Guppies usually blow bubbles when they can’t breathe properly. When the oxygen concentration in the water is low, guppies tend to breathe rapidly and expel bubbles during the process. They may also blow bubbles if their gills are impacted for some reason, and they are not able to breathe normally.
Let’s talk about this in greater detail now.
Should You Be Worried If Your Guppies Blow Bubbles?
It’s normal for most aquarium fish to expel bubbles once in a while.
However, if your guppies frequently blow bubbles, it deserves attention.
Guppies usually blow bubbles when their breathing is impaired. Low oxygen concentrations can make them feel suffocated.
So they will be unable to breathe normally.
When they don’t get enough oxygen, guppies will try to compensate by breathing rapidly.
This helps them meet their oxygen requirements. However, they will also end up producing bubbles.
Guppies will also produce bubbles if their gills are impacted and their breathing gets compromised.
This commonly occurs in unhygienic tanks with high ammonia levels.
When ammonia burns their gills, they struggle to breathe.
They rapidly inhale oxygen from the water and produce bubbles in the process.
How To Stop Guppies From Blowing Bubbles?
To stop your guppies from producing bubbles, you should know what is causing the problem.
Look for likely issues that may cause low oxygen concentration in their tank.
If everything is under control, you should look at any problems that may impact guppies’ gills.
By addressing the underlying cause, you can stop your guppies from blowing bubbles.
Given below are some steps you can take to stop guppies from blowing bubbles.
Check for poor water quality.
The water quality and water chemistry of a tank depend on filtration and general tank maintenance.
If you don’t regularly clean your filter or change the tank water, the water quality will deteriorate.
Toxins will quickly build up in a poorly maintained tank.
The main purpose of a filter is to remove the organic waste in a tank before it breaks down into poisonous ammonia and nitrates.
If your filter is inefficient, this process will be compromised.
Now, guppies are very sensitive to high ammonia levels.
Increased ammonia levels will burn their gills and cause respiratory distress.
When their gills are impacted, the fish cannot breathe properly, and they produce bubbles.
Poor tank maintenance will also cause the oxygen levels to deteriorate.
Insufficient oxygen will affect the overall health and well-being of your fish. It will make your guppies sick.
If your guppies cannot get enough oxygen, they will hang out in the upper areas of the tank.
Therefore, you can suspect low oxygen levels if you find them frequenting this space.
Continuous deficiency of oxygen can make your guppies tired and sluggish over time.
If the problem persists, their activity levels will reduce. The guppy will also lose its appetite.
You can prevent this problem by performing regular water changes. Ensure that your tank filter is operating efficiently.
Use a proper testing kit to monitor the toxin levels in your tank regularly.
Upgrade the filter if necessary to control ammonia spikes and the accumulation of other toxins.
Avoid overcrowding.
Although guppies are small, they need enough space and water to swim.
Keeping guppies in an overcrowded tank can impact their health.
More importantly, it limits their access to resources and clean water.
In an overcrowded tank, guppies will struggle to meet their survival needs.
This is because all the fish depend on the same oxygen source in a tank.
So, too many tank mates can deprive the guppy of oxygen.
The severity of the problem increases if there are large fish that need more oxygen.
Poor tank maintenance and absence of aeration will further aggravate the issue.
If you don’t have air stones or pumps in the aquarium, your fish will struggle to get oxygen.
You can prevent your guppies from being affected by ensuring an ideal tank setting in the first place.
The optimum tank setup for guppies should have at least two gallons of water per guppy.
Apart from having enough water in the tank, proper filtration, aeration, and water flow will also prevent your guppies from blowing bubbles.
Improper aeration.
In their wild habitats, guppies live in moving water. In these water bodies, currents bring oxygen to the water.
When the water moves, it removes toxins and brings fresh oxygen to the fish.
However, in an aquarium, the water is stagnant. So, the toxins generated by the inhabitants remain in the tank.
Unless you arrange to remove it, these toxins will rise to dangerously high levels.
They will cause various diseases and compromise the health of guppies.
Hence, it’s essential to provide aeration in the tank. You can use a filter for it.
When water moves in and out of the filter, it agitates the water surface.
This process increases aeration, and oxygen from the air enters the water.
Thus, a continuous supply of oxygen will be present in the tank.
You can also improve aeration by using an air stone or aquatic plants.
Plants expel oxygen into the water during photosynthesis. This oxygen enters the water and is available for fish to breathe.
Compensate for the higher water temperature.
Did you know that cold water holds more oxygen than warm water?
When the temperature of the water in your fish tank is high, your guppies may produce bubbles.
Guppies need a water pH of 6.8 to 7.8 and a water temperature of 72°F to 80°F for optimum health.
When their aquarium setup satisfies these conditions, guppies will be content and healthy.
However, if the water is too warm, it will carry less oxygen. This can lead to your guppies producing bubbles.
Now, the good news is that you can compensate for the lower oxygen concentration in a fish tank.
Either use a water stone, air pump, or filter to aerate the water and improve the oxygen concentration.
Avoid keeping too many plants.
Having plants in an aquarium improves the aeration of the water.
However, the same plants can become a problem if they are too crowded and too many.
While plants expel oxygen during photosynthesis, they consume oxygen at night.
If there are too many plants in an aquarium, the demand for oxygen increases.
So, your guppies may experience a severe lack of oxygen after sunset when the plants stop photosynthesis.
Hence, they may end up blowing bubbles in the night.
If this becomes a regular phenomenon in a heavily planted tank, you should get rid of some plants.
Check for medications and chemical additives in the tank.
You may have to use medicines and chemicals in your tank to treat your fish or general maintenance.
Sometimes, these additives affect the availability of dissolved oxygen in a fish tank.
Due to the chemical nature of their molecules, these substances may attach to the available oxygen molecules.
When this happens, the oxygen available for your guppies gets affected. Hence, they may end up panting and blowing bubbles.