sunstrip

A strange question.....do fish show any signs of old age ?

Narcicius

Depends on the fish, usually.

Allie

I find fish actually get the old man/woman face when older. They aren't as colorful or bright.

sunstrip

The reason I ask..is one of my Guppies has become very dull in color and don't look good...tank is testing perfect...and no other fish are affected....when I bought them they were pretty much full grown as far as I could tell...so maybe he was old to begin with...he never did like playing as much as the other 2.

sirdarksol

Guppies, I believe, do show old age. Some fish, on the other hand, don't.
There are some animals (unsure if there are fish like this) that actually don't die of old age. Some turtles are, I believe, one of these critters. Of course, every day they live, there's the chance that they are eaten, or that an organ fails, or that they eat something poisonous, etc...
I wonder if koi are one of these types of animals. Their bodies might be damaged by toxins in the water, but I'm not sure that they're damaged by age itself.

Chief_waterchanger

Guppies show signs of old age in several ways:

1) Increasingly dull color
2) Ragged fins (almost like something nibbled on them, even if there is nothing there to nibble on them)
3) Slower reaction time

Hope that puts your mind at ease, atleast in some way.

lalynya

Yeah I had a male dye recently and he showed all of the above symptoms and once the symptoms showed up he died shortly after

kra-z-fishmumm

I am fish hear me roar...."blub blub blub"


This just made my day lalynya! lol I needed that. Deb




BTW: How old do most livebearers usually (reasonably) get?

lalynya

so you like my signature weee...AS too how long I have no clue but I guess I will be finding out as my fry grow..They are about 2 months now and the 20 + that there was is only down to 3 now...maybe four there is one that dissapears and then reapears

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Guppy.htm

It says 3-5 years

Chief_waterchanger

Guppies, mollies, platies, and swordtails are usually 2-4 years as their range of longevity. That is the most common age range of those that die of old age, so it may not precisely fit your fish, but that of the species overall.