aggression and protect their food from other guppies. Other reasons include stress and tricking predator fish. They can also have black eyes naturally from birth, which is not an issue.
In this article, we will discuss why guppy fish have black eyes and whether it is normal or a matter of concern. So, let us get into it.
Contents
My guppy fish has black eyes.
Guppy fish turning their eyes black is a clear sign of aggression.
There can be other reasons too, like stress and they are trying to trick the aggressive mate.
Usually, they show such behavior when trying to save their food from the other guppies and tankmates.
Also read: Why Is My Guppy Fish Turning Black?
Is It normal for guppy fish to have black eyes?
It is normal for your guppy fish to turn its eyes black as it is natural.
They intentionally turn their eyes black to show aggression, and it is a way to signal other fish to keep a distance from their food.
Also, it is entirely natural if your guppy fish has got black eyes naturally.
There is a possibility that your guppy fry has been born with a black eye.
And, there is nothing to worry about as those black eyes will not harm your guppy fish.
What are the reasons for guppy fish having black eyes?
These are the reasons behind your guppy fish having black eyes:
- Your guppy fish is showing aggression.
- Your guppy fish is under stress.
- Your guppy fish is tricking other aggressive tankmates.
- Your guppy has got the black eyes naturally.
Showing aggression
Guppy fish turn their eyes black to show direct aggression.
Usually, they show such behavior when they are protecting their food from others.
Black eyes directly indicate other fish not to come near the guppy food.
Researchers have proven that guppy fish tend to turn their eyes black to show dominance and anger.
They made two robotic guppies that look exactly like real guppies, one with the silver eye and one with the black eyes.
They placed the robot guppies near the food, Perfectly in a position where it looked like they both were guarding their food.
These are the results they found in this experiment:
- Live guppies were trying to take a bite from the robot guppy food with silver eyes and not from the robot guppy with black eyes.
- The live guppies are trying to hunt down the robot guppy with black eyes instead of silver eyes if the robot guppy with black eyes is smaller than the live guppy.
- Guppies turn their eyes black instant when protecting food.
- They turn their eyes black only when they are more powerful and know that if been attacked, they will win the fight.
- The black eyes attract other fish, resulting in unwanted attention towards the guppy food, so they will not turn their eyes black until they are more powerful than other guppies.
Also read: Are Guppies Aggressive?
Stress
Guppy fish also turn their eyes black because of stress.
Usually, pregnant guppy fish turn their eyes black when they come under stress because of the male guppy chasing.
Other reasons like aggressive tankmates present in your guppy fish tank, overcrowded tank, and improper male to female ratio of guppy fish cause stress to your guppies.
Also read: What To Do If My Guppy Is Stressed?
Tricking other aggressive tankmates
Guppy fish also turn their eyes black to trick other aggressive tankmates.
When aggressive tankmates are hungry and are trying to hunt down your guppy fish, guppy turns their eyes black so that the aggressive fish gets attracted to the head part of their body and attack that side rather than the middle part of their body.
This gives the guppy a chance to dart easily and save itself from the aggressive mates.
Guppy has got the black eyes naturally.
It is possible that your guppy fish has got the black eyes naturally.
There is nothing to worry about if your guppy has got the black eyes naturally.
It is not an issue for your guppy fish to be born with black eyes.
It may be possible that your guppy has melanophores, permitting them to color change.
Do guppies develop a black eye because of Inadequate water parameters and conditions?
Inadequate water parameters and conditions do nothing in developing guppy fish’s black eyes.
However, poor water conditions can turn your guppy fish black.
This happens because of the ammonia burns.
An ammonia spike in your guppies aquarium affects your guppy fish skin and gills.
But, guppy fish turning black eyes are probably not the reason behind inadequate water parameters and conditions.
Also read: Best pH level For Guppies.
Conclusion:
Aggression is the reason behind guppy fish turning their eyes black.
They show such behavior to protect their food from other guppies.
Stressed guppy can also turn their eyes black to show aggression.
If your guppy has got black eyes naturally, there is nothing to worry about as it will not harm them.
Inadequate water parameters and conditions can result in your guppy fish turning black, but it has nothing to do with guppy fish turning their eyes black.
Reference: Science