sudden death

[ric]

i was wondering if anybody can tell me about how long a pearlscale butterfly fish live for i,ve had one for about 3 years now only to wake up to find it was dead this morning.last night it was fine no signs of any sickness and was eating normaly.the only thing icould think of is i also have a lionfish that i,ve had for a year ,maybe the pearlscale bumped it during the night and it died could anybody tell me if that could happend or any other reason for the sudden death of my pearlscale in a fish only tank ,any info.would be gratefull. thanks ric

 

[Krish]

Well, Ric...Fish die all the time. Too bad fish can't talk to us and tell us when they aren't feeling good. We just assume that if they're swimming that they are fine. It is possible that your lionfish may have done something to him, and then again, he may just have died on his own. Was he the only fish you lost lately? I wouldn't worry too much about it (that is, concerning the well being of your tank) if nothing else had died in your tank lately because chances are it was just one of those things that happen once and a while to all of us...Loosing a fish for no apparent reason.

 

[ric]

thanks krish i feel a little better now . and yes it was the only fish that had died , in fact its the only thing that has died no me in years thanks for replying so fast iwas worried.

 

[Krish]

No problem Ric That's a really good record you've got there. I know people who loose fish every week so you should give yourself a pat on the back.

 

[Terry B]

Hi Ric,

Noboby really knows how long a the life expectancy (given good care and proper diet) of any particilar reef fish species is. I have kept a lot of species of fish for 10+ years including butterflies, tangs, angels, foxface, triggers, lionfish, groupers, clowns, damsels, marine betta, royal grammas, etc.. I think the key to longevity is comes down to three things: quarantine, the quality of the environment (including any sources of stress) and a widely varied diet including the use of vitmains and selcon. The diet should immulate the natural diet of each particular species as closely as possible. To me, it is amazingly easy to keep reef fish healthy with great coloration for many years. The only thing that I can suggest to you it to examine the diet that you offer and how you store your foods. There is always room for improvement.

Terry B

 

[reefaddict]

i had a foxface that went from fine to dead in 15 minutes. i also had a lionfish in the tank. i did not see the "sting" but i must have just missed it because i saw the fish start to fade color and slowly sink and lay sideways and then it was over. i don't know how old the fish was. i had it for 9 months.