Are my fish happy?

[gordon1973]

Is there any way of telling whether things are ok for my fishies, apart from water tests and keeping an eye on that with water changes. I would still like to know that they are happy in their environment.
Now i write this it seems a very wooley question but im sure lots of us newbies want to know !

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Are your fish happy? Well, a happy fish is one without stress, so if you provide the right conditions then they probably are.

Observing the fish directly:
-Are they active and swimming?
-Are they showing natural behavior to the best of your knowledge?
-Are they eating and pooping as they should be?
-Are their colors and markings bright and bold as they should be?
-Are they being constantly bothered by any other tankmates?

In relation to the tank itself:
-Have you provided appropriate decoration for the fish?
-Is the tank big enough for the fish you have chosen, and then number of them?
-Is the aquarium upkept, with regular water changes, vacuuming, and filter maintenance?
-Are all of your fish compatable species?
-Are you feeding the proper amounts (overfeeding is the most common mistake)


If everything checks out, then you probably have some happy fish

 

[Adrinal]

mine lay golden poo when they are happy... but ya usually I just go by what TCA said

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

do your fish keep their fins erect/away from their body, if so then this is a good sign that they are healthy and therefore happy!!!


edit : ooops really bad spelling d'oh!!!!!

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Depending on the fish, clamped fins are always a bad sign, but many fish only fully display their fins when trying to attract a mate for breeding, or putting on a show as a warning to other males.