# why do fish die for no reason?



## mbunas4me (Mar 13, 2013)

came home from work and one of my fish was dead.all the other tank mates doing fine.water tested fine.i just wonder why a fish dies for no reason out of the blue like that.just a thought


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

Nothing dies for no reason. Water quality alone is not an indication that nothing is wrong. Aggression, disease, infection, old age, and many other things can cause a fish to die. Stress, which can be hard to understand unless you watch the behavior of your fish a lot, can lead to a weakened immune system and cause a fish to die for seemingly no reason.


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## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Did the fish appear bloated?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

As stated above, there IS a reason for the deaths.

Have you lost other fish? We would need alot more information in order to try to help you determine what your problem is, but there is a reason for your loss.


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## amulletman (Mar 6, 2013)

Maybe it held it's head above water for several minutes and commited suicide because he lost the love of his life. Fish get depressed too.


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## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

It would be easier to just jump out. It happens all the time.


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## mbunas4me (Mar 13, 2013)

all other fish doing great.didnt show any signs of bloat or stress.maybe it was just its time.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

One fish can be sick or harassed while all the others are fine. It is also possible for a fish to be rammed by another fish in just the right spot that it is killed without any indication of the injury.


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## zenobium (Jan 5, 2006)

Just like humans, fish can have all sorts of disorders and congenital disease. They can have heart attacks, strokes, liver failure, cancer, endocrine disease, etc. We increase the likelihood of problems by breeding them, in that we allow fish to survive and mate that would never make it in the wild. We then amplify this by inbreeding. Chances are if you have kept fish for a long time you have have lost fish to these types of circumstances before and just didn't realize it.

It should be noted that environmental stressors greatly increase the chances of many diseases and disorders. However, if you just lost one fish and your water is good, it may have just been his time.


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## gverde (Mar 3, 2010)

zenobium said:


> Just like humans, fish can have all sorts of disorders and congenital disease. They can have heart attacks, strokes, liver failure, cancer, endocrine disease, etc. We increase the likelihood of problems by breeding them, in that we allow fish to survive and mate that would never make it in the wild. We then amplify this by inbreeding. Chances are if you have kept fish for a long time you have have lost fish to these types of circumstances before and just didn't realize it.
> 
> It should be noted that environmental stressors greatly increase the chances of many diseases and disorders. However, if you just lost one fish and your water is good, it may have just been his time.


I agree. I had a green terror die from a stroke or heart attack. I saw him a couple of times have seizures before he had his major one. I also had large haps and CA's die of old age. You can usually tell this by not knowing the age of the fish. When you first purchase the fish he may be fine but after a couple of years you may notice the fish start to be more secluded, swim and eat less. They lose a lot of their color, will stay at the bottom of the tank and will also look like an old fish. I also believe that good genes has a lot to do with the health of a fish. I have had 3 haps that I purchased 3 years ago when I started my 220G. They are full grown now and are as healthy as can be. They have never been sick in that time. I also have had haps from breeders that apparently were not very good stock and would always get sick and finally die on me even with medicating them. I am very diligent in keeping my tanks pristine with 50-75% water changes every week. You almost have to keep an eye on every fish and make sure he isn't sick or stressed out.


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## atreis (Jan 15, 2013)

There is always a reason, but sometimes it can be hard to determine and it isn't always preventable. In addition to the above example of a heart attack or stroke, fish can also die of cancer (the chinese are wrong about sharks - they can and do get cancer). Fish also have a normal lifespan for a given species. As with us, dieing of "old age" really involves dieing of something else, but something's going to get them eventually.


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