Why is dying fish just an acceptable idea?

[snailaquarium]

Hi,

I have seen on YouTube a common view that fish will simply die every now and then, especially for the newbie starters, and this is often quoted as 'part of the hobby', and the presenters think they are being good by being honest in showing the viewer 'the cold hard truth' . Whatever are your views? We don't accept our cats and dogs dying in a casual way do we? Then again they seem to be easier to look after.

 

[Barry Tetra]

IMO fish dying made me feel sad for a week, I hate how people say that

 

[CryptFan]

It’s part of the hobby in some ways, but the beginners do not setup a tank correctly and don’t cycle it or chose appropriate tank mates. Those fish dying are not part of the hobby. When one of my fish die (usually from old age) I scoop them out and flush them. Don’t give it a second thought.

 

[snailaquarium]

IMO fish dying made me feel sad for a week, I hate how people say that

Where you angry with me or the youtubers? I found it very disappointing several shrimp died. I am surprised two did from a 76% water change though however this was was on two different occasions and not all of the shrimp died so kinda strange.

 

[Barry Tetra]

Where you angry with me or the youtubers? I found it very disappointing several shrimp died. I am surprised two did from a 76% water change though however this was was on two different occasions and not all of the shrimp died so kinda strange.

Im not mad at you. Its those youtuber.

 

[utahfish]

When my bristlenose pleco of ten years died, i dug a hole in the yard put him in it my family gathered i said some words and put a flower on his grave. RIP fuzzy face

 

[Back in the fold]

This is the sad reality of pet keeping. Compassionate people feel that loss and they mourn when anything dies. I don't even like finding a dead bird outside. Other people have a clinical laboratory outlook on it. I identify with those who cry over loss of life. Any life. If we had more people like that maybe there would be a lot less war and murder.

 

[Byron]

I have not seen the YouTube(s) you refer to, so it is impossible to put my comments in perspective. But there is truth in the fact that fish will die from genetic problems that we cannot ever know about unless we are a biologist/microbiologist and can perform a necropsy (the autopsy on animals); and sometimes in such cases it is best to ignore the death. On the reverse side, fish dying more frequently can be due to a contagious disease, water issues, inappropriate stocking, etc, etc.

There is often a desire especially with new and inexperienced aquarists to "do something" if a fish gets "sick" or dies. This is an instinct that needs to be checked. When one understands the complexity of fish physiology, one hopefully realizes how dangerous it is to take some action. The chances of knowing the exact cause of the sickness/death are slim for most hobbyists. With experience we learn to recognize some issues (ich for example) but external signs of a disease are not always identifiable or if they are they may be common to several problems. The inexperienced hobbyist immediately starts adding "X" medication, then when that doesn't work try another, and so on. All of which almost inevitably kills the fish and harms those that may be healthy. If you cannot identify the cause with a fair degree of certainty, it is better to not add medications/chemicals because they will further stress all fish no matter what they are, making them even weaker and more susceptible to whatever the actual problem may be.

More than once I have simply removed a dead fish, or in a few cases euthanized an obviously dying fish, and done nothing more. Water tests at the sign of a possible problem are advisable, just in case there is a spreading issue. And depending upon the signs, a massive partial water change can sometimes be the best and only-needed treatment. All I worry about when I see a dead fish is ensuring there is not something contagious or spreadable.

Recently within the space of two weeks, two of my five Ambastaia sidthimunki died. Both were females (the significantly larger gender). I removed them when I saw them, and did nothing. I have had this group for ten years, and since it has a normal life expectancy of 8-12 years, it is very likely they simply came to the end of their lives. There is nothing abnormal externally with the three remaining males, nor the rasboras in the tank. Fish do die.

 

[Retired Viking]

I feel much the same way as @Byron. Every day I count the fish and shrimp in my aquariums. If I find one dead I immediately check the temp and water conditions. But if everything is alright I view it as a natural death since the fish I have are all small community fish that are known to get along. Not that it does not bother me, I am sad whenever one does die and even sadder when I find out that it may have been my fault. I view my fish as my responsibility to take care of.

 

[seangee]

I guess its hard to get the right balance. I agree with the previous posts. The other week I lost one of my glowlight tetras that was over 5 years old and I fished it out and thought no more of it. TBH I would never have known if I hadn't seen the body as there are enough hiding places in my tanks that accurate counts just aren't possible for most species. Similarly if I bought 20 new fish and 2 of them died in quarantine I would not be surprised and put it down to the stress of being caught, transported to the shop and then moved again (as long as the rest of the group was fine).

So its not really unreasonable to say that if you buy some fish and one of them happens to die it doesn't automatically mean you need to rush out and treat the tank.

 

[snailaquarium]

OK well it's good to hear from you these days views.

 

[Herpin Man]

I've always felt that if one cannot accept any amount of animal death, then one should not participate in an animal-keeping hobby, particularly breeding.
However, with most of us I think there is a certain amount of private sadness when we lose animals. If we shared that sadness, though, these forums would be overflowing with tears.

 

[CryptFan]

I've always felt that if one cannot accept any amount of animal death, then one should not participate in an animal-keeping hobby, particularly breeding.
However, with most of us I think there is a certain amount of private sadness when we lose animals. If we shared that sadness, though, these forums would be overflowing with tears.

I agree 100% death is part of keeping living things.

 

[FishGuest5123]

It’s part of the hobby in some ways, but the beginners do not setup a tank correctly and don’t cycle it or chose appropriate tank mates. Those fish dying are not part of the hobby. When one of my fish die (usually from old age) I scoop them out and flush them. Don’t give it a second thought.

Don’t flush them! You’re contaminating water sources if you do that.

 

[CryptFan]

Don’t flush them! You’re contaminating water sources if you do that.

You mean my septic tank?