Elderly Fish?

[drango91]

you guys know how to spot a elderly fish??
i have some moderately old fish they seem to have the OLD man additude, my dominant fish is now a lazy one but my other non dominant is a scared old man, they seem to be slower, i know its not any infection of any sort, so iknow its all natural but i hope they leave thewir mark w/my new platy babies

 

[chibi]

Hmm... well, I can pretty much guarentee that fish you buy in your LFS aren't elderly. Most fish are sold very young, which is a problem since some fish that are 2" in the store can grow up to 4 feet long! I can remember my LFS selling Red-Tailed Catfish at that size... Anyway, the only elderly fish at your local fish store would be a really huge fish that no one can accomodate for. Another example from my LFS is they have a 3 foot corydoras that's been there ever since I can remember. They haven't found someone to buy it so they've offered him to the National Aquarium.

In your tank, you should know by how long you've had the fish. If you can't remember, they won't be as active as the younger fish, but are still themselves. Most smaller fish like platies and guppies can live up to 4 years if you take care of them right! Considering the oldest fish I have in my tank is about a year and a half, I'd consider an elderly fish over a year old. But that's just me!

 

[drango91]

well they are at full size actually one of my males have shrunk

 

[WILDER]

As in strunk do you mean going really thin with a sunken in belly.