Why Do Fish Sometimes Just Die?

[luckyd]

A strange question, I know. But I've been keeping fish long enough now to know that sometimes seemingly healthy fish just die for no apparent reason. The water stats can be fine, everyone seems happy, but a fish suddenly loses steam and never recovers. When there are symptoms, it's easier to understand. Buy why do seemingly healthy fish in healthy water, who have not reached old age, sometimes just die? I guess it's on my mind because I lost my sweet Mama platy yesterday.

 

[mattlee]

stress, old age, poor diet, poor water quality....... the list goes on and on

 

[Katty]

People would seem to just randomly die (heart attacks, strokes, cancer, genetic problems, etc.) except modern medicine has many of these "unseen" killers figured out. Fish don't really get the same attention... So when they up and die it just seems random sometimes. There are probably reasons behind fish suddenly dieing, we just don't know or can't see them.

 

[SlyPolak]

stress, old age, poor diet, poor water quality....... the list goes on and on

You could also just spook a fish to dath. (heart attack maybe)

 

[fluvial]

I think alot of it must be down to inbreeding - and the resultant lack of a healthy immune system.
Mass breeding of fish abroad, flown into Europe to cater for the market must be a factor in this.
Possibly ....

 

[arobinson1984]

As fluvial said, mass breeding an certainly be a cause and can quite often affect certain species of fish more than other, most notably dwarf gouramis. Also guppies are much less hardy than they used to be years ago.


Andy

 

[Ashley1991]

i was just thinking that today one of my rummynose tetra must have died last night when lights wer off and today my gf spotted its bones on the floor (fish and snails made a right meal of it no meat on it at all) i always had doubts about this paticular fish though it never seemed as healthy as the rest of my stock (including other rummynose) and never really got its red nose back just one of those things i guess had it about 3 months i think rest of the shoal is happy as anything

ash

 

[Abdiel007]

I agree, immune system and mass breeding may seem to be the issue as well as unknown diseases, however it really is just sad, it makes you feel like a poor fishkeeper when one of your aquatic buddies just passes after you work so hard to maintain the water quality, quarantine and etc, I wonder if wild types have this problem?