Why Do Fish Die?

[Reeveso]

Besides the obvious (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates)...why do fish die?

All my levels are 0, but I've had 2 fish die in the past 3 days..and I'm not sure why.

One Cory died and my Betta died. The Betta is a few years old but still.

What other reasons could there be? Now I'm getting worried that my other Cory's are going to start dropping off too.

Although they're probably glad the Betta is gone - he was starting to harass them towards the end.

Could the Betta have died from the stress of 4 Cory's being in the tank w/ him? And maybe the 1 Cory died from the stress of the Betta bothering him? It was only for a day or 2 before he died (the Cory was new).

How quickly can stress kill fish?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

oooh, that's a big old question isn't it! There's a whole load of reasons fish die really

you've the obvious which is poor water quality, often leading either to toxic levels of ammonia which can burn and kill a fish outright, or overall poor water quality which can lead to infections and outbreaks of disease which then kill.

But if you're water's fine then there's other possibilities.

The first one is just old age! Betta's have a lifespan of around 18 months to 2 years, in the wild they are basically an annual, so don't be surprised if they die after a couple of years. most small tropicals will live between 3 and 7 years as a rough guide so if a fish dies after a couple of years it's often just it's natural lifespan. Also remember if like so many of us you make some newbie mistakes, although the fish may survive the cycle or water problems, they may be weakened and as such live shorter than expected.

another one to watch out for is just acclimitisation issues, particularly in very young, very old or wild caught fish, they sometimes just dont' adapt to the change in conditions when you bring them home from the shop and sometimes will pass on either in the first few days or the first few weeks

unsuitable surrounds/decor is another. if the fish need cover and a secluded cave to live in and they don't have it they will becomes stressed, often when stressed they don't eat and as such their immune system is weakened and they'll pass on at a younger age than expected.

likewise with unsuitable tank mates, stressed fish will also pick up diseases more easily.

generally with stress it's not the actual stress that kills the fish, but the stress will lead to not eating, aggression or disease which can then kill the fish.

 

[Reeveso]

Thanks that helps!

Yea the betta was over 3 years old so maybe it was just a mix of that and him being mad about the other tank mates. I noticed him hiding for like 3 days before he died - which isn't unusual for ANY animal. They know when they're going.

Anyway, thanks a lot that helps.

 

[emmsy]

You might wanna turn that subject into a debate. It would raise some interesting points

Emma

Good reply Miss Wiggle

 

[Reeveso]

What subject? About them knowing they're going to die?

I wouldn't believe anyone that said otherwise lol.

I've had 2 fish, 2 cats and 3 dogs ALL do the same exact thing 2-3 days before they were going to die.

Or was it something else?

 

[emmsy]

No, I mean about things that kill fish....Heavy water changes, stress, bullying etc

Emma

 

[ALW]

I think its a good idea emmsy

 

[Tolak]

Interesting that this comes up, we discussed this a bit at Friday's club meeting. With any given species a certain percentage are going to die at a younger age, some considerably younger. Heart attacks, strokes and such are not limited to humans. We have all heard of the young athlete collapsing on the field, and being diagnosed with some serious ailment that is expected in a person much older. This sort of thing occurs with dogs & cats, why not with fish as well?

Fish generally have a shorter lifespan as it is than other pets. If we say the average aquarist has a tank with 20 fish, this is going to be way more fish that are in their care than dogs, cats, or other pets. Probably more than they will have of these other pets in their lifetime. This quantity increases the odds of seeing something out of the ordinary.

Add in the stress of an aggressive fish, poor water quality, or poking around the tank doing required maintenance and these fish that have a genetic predisposition towards this "collapse on the field" for lack of a better term.

 

[emmsy]

well there you have it mate, input from a mod already. Reeveso, I would start a seperate post and debate this subject.

Emma