Guppies are the most common fish aquarist who prefer to add to their aquarium. Guppies are hardy fish and can live in a wide range of water conditions.
However, guppies can suffer from various issues caused by numerous reasons, and one of them is guppy fish having red gills. So, Why does my guppy have red gills? Let us find out.
Ammonia poisoning is the reason behind guppy fish having red gills. Place the guppy fish in a hospital tank and treat them with antibiotics to treat ammonia burns. Ensure regular water changes, and avoid overcrowding and overfeeding your guppy fish to prevent such issues.
This article will discuss why guppy fish have red gills and the treatment for such issues. So, let us get into it.
Contents
What is the reason behind guppy fish having red gills?
The reason behind your guppy fish having red gills is ammonia poisoning.
There can be an ammonia spike in your guppy fish tank for numerous reasons.
Ammonia spike results in ammonia poisoning in your guppy fish.
Ammonia poisoning affects your guppy fish’s gills, fins, and all over the body.
Your guppy fish gills become red because of ammonia poisoning.
Guppy develops red patches all over their body and fins because of the ammonia burns.
Treating ammonia poisoning in its initial stage is necessary as it can make your guppy fish come into critical condition and even they can pass away.
Also read: Why Does My Guppy Have Red Spots?
What color should guppy’s gills be?
A healthy guppy will have pinkish-red color gills.
Brown and silver gills indicate an infection in your guppy fish gills.
Red gills indicate ammonia poisoning in your guppy fish.
With age, guppy fish will develop more light gills.
What are the symptoms of ammonia poisoning in your guppy fish?
These are the symptoms of ammonia poisoning in your guppy fish:
- Your guppy fish will lose its appetite.
- Your guppy fish will become lethargic.
- Your guppy will have red or purple gills.
- Your guppy will gasp for air.
- You will notice that your guppy is lying at the bottom of the tank.
- There will be red patches on your guppy fish body.
Guppy will lose its appetite.
Guppy fish suffering from ammonia poisoning will come under constant stress.
Because of stress and problems breathing, guppy will lose its appetite.
Also read: Why Is My Guppy Not Eating?
Guppy will become lethargic.
Guppies are active swimmers and swim all around the tank during the daytime.
Such swimming behavior of guppy fish will help you recognize that something is going wrong when you notice that your guppy is not moving much.
Guppy fish will become lethargic when suffering from ammonia poisoning and will lay at the bottom of the tank most of the time.
Also read: Why Are My Guppies Lethargic?
Guppy will have red or purple gills.
Your guppy fish gills will develop red or purple because of ammonia poisoning.
When the problem progresses, the tissue of your guppy will become worse and develop red patches on their body and gills because of ammonia poisoning.
Guppy will gasp for air.
You will notice your guppy fish gasping for air at the surface of the tank.
When suffering from ammonia poisoning, guppy will find it hard to breathe because of the affected gills.
So, they will gasp for air at the surface of the tank.
Also, a tank with an increased ammonia level will lack oxygen, making your guppy fish gasp for air at the tank’s surface.
Also read: Why Is My Guppy Gasping For Air?
Guppy will lie at the bottom of the tank.
Guppy fish will sometimes lay at the bottom of the tank with clamped fins.
Because of the clamped fins, the guppy will not be able to swim and will remain at the bottom of the tank.
Also read: Why Is My Guppy Sitting At The Bottom Of The Tank?
There will be red patches on your guppy fish body.
Ammonia burns are the reason behind the red patches on your guppy fish body.
Ammonia poisoning will result in ammonia burns on your guppy fish fins and body.
How to treat ammonia poisoning in your guppy fish?
Perform and ensure these things to treat ammonia poisoning in your guppy fish:
- Lower the water pH level to reduce the ammonia level of your guppy fish tank.
- Perform a major water change of 50% (Ensure that the water you are adding should match the aquarium water temperature).
- Perform a more often water change to reduce the ammonia level.
- Avoid adding any new fish to the tank until the ammonia and nitrite levels fall to zero.
- Avoid feeding your guppy fish to prevent more waste from fish leftovers and waste production.
- In some cases, you have to stop feeding your guppy fish for several days to reduce the ammonia level of your guppy fish tank.
- If your guppy has ammonia burns, place the fish in a quarantine tank, treat them with antibiotics, and reduce the ammonia level of the main tank to zero.
- Your affected fish will recover in three to five days.
How to prevent our fish tank from ammonia poisoning?
Ensure these things to prevent ammonia poisoning in your guppy fish tank:
- Avoid overcrowding your guppy fish tank.
- Feed your guppy fish appropriately.
- Keep a regular check on the ammonia level of your guppy fish tank.
- Perform a regular water change.
- Create good bacteria.
Avoid overcrowding
Overstocking your guppy fish tank with guppies and other fish will spike ammonia.
More fish means more production of waste, making the tank condition contaminated.
So, consider keeping an adequate number of guppies in your guppy fish aquarium.
Follow the one-inch one-gallon rule to ensure that you are not overcrowding your guppy fish tank.
The one-inch one-gallon rule means one inch of fish per gallon of water.
Guppy fish are two inches long on average, so consider providing 2 gallons of water per guppy fish.
Also read: How Many Guppies In A 20 Gallon Tank?
Feed your guppy fish appropriately.
Avoid overfeeding your guppy fish to prevent ammonia poisoning.
Feed your guppies in small quantities to ensure no leftovers in your guppy fish tank.
Feed your guppy fish in a quantity that they can finish eating in one to two minutes to avoid overfeeding.
Also read: How Often Should You Feed Guppies?
Keep a regular check on ammonia levels.
Keep a regular check on ammonia levels to prevent ammonia poisoning.
There can be various reasons behind increased ammonia levels like leftovers, dead and decaying plants and fish, failure in the filtration system, and improper nitrogen cycle process.
The best way to prevent our guppy fish tank from ammonia poisoning is to check ammonia levels regularly.
We recommend using the API ammonia test kit to check the ammonia levels, as it shows accurate results.
You can purchase it from Amazon API TEST KIT.
Perform a regular water change.
Performing a regular water change is the primary way of preventing your guppy fish tank from ammonia poisoning.
Perform a weekly water change of at least 35% on a regular basis.
Make sure to treat the water using the water conditioner to dechlorinate it.Â
We use the API water conditioner as it will help eliminate chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrite, and heavy metals from the water.
You can buy this product on amazon: API TAP WATER CONDITIONER.
A water change will help you keep the water clean and siphon out the solid debris from the water.
Treat the water from the water conditioner before adding it to your guppy fish tank to eliminate chlorine from the water.
Create good bacteria.
Perform a nitrogen cycle in a new tank to create good bacteria, which will help break down harmful toxins like ammonia and nitrite.
Ammonia spikes are common in a newly set up tank as there will be an ammonia spike when performing a nitrogen cycle.
However, an ammonia spike can also happen in the well-established tank if the water is contaminated and you overstock your guppy fish tank.
Conclusion:
Ammonia poisoning is the reason behind your guppy fish having red gills.
Ammonia poisoning results in ammonia burns in your guppy fish fin, gills, and all over the body.
Lethargy, loss of appetite, gasping for air, lying at the bottom of the tank, and bloody patches are the symptoms of ammonia poisoning in guppy fish.
Performing a major water change and lowering the water pH level will help in reducing the ammonia level.
Avoid overcrowding and overfeeding, and check ammonia levels regularly to prevent ammonia poisoning in your guppy fish tank.