Like the title states, anyone ever had that (or potentially had that) happen? If so, what did it look like? What fish and how old was it when it happened?
Anyone ever had a fish die of old age?
- Thread starter Cecropia
- Start date
Had a few fish die from old age. Depends on the species on how they look when they get old. Color starts to fade fish not as active. Had a couple of spotted silver dollars that were over 10 years old .
I had a male breeder l397 pleco die of old age. My guy just stopped eating color faded & a few days later passed away he was over 15 years old!
I think it would be hard to say if the death is due to old age or not because the older they get the more susceptible to slight changes in water
I am working on old age
I have a 14 year old Asian aro and 3 x 12 year old rays
I am working on old age
I have a 14 year old Asian aro and 3 x 12 year old rays
It's the like other animals or humans. They get weaker and weaker, and the organ or part of the immune system that fails first kills them. Therefore death from old age can look different from case to case.
My Oscar Big Boy died of old age. He was 12 years old. 
I had a bosemani rainbow (male) die of old age at 7 years in my care, but I purchased it as a young adult. Slowed down, would remain close to the bottom, ceased to aggressively seek food. I still have some of its offspring.
I have two (originally 3) silver dollars, Metynnis maculatus, which are a documented 28 years of age. Very much alive, but definitely senior adults, in a tank with several other silver dollars who range 10 to 8 years in my care.
Multiples. I've kept fish for decades, many long term, too many to mention. Some will become more susceptible to infections and you can keep them going longer several extra months, or even a couple of years, by treating things as they come up until that finally stops working. Or they may be old, succumb to some infection, and that's pretty much it and nothing works, nothing you can do for them. Some gradually become more and more geriatric looking over a year or a couple of years-- maybe they're fins look a bit ragged, spine curves a bit, they don't eat much and their belly gradually hollows out, with some their color fades over time but others not until right near the end. Some you can see them go downhill within a few weeks to several months. Once you've been through it a few times you start recognizing it in older fish. Some quietly fade away and with a few I've let it happen, but if I see an aged fish struggling I'll 'put it to sleep' with clove oil rather than have it needlessly suffer near the end.
I don't always keep track, but I've had a number of fish live well beyond their typically cited lifespan. A wild rotkeil severum, for example that was full grown when I got it (her) and lived over 15 years in my tanks, making her at least 17-- you often see them listed as 5-10 years. Or L262 plecos that lived 12-20 years-- I've seen them listed as up to 10 years.
I don't always keep track, but I've had a number of fish live well beyond their typically cited lifespan. A wild rotkeil severum, for example that was full grown when I got it (her) and lived over 15 years in my tanks, making her at least 17-- you often see them listed as 5-10 years. Or L262 plecos that lived 12-20 years-- I've seen them listed as up to 10 years.
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I've had lots of small species of fish that lived far longer than their allotted span according to The All-Seeing And All-Knowing Eye of the internet. I'm talking here about species that are "supposed" to live 2 or 3 years but have survived for twice that long or more. And, yes, it's pretty obvious when one has finally begun to near its end; they slow down, lose their appetites, often grow thin, move clumsily and as little as possible. As long as they don't appear to be suffering unduly, I will let them wind down naturally, but if an old fish begins to appear weak and beyond hope, I will often end it quickly and humanely.
Big fish? I doubt very much I've had one die of old age; I think fish in general are capable of living much longer than we give them credit for. Big fish are old, and old fish are big; neither condition is likely to happen in a dinky little fish tank regardless of filtration, maintenance, water-changes, etc. Thinking back through my time in the hobby, I believe that most fish deaths I experienced, large or small, could be easily traced back to some mishap or accident that I could have prevented if I had foreseen it; catastrophic tank failures, electrical outages, accidental poisonings by airborne or other substances, poor choice of tankmates, incorrect diets, or combinations of these and many more factors likely kill most aquarium fish.
When one keels over dead without warning or without any immediately obvious cause, the common phrase is "died for no reason!" Yeah, sorry, everything has a reason, whether we can discern it...or admit it...or not. "Old age" is the most often blamed killer of those fish, and it might make us feel better, but...I don't think it happens very often at all.
Big fish? I doubt very much I've had one die of old age; I think fish in general are capable of living much longer than we give them credit for. Big fish are old, and old fish are big; neither condition is likely to happen in a dinky little fish tank regardless of filtration, maintenance, water-changes, etc. Thinking back through my time in the hobby, I believe that most fish deaths I experienced, large or small, could be easily traced back to some mishap or accident that I could have prevented if I had foreseen it; catastrophic tank failures, electrical outages, accidental poisonings by airborne or other substances, poor choice of tankmates, incorrect diets, or combinations of these and many more factors likely kill most aquarium fish.
When one keels over dead without warning or without any immediately obvious cause, the common phrase is "died for no reason!" Yeah, sorry, everything has a reason, whether we can discern it...or admit it...or not. "Old age" is the most often blamed killer of those fish, and it might make us feel better, but...I don't think it happens very often at all.