Fish Hiding Under Rocks: 6 Possible Causes (With Solutions) - Aqua Life Expert (2023)

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AQuarists may notice their fish hiding under rocks or elsewhere in the aquarium. If you are one of them, from here you will know why fish behave like this. Here I will go over 5 such possible causes your fish are hiding from all the time.

So, without wasting much time, let's dive deep into the topic

What are the 6 possible causes of fish hiding under rocks?

1. Fish are stressed

2. Fish are bullied by other tankmates

3. Fish are not yet used to the environment

4. Fish have some diseases

5. Overcrowding occurs in an aquarium

6. During the incubation of the eggs

Let us now discuss these causes thoroughly

Fish are stressed

Stress is one of the bad things that prevent fish from growing. SoIf your fish is hiding under rocks in the aquarium, stress can be a cause. So at this point you should try to find out.

Basically,Stress happens for water conditions for fish. But other factors also insist on stress in your body. Here means water conditionwater temperature, phosphate content, nitrate content, ammonia content, etc. loudThose. If these values ​​fluctuate frequently, the fish are obviously becoming stressed. so youthese water parameters must be maintainedwith some good tools.

Low oxygen levels are one of the bad things that cause stressto fish in aquariums. You should understand thatSigns of low oxygen levelsby carefully examining the behavior of the fish. One ofMain sign is to hide under rocksbut when it gets more stressed, it behaves strangely.

Not eating much can be a sign of stress. Another sign can be strange swimming. If you see fish swimming vertically instead of horizontally, you can be sure that these fish are stressed. If yourWhen a fish rubs its fins or mouth or body against gravel or glass, that is a sign of stress for that fish.

Fish are bullied by other tankmates

Wrong tankmates can cause stress to your main fish. So you need to choose the right companion for your most important aquarium fish.

Some fish love to stick to their own fish species. Therefore, if you keep this species of fish in one piece in a whole aquarium, it will be afraid and hide under stones. For example, you can take tetras or bluebuck, etc. These are known as schooling fish and love to stay in their own community. So keeping a single one of these fish species can be a reason to hide under the rocks.

Another possible thing that can happen is thisYour fish is constantly being bullied by other strong fish. At this point the weaker fish will try to find some safe spots in an aquarium. It may feel like a safe hiding place under the rock. So you need to have a good understanding of the appropriate companion for each fish before creating a community aquarium.

Here I can help you by giving some data about it as a chart. So let's learn more about it.

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Fish are not yet used to the new environment

When introducing anew environment for fishing then it can be painful for youlittle bit. They can be scared at this time and therefore hide under the rocks or somewhere else in the aquarium.

So you need to know how to introduce fish to a new aquarium. It's not as easy as you think. Here you need to know the process to give your fish a new home.

You should remember that firstTry not to wait on the street for a long time after buying fish from the store. This period is very painful for Pisces. So if you want to keep your fish healthy, try to get home as soon as possible after purchase.

After that you have to put it in a bag filled with water taken from the aquarium where you want to keep this fish. Then thatBag should remain hanging in the center of the aquarium for 15 to 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, you should open the bag, having turned off the lights of the aquarium, and after a while, fish will come out of this bag and go to their new place. This is the right way to introduce a new fish to a new aquarium.

But before you fully open the bag, you have toCheck the pH of both the aquarium and the water in the bag inside.Discus are such fish that are very sensitive to pH. So you need to check some of these parameters before introducing a new fish into an aquarium. Otherwise it will obviously hide.

Continue reading:- How to set up a community aquarium with cost analysis

Fish have some diseases

Disease is one of the main reasons why fish hide under rocks or anywhere else in the aquarium.

Just think like yourself. If you feel sick, will you leave the room? I do not think so. Fish are just like you. When feeling sick, they will try to find some safe spots in the aquarium to hide.

So if your fish is hiding under rocks or anywhere else in the tank, you should do thatcheck if it is sick or not. There are a few ways to find this problem.

Here I have given some symptoms to check if your fish are hiding under rocks or anywhere else in the aquarium. You need to take precautions before it gets worse. There are many other diseases as well, but these are the most common diseases that I have mentioned in the table. At this time, if you notice these types of symptoms on the body of the fish, do not be careless. Otherwise the fish will soon die under stones.

Overcrowding occurs in an aquarium

Overcrowding is one of the main problems why your fish hide under the rocks in the aquarium all the time. Many new aquarists do not know what the right places are for each fish. They put a lot of fish in an aquarium to make it visually beautiful, but eventually weak fish hide under rocks after a while.

If you notice something like this, you must consider this issue as a possible reason behind it. At this momentweaker fish feel insecure and look for a safer place. So they start hiding.

I can't tell you what space your fish should need to stay active as I don't know what fish you have in your aquarium. But here I can give you a general overview of the free space of different species of fish that need to be constantly active. So let's take a look

The Notes section is the most important section of this table. Here I have told you what is the most important thing to consider when introducing fish into an aquarium. Some Pisces love to be left alone. If you are a beginner, you should not go for these types of fish. Start with some schooling fish and they won't hide if you're doing other things well.

During the incubation of the eggs

When it comes time to give birth, some fish will try to hide for a few days becauseDuring this time they won't be able to defend themselves anyway if attacked. So the safest option for them is to hide under the rocks or somewhere else in the aquarium.

So you mustPrepare some safe spots for them if you plan to hatch them. You can build some caves with some driftwood or you can also use some aquatic plants to make some hiding spots.

Another possible sign is that they are not eating much food at this time. So if your fish is hiding and not eating anything, there is a high probability that it is pregnant.

Final Thoughts

Hiding is not bad for Pisces. Sometimes when it wants to explore its home, it can hide. So if your fish hides sometimes, don't worry. However, if this is a common occurrence, then you need to check these possible causes that I have discussed in this article.

You should need to check the water parameters. Many new aquarists skip this, thinking it's wrong inside the fish. If it's wrong in the water, you can't even see it with your bare eyes. That's why you need some tools to check this. But if you see any of these causes, try to fix them as soon as possible. Otherwise it will get worse.

So good luck & happy aquaristics 🐟