There is a long standing myth that fish will explode if you overfeed them and many people still believe this to this day.
With there being so many people who are new to the fish keeping hobby right now, it’s easy to see why so many people reach out each month to ask if fish can explore from eating too much food or not.
As there are a surprisingly high number of people reaching out about this each month, we wanted to publish this article to try and help as many of our readers better understand the real consequences of overfeeding your pet fish.
Can Fish Explode From Eating Too Much?
The simple answer is no, fish cannot explode from eating too much food.
This is because fish have a different digestive system to humans and other animals and their stomachs can expand to accommodate a large amount of food. Even if their expanded stomach is full, even a greedy fish will stop eating at this stage.
However, this doesn’t mean that overfeeding your fish is a good idea.
When you overfeed your fish, the uneaten food will sink to the bottom of the tank and decompose.
This can lead to a build-up of harmful toxins in the water, which can be lethal to your fish.
Not only this, but overfeeding your fish can also cause them to become obese, which can lead to a number of health problems too.
Is It Possible For A Fish To Explode?
It is not possible for a fish to explode due to overeating but some very base cases of internal parasites can cause a fish to rupture from the inside making it appear as though it has exploded.
Thankfully, you usually see every other sign of internal parasites in your fish prior to it getting this bad so you will have plenty of time to treat the parasites and save your fish.
What Happens When Fish Overeat?
We have a little list of the most common things that will happen when you overfeed your fish below and then we will take a more detailed look at each of them throughout the rest of the article:-
- Bloating!
- Weight Gain!
- Extra Poop!
- Internal Injuries!
- Health Problems!
- Swim Bladder Disease!
Bloating!
The most common thing that you will see when you overfeed your fish is bloating.
A bloated fish will often have a distended belly and may swim in an unusual way as it tries to compensate for its increased size.
You might also notice that your fish’s scales appear to be sticking out more than usual when it is bloated.
Weight Gain!
As well as bloating, another common sign that you are overfeeding your fish is weight gain.
If you notice that your fish are looking a little chubbier than usual, it’s probably because they are carrying around extra weight.
This additional body weight on your fish can cause a number of other potential problems too so it is never a good idea to overfeed your pet fish in the vast majority of cases.
Extra Poop!
One of the most obvious signs that you are overfeeding your fish is extra poop.
If you are feeding your fish more food than they can eat, the uneaten food will sink to the bottom of the tank and decompose.
This decomposing food will produce ammonia, which is toxic to fish.
Not only this, but the extra poop produced by your fish will also add to the ammonia levels in the water, which can be incredibly dangerous for your fish.
In addition to this, the additional poop in your tank also increases the amount of tank maintenance that is required to keep the tank clean and safe for your fish to live in too.
Not only will the tank require more water changes to keep the water parameters in the tank stable but it will also need you to use a gravel vacuum to remove the poop from the substrate more often too.
Internal Injuries!
Another potential problem that can be caused by overfeeding your fish is internal injuries.
With the expanded stomach taking up so much space due to all of the additional food in the digestive system of your fish, it will apply pressure to other organs and quickly cause health problems.
Health Problems!
In addition to the physical problems that can be caused by overfeeding your fish, there are also a number of health problems that can be caused by overeating too.
One of the most common health problems associated with overeating is swim bladder disease.
Swim bladder disease is a condition that affects the swim bladder, which is an organ in fish that helps them to control their buoyancy.
If the swim bladder becomes damaged, it can cause the fish to have difficulty swimming and it may even cause the fish to sink to the bottom of the tank.
In severe cases, swim bladder disease can be fatal so it is always best to avoid overfeeding your fish if possible.
Swim Bladder Disease!
As we mentioned above, one of the health problems that can be caused by overfeeding your fish is swim bladder disease.
Swim bladder disease is a condition that affects the swim bladder, which is an organ in fish that helps them to control their buoyancy.
If the swim bladder becomes damaged, it can cause the fish to have difficulty swimming and it may even cause the fish to sink to the bottom of the tank.
In severe cases, swim bladder disease can be fatal so it is always best to avoid overfeeding your fish if possible.
