Even your pet aquarium fish need a bit of stimulation. In the wild, there are lots of distractions (evade predators, look for food, swim upstream, find mates, hide as needed)...and in your tank, a fish pet can easily become bored. Fin nipping is one activity common among bored fish. Fish chasing is another symptom. A lonely fish can become listless and clamped, or pay excessive attention to anything going on outside the tank - namely YOU and your activities. While this is fine, you aren't always going to be there to look at. Adding a few fun fish toys can help your little fish friend have a nicer life.
Fish tend to enjoy toys with these qualities:
- Something to swim under or through
- Something to rest on
- Something to hide under
- Bright colors
- Soft, smooth edges (nothing sharp that can rip fins)
- Something that makes gentle bubbles
- Objects made of stone, hard plastics, glass or silk (ie - silk plants). Be wary of adding items to the tank that can change its chemistry or leak toxins, or pourous objects that will support excess growths of algae (if you have a problem with algae, that is).
Toys I've used in my tanks and bowls
- Hamster tubes/Toobes
- Parakeet ladders
- Fish caves and other aquarium decorations
- Silk plants, or plastic plants without sharp edges
- Live plants
- Freshwater snail shells
- Live snails (the big mystery and apple snails are fun for many fish to watch as they glide around)
- Smooth river rocks
- Smooth slabs of shale
- Small terra-cotta pots, rested on their sides
- Glass beads
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