Silly Question- But......

[Plec01]

Question is.... do fish visably age??? My 5 year old clown loach has gained a few black spots on his fins and a couple of dark spots on his head. The black spots look like they are just darker pigment, matching his skin colour. Meanwhile my 6 year old striped angel fish also has darker spots on her body. She has a golden body with black stripes. Her spots are appearing as just slightly deeper coloured golden "spots" on her golden parts!!!!
They are both the oldest fish in the tank, so could these spots just be age spots?

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yes.

I know some fish will actually loose their color (vibe) when they get old.

-FHM

 

[mixmaster jay]

my gf's large chocolate goldfish is about the same age and thats going orange and white now its still got a chocolate mohican lol and thats starting to fade

 

[saz326]

As the fish age their hormonal and chemical balance shifts. They are out of their prime breeding age and so their colours fade. They are getting more frail and wouldnt be able to put up the fight that they once would. This is exactly the oposite process to the fish's growth process. As they grow they become more colourful until they are sexually mature and coloured up beautifully.

In nature, the female would look to see if she could find the most impressive male to breed with. The male with the strongest colouration is usually accepted as he must have been feeding well and obviously looks healthy.

sad to say - when a fish that is not old looses it colour it is a strong sign of ill health.