How Does A fish look when it's old?

[z28pwr]

I have a pair of Maroon Clowns which I've had for 7-8 years. When I got them the female was over twice the size as the male and lately she has been losing her color from a deep red to a dull red and her fins don't look that good. I'm wondering if somebody is picking on her but they would probably pick on her "boyfriend' which is 2.5" compared to her being over 4" and VERY aggressive (she killed a harlequin tusk that was over 6" a few years ago). Do fish start losing their color and their fins with age? I tried looking up pictures of old fish and didn't really find much. If I had to guess I would say she is somewhere in the 12-14 year old range and she looks like she is getting old.

[tebstan]

Awwww. I love older pets.

I haven't had SW long enough to make a valid comparison... but with FW they just seem to not move like they used to, and fade in color and are less active. Fishy arthritis? I had a ghost knife that was around 17, we guess. He was no longer black - he turned kind of a smokey grey and even his white strip was faded. He had a hard time getting around, compared to when he was younger. If we didn't hand feed him, he wouldn't eat. He may not have had the energy to chase food, but maybe he just had me trained.

[allan]

I'd really like to know the answer to that. I've seen huge hippos in the lfs and their color is really faded out (blue is very very light to white and the black is gray).

I like the little guys myself, and the bright colors, but when I see the big washed out colors I immediately think that it's due to stress.

Bill has been doing this for 30 years, maybe he can chime in?

[BSJF]

Can't say that I have ever seen an old gray maroon clown fish while diving. I'm sure old ones live in the ocean, so I would guess that isn't the issue. Stress or diet would be my guess. May be another medical condition related to old age though I suppose.

[Europhyllia]

Can't say that I have ever seen an old gray maroon clown fish while diving. I'm sure old ones live in the ocean, so I would guess that isn't the issue. Stress or diet would be my guess. May be another medical condition related to old age though I suppose.

If the fading is coupled with generally slowing down maybe they get eaten up too though?

[tebstan]

Can't say that I have ever seen an old gray maroon clown fish while diving. I'm sure old ones live in the ocean, so I would guess that isn't the issue. Stress or diet would be my guess. May be another medical condition related to old age though I suppose.


Do they live as long in the wild? With predators and other stress, I wouldn't think most fish would last long. Clownfish's behavior might keep them around longer though.

[z28pwr]

Well she had been slowing down and on Tuesday she couldn't even go after the food and today she passed away.

RIP Big Momma!

[Europhyllia]

:( RIP

That's still an amazingly long life she had

[Reefer4ever]

Awwww :( Im so sorry. R.I.P.

[Scream311]

Sorry for your Loss Jose

[BSJF]

So sorry Jose.

[Kristy]

Oh wow, sorry to hear it. She certainly lived the good life for a fish in captivity with that great big tank.

Need a replacement? Our Big Bertha has many of the same wonderful qualities that Big Momma had. Perhaps you should send me a PM after the appropriate period of grief. (Shhh.... don't tell Mike! He isn't the one who gets bitten so he wants to keep her!)

[Mrs. z28pwr]

Poor big mama!!! RIP

[tate1]

R.I.P Big Mama :o(

[z28pwr]

Thanks everyone, she will be missed. The "boyfriend" used to hide all the time but now he is out most of the time and appears to be more bold. I don't know if he started converting into female nor do I know how long it will take him to convert to a female but it will be interesting to see.



Oh wow, sorry to hear it. She certainly lived the good life for a fish in captivity with that great big tank.

Need a replacement? Our Big Bertha has many of the same wonderful qualities that Big Momma had. Perhaps you should send me a PM after the appropriate period of grief. (Shhh.... don't tell Mike! He isn't the one who gets bitten so he wants to keep her!)

Thanks Kristy but I'm a little worried that if he has initiated the transformation that he would end up being killed by Big Bertha and there is no way I could save him with the tank being so deep and full of rock. I think I may try placing a 1" maroon in a fish trap see how he reacts.

[Europhyllia]

sounds like it his time to rule! Have fun, little guy :)