Glofish are small, artificially made fish that are known for their beautiful, illuminous color. While they are great pets and mostly easy to care for, they can sometimes get aggressive. This article will explain the possible reasons why your glofish are attacking each other, and what to do to prevent it.
Why are My Glofish Attacking Each Other?
The main reason Glofish attack each other is because of food competition, mating, and stress. Luckily, most of these are preventable.
Food competition
If your Glofish typically fight before, during, or shortly after feeding time, it is likely because of food competition. It is built into their natural instinct to find and and food at all costs.
If one Glofish eats the majority of the food and doesn’t leave enough for others, it can cause frustration which can eventually lead to aggression.
Luckily, food competition is much of a problem unless it occurs regularly. If it begins to happen every day, you should try to give your Glofish more food or feed them in different spots of the tank.
Mating
Another reason your Glofish could be attacking each other is because of mating. Mating season is year around for Glofish, so this could really happen whenever.
Aggression usually arises when a male Glofish won’t leave a female alone. Sometimes, the males don’t understand that a female doesn’t want to mate with them, so they keep trying. The male might eventually get fed up and start attacking the female, or start nipping their fins. You can learn more about this behavior in my guide on why are my glofish chasing each other.
On the other side, the female might start attacking the male if she gets tired of his advances. I suggest that you look at some glofish aquarium decorations, which will give your glofish places to hide from aggressive tank mates.
Stress
Stress is another common reason why Glofish will attack each other. There are tons of reasons why your Glofish could be stressed out, including water conditions, hunger, territory, and loneliness.
When a Glofish gets stressed out, they might start attacking other fish in the tank out of frustration. They key to stopping this is to ensure your Glofish is living in optimal conditions and getting enough food.
It is very important to reduce stress to prevent your Glofish from dying.
How to prevent Glofish from attacking and fighting each other?
To prevent Glofish from showing aggression and fighting, you should make sure they have the right tank conditions, tankmates, and enough food.
Tank conditions
All Glofish must live in a tank with a filter. This will help prevent the water from getting dirty and prevent the growth of toxins such as nitrates and ammonia.
You should also make sure you have a big enough tank so that your Glofish can freely swim around without being crowded. I also recommend putting in multiple decorations so that there is not fights over territory.
Lastly, you should make sure that the water temperature is between 74 and 80 degrees fahrenheight.
Tankmates
It is important that you don’t but Glofish in the same tank as predators or aggressive fish, such as Bettas. A Glofish is more likely to show signs of aggression when they are stressed out from being hunted. If you want to learn more about their tankmates, read my article on can glofish live with other fish. One of my favorite tankmates for glofish are guppies.
Also, Glofish are school fish and prefer to live with many of their own kind. Therefore, you should make sure that you have at least 5 Glofish at all times. This will help prevent them from becoming stressed or lonely.
There are also some species of glofish, such as glofish tiger barbs, that are known for being more aggressive.
Enough food
It is very important that you feed your Glofish the adequate amount of food. You also need to feed them regularly, at least everyday or every other day. When you go long periods without feeding them, it can cause them to become aggressive toward each other.
However, feeding them too much can also cause constipation. In some cases, this can cause your glofish to swim upside down.
How to tell if Glofish are playing or fighting?
There is also a good chance that your Glofish are not attacking each other, but simply playing around. When Glofish play with each other, they will typically chase each other around the tank. They might even quickly nip the other fish’s tail.
While this might sound similar to fighting, Glofish typically only play for short periods of time. There also isn’t splashing of water when they are just playing.
When Glofish fight, there is usually just one aggressor. They will continually pester the other fish and refuse to let it go. It will also probably try to constantly bite the other’s scales or fins.
