Because they aren’t mammals like dogs or cats, it can be easy to overlook the mental needs of pet fish. However, make no mistake: Fish get bored too, and they need stimulation to stay happy!
Fortunately, there are a handful of time-tested and highly efficient ways you can introduce mental enrichment into your aquarium. Let’s dive into some ways you can mentally refresh your pet fish’ environment!
How to Spot Bored Fish
Before you go overboard with adding intellectual stimuli to your tank, it’s helpful to confirm that there’s even a problem. And, believe it or not, there are actually clear and reliable signs you can use to judge whether your pet fish is bored or lethargic.
One crucial sign of boredom in pet fish is isolation. Bored fish tend to lose a bit of their vigor, and they stop interacting much with their environment. Now, isolation can also be a sign of fish illness or stress, so it’s important not to use it as your only red flag. But, it’s still a good start!
Another key indicator of pet fish boredom is aimless, repetitive swimming. When fish don’t have much to do, their default instinct is to swim. So, if you notice your pet fish have begun slowly swimming up and down their tank, that’s a good sign they aren’t getting sufficient stimulation.
Likewise, lethargic fish often become irritable. If your otherwise placid and friendly fish has started engaging in aggressive nipping behavior with other fish, there’s a good chance boredom is the cause.
Changing the Tank Environment
Pet fish spend all of their time in the same tank. If the tank environment is constant and unchanging, it’s not hard to see how that might lead to boredom! As a result, one of the best ways to combat fish boredom is by periodically adjusting your aquarium environment.
Luckily, these adjustments don’t have to be major. Small environment enrichment ideas can go a long way. You might, for example, periodically add new hiding places like decorative caves or coral reefs. In that same vein, you could try gradually switching plants out, which will give your pet fish novel territory to explore.
Another super effective way to add environmental enrichment to your fish tank is to try to replicate the fish’ natural habitat. This can take a bit of extra effort and research on your part, but it goes a long way toward improving the mental well-being of your fish!
Some ways you can achieve habitat replication include adding a soft or rocky tank floor, changing aquarium lighting, and incorporating authentic plant life.
Adding Aquarium Toys
One very entertaining way to mentally stimulate your pet fish is to introduce toys into your aquarium. There are a huge number of options in this department, ranging from water wheels to ping pong balls and fish ladders.
But, let’s look at one of the most popular types of fish toys: Feeding toys! Say you have a frozen fish treat that you want to give to your aquatic friend. You can make this event more exciting for your fish by putting the treat at the end of a maze or inside a toy ball. The combination of receiving a special treat with solving a simple puzzle can work wonders for providing your pet fish with fresh stimuli.
That said, not all fish show interest in aquarium toys. After all, there are no toys in the wild! Fish in their natural aquatic habitat achieve mental novelty through other means, whether it’s foraging, exploring, or interacting with other species.
Introducing Friendly Fish Species
Speaking of interspecies socialization: Providing your pet fish with friendly tankmates is a wonderful way of preventing boredom and mental stagnation. Most fish require some degree of socialization for optimal mental health. And mixing things up with other species adds some much-appreciated novelty to the process.
Of course, it’s essential that you make sure the two species will get along as tankmates. Introducing hostile or predatory species to the environment isn’t the type of excitement we’re looking for! For many fish species, this will rule out the often aggressive betta fish as potential tank mates.
The ideal fish friend to add to the aquarium will depend on what species you already have in the tank. But, as a rule, guppies, along with mollies and cory catfish, are some docile fish species that tend to play nice with other fish.
Adjusting Diets for Pet Fish
Photo by Leah Louviere
Feeding time is one of the most routine and predictable aspects of aquarium life. To shake things up and add some excitement into the mix, try varying the aquarium diet from time to time. When utilized alongside other anti-boredom measures like setting up fish tank decorations, a varied diet can have a bigger impact than you might think.
If, for example, you usually feed your fish standard commercial food, it can be helpful to substitute meaty alternatives for some meals. Bloodworms, brine shrimp, and chopped fish often work excellently for this purpose. Alternatively, many owners like to supplement their pet fish’ standard diet with treats like fruits, vegetables, or freeze-dried snacks.
Another helpful trick is to vary the feeding schedule itself. Let’s say you feed your fish one big meal once in the morning. Try breaking that meal up into segments spread throughout the day and see if you notice a difference in your pet fish’ energy level!
