Guppy Sleeping or Dying? – Difference Explained

When I was new at fish keeping, I went to one of my friend’s house, where I saw a motionless guppy fish, so I asked him: Is your guppy sleeping or dying?

Sometimes it is difficult to know whether guppy fish is sleeping, dying or sick.

So in this article, I will answer a few more questions:

– How does guppies sleep?

– How to know if a guppy is sick?

– How to save a dying guppy fish?

– What to do if your guppy is dead?

Let’s dive in.

Guppy Sleeping or Dying

Guppies are diurnal fish so they are awake in the daytime and rest at night.

When you turn off tank lights at night, your guppy floats and stays still. It indicates guppy is sleeping.

Generally, guppy fish do not sleep during the day.

During the daytime your guppy fish is not moving or floating in the tank, then you should investigate the issue and look for any sign of sickness or disease.

Act quickly to treat your guppy, if timely action is not taken guppies die easily.

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How Does Guppies Sleep?

Guppies sleep in the dark. You may ask how do guppies sleep in a tank?

While guppies are sleeping, watch out for the below guppy fish sleeping behavior in your tank:

1. They breathe slowly.

2. Guppies eyeballs are motionless.

3. They float still at top of tank or stay at the bottom of tank on substrate or hide in plants.

4. Guppy fish is stationary for a few minutes.

5. They hide in decor things or in caves to feel safe.

6. Guppies are so tired at night that they don’t react to external noise or even food.

These indicators will help you to know where do guppies sleep.

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How To Know If a Guppy Is Sick?

There are ways to know if your guppy is fine, sick or pregnant.

In daylight, if your guppy is not moving for quite a while or is floating at one spot, then definitely your fish is not sleeping. This behavior indicates either guppy is pregnant or sick.

During the daytime, if you find your male guppy motionless at the bottom of the tank, it is because either guppy is harassed and got injured in the fight or struggling with some disease, infection or sickness.

If your female guppy is hiding at bottom of tank or in decor, with an enlarged belly, darker gravid spot, laziness, isolation, heavy breathing or low appetite then these are signs of a pregnancy.

You have to be careful as a few diseases also have the same symptoms.

Signs of Guppy Fish Diseases

When your fish is sick, you will notice listed signs of guppy disease:

Disease	Signs of Guppy Fish Disease
Fin or Tail Rot	Guppies fin or tail starts rotting due to fungus and bacterial infection
Swim Bladder Disorder	Guppy fish sleeping upside down or swimming vertically
Dropsy	Bloated belly due to accumulation of water in internal organs
Ammonia and Nitrate Poisoning	Red spot on belly and swollen gills
Hexamita	Hole in body or head
Scoliosis	Bends fish spine in C shape
Fish Tuberculosis	Skin ulcers, loss of scale, problems in reproduction
Columnaris	Cottonmouth, brown fins, slimy mucus on mouth
Fish Popeye	Eye socket stretching, blood in eyeball, swollen eye
Ich or Ick	White spot on fish body

When you know the symptoms of the sickness then you can treat it early and save a dying guppy fish.

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How To Save a Dying Guppy Fish?

I suggest consulting Vet for the best treatment of your sick or dying guppy fish.

However, there are situations they are not available.

Don’t worry!

You can still save a dying guppy fish by following these preventive measures:

– Start by testing level of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate with the help of API freshwater master kit.

– 25% of water change removes bacterial infection and improves water quality.

– Raise the water temperature to increase their appetite, activity and improve digestion.

– Many times sick or dying guppy have trouble in breathing, so use of a good filter and airstone enhances the level of oxygen in your aquarium.

– Move sick guppy in hospital tank to avoid spreading disease.

– For curable diseases, give same treatment in both tanks i.e. main tank and hospital tank.

If your guppy is suffering terminal illness that cannot be cured, then as a last resort euthanize your guppy fish humanely.

How to Euthanize Guppy Fish the Most Humane Way?

There are two ways to euthanize your guppy fish humanely:

1) Clove Oil Method

American Veterinary Medical Association approves this method as most humane way.

Prepare a mix of clove oil and a gallon of water in a container, after that put your sick or dying guppy in it.

Now stronger dosage of clove oil, so this leads to suffocation and guppy fish die.

2) The Stun and Stab Method

This method involves a violent process, so not recommended who are sensitive.

Place your sick guppy on aluminum foil, hit hard on the fish’s head with a blunt tool, now stab its brain and guppy suddenly die.

Definitely, for guppy keeper to perform euthanize is difficult but it is a better option than seeing your guppy suffer so much daily till it dies.

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What To Do If Your Guppy Is Dead?

If your guppy is dead, there are three ways to dispose:

1. Cremation

Before going for cremation check whether it is legally allowed in your area. If yes, then cremation is a good choice to avoid the spread of disease and infection.

2. Burying

Put your dead guppy fish in a biodegradable bag and now either bury it in the backyard or bury it in a potted plant.

3. Trash

If you cannot go for the first two methods, then place your guppy fish in a paper bag and put in the trash bin.

Do not flush a dead guppy fish as it is harmful to our environment.

After that question arises about how to dispose of dead guppy?

You should follow below steps to get rid of dead guppy in fish tank:

– As soon as possible, take dead guppy out of your aquarium with the help of a net.

– Place deceased guppy fish in a paper bag.

– You can bury, trash or cremate dead fish.

Protective Measure Avoid harming other fish – Change large portion of water – Use water conditioner such as Seachem Prime helps reduce stress due to ammonia spikes.

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Conclusion

To conclude guppies behavior during the day is active and at night to take rests. If you observe the same behavior 24/7 then it is a matter of concern.

I am sure after reading this article you will be in a better position to know the difference between sleeping guppy and dying one and how to spot and save sick guppy from dying.

If you have any question, do comment below.

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FAQS

1. Can a dead guppy give birth?

Yes, only if pregnant guppy died during delivery, there are chance some fry may be born and some may get stuck in birthing canal and die.

2. Are guppies hard to keep alive?

No, guppies are easy to keep alive, if you take proper care by providing food, keep with friendly tank mates and proper water conditions.

3. Do guppies float when dead?

Dead guppies generate gas that lets them float initially, and later fish start sinking as the gas disappears.

Happy Guppy Keeping!

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