Guppies are the most common and easy to take care fish aquarist loves to add to their aquarium. Behavior like rubbing against gravel is something that can worry us.
There can be various factors that we will discuss in this article that explain why guppy is rubbing against gravel. So, Why is my guppy rubbing against gravel? Let us find out.
External parasite like ich and gill flukes is the primary reason behind guppy fish rubbing against gravel. However, another possible reason can be poor water quality and stress. Isolating new fish before adding it to your guppy tank is essential as parasites like ich and gill flukes are contagious.
We will discuss the reason and prevention of guppy fish rubbing against gravel in this article. So let us get into it.
Contents
My guppy fish is rubbing against gravel.
There can be numerous reasons behind guppy fish rubbing against gravel.
The primary reason for such issues is external parasites and stress.
External parasites like ich can make your guppy fish rub against gravel and other aquarium decors present in your guppies tank.
Stress can also be a reason behind your guppy fish rubbing against gravel.
Guppy fish can come under stress because of numerous reasons.
Poor water quality, aggressive tankmates, and an overcrowded tank are the common reasons behind stress in guppy fish.
Detecting the issue behind guppy fish such behavior and treating it is essential as your guppy fish can come into critical condition if constantly under stress.
Constant stress can make your guppy fish prone to diseases and parasites.
Reasons why guppies rub against gravel?
These are the reasons behind your guppy fish rubbing against gravel:
- Your guppy fish is suffering from external parasites.
- Your guppy fish is under stress.
- The water quality of your guppy fish aquarium is poor.
- Your guppy fish is suffering from injury.
External parasites
External parasites can be the cause behind guppy fish rubbing against gravel.
Ich disease is common in guppies, making guppy fish rub against gravel.
Ich is also known as white spot disease, caused by external parasites.
Guppy with poor health is prone to such diseases.
Ich disease is contagious and can get transmitted from one fish to another.
Other external parasites like gill fluke can also result in your guppy fish rubbing against gravel.
Also read: How To Cure Guppy Ich?
Stress
Stress can also be the reason behind your guppy fish rubbing against gravel.
Guppy fish is the most common fish aquarist loves to add to their aquarium because of their hardy nature.
Guppies can live in a wide range of water parameters, but also, if something is wrong around them, they can come under stress easily.
These are the reason which can make your guppy fish come under stress:
- Inadequate and unstable water parameters
- Poor quality water
- Overcrowded tank
- Aggressive tankmate
- Injury
- Pregnant female guppy
- Irregular food supply
- Illness
Stress in guppies is normal when it is not in a consistent manner.
Guppies under stress because being constantly chased and nipped by other aggressive tankmates can make your guppy come into critical condition.
Being under stress for a long time will make your guppy fish prone to various diseases and parasites.
Also read: What To Do If My Guppy Is Stressed?
Poor water quality
The poor quality of your guppy’s aquarium water will cause guppy rubbing against gravel.
Poor water quality will spike harmful chemicals like ammonia and nitrite.
Such harmful chemicals will burn your guppy fish gills.
In such conditions, your guppy fish can rub against gravel.
Also, your guppy fish can suffer from constipation when living in poor quality water.
Also read: Can Guppy Survive In Muddy Water?
Injury
Guppy fish suffering from physical injury can also rub against gravel.
Your guppy fish can injure itself by swimming near any aquarium decor with sharp corners and edges.
Aggressive tankmates can also be the reason behind physical injury in guppy fish.
How can we prevent such issues?
These are the ways you can perform to prevent your guppy fish from such issues:
- Isolate new fish
- Provide your guppy with good quality water.
- Maintain adequate and stable water parameters of your guppies aquarium.
- Wash the aquarium decors before adding them to your guppies tank.
Isolate new fish
Isolating any new fish for at least ten days before adding it to your guppies aquarium is necessary.
We never know if the new fish we are going to add to our home aquarium is healthy or suffering from any contagious diseases and parasites.
So, isolating the new fish for some days and detecting if the fish is suffering from any parasites or diseases is essential for keeping our guppies safe.
New fish can carry several external parasites, of which ich is the one.
So, isolate the new fish in a separate tank for at least ten days before adding it to your guppies aquarium.
Once you find out that the new fish is healthy and has not been affected by any bacteria or parasites, you can introduce it to your guppies aquarium.
Provide good quality water
Make sure to provide your guppy fish with good quality water to prevent them from such parasites and issues.
Dirty water will result in a spike of harmful chemicals in water like ammonia and nitrite.
Such chemicals can critically affect your guppies.
Adding a good filtration system will make sure to keep your guppies aquarium clean and free from such harmful chemicals.
Maintain adequate water parameters
| Particular | Guppy Fish Requirement |
|---|---|
| Water temperature | 72-82 °F |
| Water pH level | 6.8-7.8 |
Guppy fish requires a water temperature between 72-82 °F.
The water pH level of your guppies aquarium should be between 6.8-7.8.
Maintaining these water parameters is essential to prevent your guppies from parasites, stress, and other problems which make them rub against gravel.
Keeping stable water parameters is equally necessary to prevent such issues.
Unstable water parameters will make your guppy fish stressed and prone to various diseases.
Wash the aquarium decors before adding them to your guppies aquarium.
Make sure to wash the aquarium decors like aquarium rocks, driftwood, hiding decor, and others.
Aquarium decors can contain harmful chemicals which can make your guppy fish aquarium polluted.
You should keep the aquarium decors for at least 24-48 hours in a bucket of water to extract all the harmful chemicals.
After that, wash it properly before adding it to your guppies aquarium.
Conclusion:
Stress and extern parasites like ich are why guppy fish rub against gravel.
Your guppy fish can come under stress for many reasons. The primary reasons are poor water quality, overcrowded tanks, and aggressive tankmates.
Other reasons are illness, irregular food supply, unstable water parameters, and small size tank.
External parasite like ich is contagious.
So, isolating new fish is necessary to ensure that your guppies are safe if the new fish is suffering from any external parasites.
Reference: SRAC, Britannica