Too much of a "good" thing...

I have a 6 year old midevil(named Boss) and he is as healthy as can be(well at least he looks and acts like it except for scars from the fight with HITH we had). He has the scars but it is not active at the moment and hasn't been since I was finally able to get him his own tank(about 3 months ago). I have been in the hobby for a good 15 years now but my fish keeping skills weren't as good as they should/could have been within the first 10 years. When I first got him I had a few health issues with my main tank that he was in and some fish made it and some didn't. I had a canister filter that I didn't clean often enough and it started wiping out my fish... Although it was my fault for not cleaning it when I first started having the problems, the out of site out off mind concept doesn't work well with me and I no longer use canister filters because it was the source of most if not all my problems.
Boss has had a hard knock life because I have went to long in between water changes and have NEVER bought a test kit or have been one to check "water perameters." No I'm not proud of that... Just wanted to throw that in. I would also like to say Boss and I are big supporters of Hikari because its the only brand he has ate his entire life.
Now to get to my point... I know he can still get sick if I start slacking but it seems he is healthy as hell these days and I just wondered could it be because the things he has been through made his immune system stronger? In the past have bought new fish that got thrown into the tank he was in and they would get ick and he has never had it. I know he's gonna slow down eventually but as of right now he is a 13" monster! I know that I am more skilled at keeping his water better and that plays a big role on his health BUT if a fish doesn't get sick when its younger, wouldn't a sickness take a bigger tole on the body when they get sick at an older(more developed) age? I'm not saying get your fish sick early so it can build an immunity... But at the same time if water perameters are always perfect, how strong can the immune system get/be?

I figured at the least I would get told I'm dead wrong. I know there's plenty of you with 6+ year old fish that can say something...

lp85253 said:

he is probably in the prime of his life right now... as long as you don't "overfeed" and keep up on water changes and filter cleaning(gravel vacs, too, but they aren't AS IMPORTANT) he should stay healthy and active for several more years,, I have heard of 10-12 year old central american fish on this site often,, BOSS sounds like a wonderful pet , keep up the good work he will appreciate it

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Thank you! Yeah I know how to keep his water a lot more healthier than before. So if he lives to be 12 years old... That would be great!

xraycer said:

Boss most likely just has good genetics and a strong immune system...........and maybe just been lucky.

Glad to hear you've changed your ways and taking care of your pets.

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Thanks for commenting. Yeah I would agree he has some very strong genetics lol. I still don't check my parameters but I know my water is healthier. I wasn't a terrible fish keeper in the past... its just that I used to trade fish often but he was one that I held on to. I have lived and learned throughout the years. I'll share a couple changes because they have made a 360 difference in my fish keeping. I no longer use carbon within my filtration and I cut my filters off when I feed. Those 2 factors alone equal healthier water. Then with scheduled water changes and filter maintenance, you can have some healthy and happy wet pets. Only flaw about me is I am a procrastinator and I sometimes don't follow the schedule Lol