Always enjoy your rants usually informative and always funny, never fails to make me smile n chuckle,, much lov my friend
By way which one are you
Guru
Geezer
By way which one are you
Guru
Geezer
-
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Tank birthday and I'm a Geezer
- Thread starter Paul B
- Start date
Paul B
NJRC Member
I just found this by accident. It's about a small firefight in Viet Nam. I don't normally watch these clips but I saw that it was the same unit I was in, "The First Cav" and it was the same place I was at and the same time.
I am surprised they had a camera man there as I never saw one. None of these guys look familiar to me either.
I am surprised they had a camera man there as I never saw one. None of these guys look familiar to me either.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I am putting this on my thread because I am to old to argue and I know no one will read it.
Fish Health
I just don't get it and I know I never will. This hobby seems so simple but many of us, for some reason make it hard. I know I am in the vast minority but there is so much fish diseases on these forums that if I was a fish, I would make believe I croaked so I would be flushed and swim back to the sea.
"We" are making our fish sick. Not the LFS or the guy in the canoe who collected them. It is us.
The fish come to us in almost perfect condition with most of their immunity intact, then we insist on quarantining and God Forbid medicating them. That is how we are killing them.
I keep saying it and very few people listen so i am now saying it to myself and no one should listen. THE STOMACH BACTERIA OF A FISH TOTALLY 99% CONTROLS IT'S IMMUNE SYSTEM.
I can't see why that is such a hard concept. Copper kills stomach bacteria and parasites, "maybe" viruses but I am guessing. So we are soaking the fish, including it's internal organs in a poison that may not kill the fish outright but will kill it's immune system. Why does that make sense? A fish without it's immune system will get sick.
When we go to a doctor does he "soak" us in medication. My doctor doesn't.
Look at almost any disease or quarantine thread. The fish starts off fine, then develops Uronoma. I don't even know what that is as my fish have never had it and I have been keeping fish since Eisenhower was President. He didn't keep fish but had a dog named Heidi.
Internal worms, another one. I have never had a fish with those either, or velvet. " In fifty years". Why not? Like Duh. It's because I don't quarantine or medicate, two things that cause these things.
OK maybe they don't "cause" them. Fish already have those diseases when we get them, but they are supposed to have them. It's what fish do. That is why they have an immune system.
Yes, if we keep a very new or sterile tank or feed nothing but flakes and pellets the fish will also become sick. I am not sure why people are surprised when their fish get sick if they don't feed them correctly. No "quality" pellets won't do it either.
(They won't hurt but the fish needs living bacteria and dry foods won't have it)
Forget parameters, parameters won't make your fish sick unless you are keeping them in lemonade with the wrong pH instead of seawater.
All we have to do, is keep a natural tank, with real hiding places like a fish would find in the sea. NOT PVC FITTINGS. Use those for plumbing or maybe pipefish.
A fishes immune system also depends on the fish feeling secure. If you can see the fish, it can see you and unless you are Angelina Jolie, the fish don't want to see you.
A fishes immune system also depends on the correct food. We can live on potato chips and beer, fish can't. Their immune system will not work with out the correct food ours will.
"Quality" flake food will not do it. Flakes are baked. Did you ever see a fish go out to get a loaf of baked bread?
In the sea they eat fresh, whole fish. Almost all fish eat fresh, whole fish, preferably live.
The live fish they eat has in their stomach everything that little prey fish ate. Parasites and all.
That prey fish also has a liver which is about 15% of it's weight and that liver is all oil. Fish need that.
We can't get small, living food, I get that. But we can easily get, for practically free, live white worms. Live worms have gut bacteria and for some reason, those stupid little worms that live in dirt have stomach bacteria that will let our fish keep their immunity. Why? I have no Idea as I don't speak worm, but trust me, I'm old and have been doing this longer than any living human being that is not to senile.
I found out about the worms in 1972, that was last century when fish were invented.
Fresh or frozen clams are also a fantastic food and should be a staple. They come in LRS food but I would still feed a few times a week live worms.
They also live five days in salt water. I don't know why.
I realize people don't believe me so i will set up a cot next to my tank and people can come here and sleep next to my tank to determine if there are any diseases. You can even come here with your sick fish and throw them in my tank just for kicks.
Try that with a quarantined tank.
Fish Health
I just don't get it and I know I never will. This hobby seems so simple but many of us, for some reason make it hard. I know I am in the vast minority but there is so much fish diseases on these forums that if I was a fish, I would make believe I croaked so I would be flushed and swim back to the sea.
"We" are making our fish sick. Not the LFS or the guy in the canoe who collected them. It is us.
The fish come to us in almost perfect condition with most of their immunity intact, then we insist on quarantining and God Forbid medicating them. That is how we are killing them.
I keep saying it and very few people listen so i am now saying it to myself and no one should listen. THE STOMACH BACTERIA OF A FISH TOTALLY 99% CONTROLS IT'S IMMUNE SYSTEM.
I can't see why that is such a hard concept. Copper kills stomach bacteria and parasites, "maybe" viruses but I am guessing. So we are soaking the fish, including it's internal organs in a poison that may not kill the fish outright but will kill it's immune system. Why does that make sense? A fish without it's immune system will get sick.
When we go to a doctor does he "soak" us in medication. My doctor doesn't.
Look at almost any disease or quarantine thread. The fish starts off fine, then develops Uronoma. I don't even know what that is as my fish have never had it and I have been keeping fish since Eisenhower was President. He didn't keep fish but had a dog named Heidi.
Internal worms, another one. I have never had a fish with those either, or velvet. " In fifty years". Why not? Like Duh. It's because I don't quarantine or medicate, two things that cause these things.
OK maybe they don't "cause" them. Fish already have those diseases when we get them, but they are supposed to have them. It's what fish do. That is why they have an immune system.
Yes, if we keep a very new or sterile tank or feed nothing but flakes and pellets the fish will also become sick. I am not sure why people are surprised when their fish get sick if they don't feed them correctly. No "quality" pellets won't do it either.
(They won't hurt but the fish needs living bacteria and dry foods won't have it)
Forget parameters, parameters won't make your fish sick unless you are keeping them in lemonade with the wrong pH instead of seawater.
All we have to do, is keep a natural tank, with real hiding places like a fish would find in the sea. NOT PVC FITTINGS. Use those for plumbing or maybe pipefish.
A fishes immune system also depends on the fish feeling secure. If you can see the fish, it can see you and unless you are Angelina Jolie, the fish don't want to see you.
A fishes immune system also depends on the correct food. We can live on potato chips and beer, fish can't. Their immune system will not work with out the correct food ours will.
"Quality" flake food will not do it. Flakes are baked. Did you ever see a fish go out to get a loaf of baked bread?
In the sea they eat fresh, whole fish. Almost all fish eat fresh, whole fish, preferably live.
The live fish they eat has in their stomach everything that little prey fish ate. Parasites and all.
That prey fish also has a liver which is about 15% of it's weight and that liver is all oil. Fish need that.
We can't get small, living food, I get that. But we can easily get, for practically free, live white worms. Live worms have gut bacteria and for some reason, those stupid little worms that live in dirt have stomach bacteria that will let our fish keep their immunity. Why? I have no Idea as I don't speak worm, but trust me, I'm old and have been doing this longer than any living human being that is not to senile.
I found out about the worms in 1972, that was last century when fish were invented.
Fresh or frozen clams are also a fantastic food and should be a staple. They come in LRS food but I would still feed a few times a week live worms.
They also live five days in salt water. I don't know why.
I realize people don't believe me so i will set up a cot next to my tank and people can come here and sleep next to my tank to determine if there are any diseases. You can even come here with your sick fish and throw them in my tank just for kicks.
Try that with a quarantined tank.
Preach my brother you know I’m a HUGE BELIEVER in letting Mother Nature take care of it she knows best
Leave the meds alone stop trying to play GOD
Leave the meds alone stop trying to play GOD
Paul B
NJRC Member
I am pretty sure I have found the smoking gun on almost all fish diseases including ich, velvet, etc and why fish in captivity sometimes don't eat including why my fish and fish in many tanks "never" get sick no matter what.
I am starting to write an article which may take me a few days as I want to make sure I get my research and facts correct.
For people who never believe me, they can keep watching shows like the Bachelor or Oprah in between posting on the disease forum.
I didn't make this stuff up, I have been reading about it as it effects my own wife's MS condition but it is the same for fish.
It is also a simple thing to do.
I am starting to write an article which may take me a few days as I want to make sure I get my research and facts correct.
For people who never believe me, they can keep watching shows like the Bachelor or Oprah in between posting on the disease forum.
I didn't make this stuff up, I have been reading about it as it effects my own wife's MS condition but it is the same for fish.
It is also a simple thing to do.
Patiently waiting for your knowledge my Aquarium Guru , it’s kind of fun to prove people wrong that swear by QT train of thought. “ But I read it in a book “ has to be true. UgghI am pretty sure I have found the smoking gun on almost all fish diseases including ich, velvet, etc and why fish in captivity sometimes don't eat including why my fish and fish in many tanks "never" get sick no matter what.
I am starting to write an article which may take me a few days as I want to make sure I get my research and facts correct.
For people who never believe me, they can keep watching shows like the Bachelor or Oprah in between posting on the disease forum.
I didn't make this stuff up, I have been reading about it as it effects my own wife's MS condition but it is the same for fish.
It is also a simple thing to do.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I made a gym for my wife and I got her this Palaties Reformer machine. She has trouble using the thing because her right leg doesn't move so she "forced" me to use it just now and I found out why they call it a "Reformer". It should be called a "Reinforcer".
It looks innocuous enough with all the pulleys, sliding seat and trampoline on one end and you watch the video of these skinny girls gliding back and forth on it with little effort. I watched the Geezer Video with this old guy but he has muscles like a 20 year old.
When I was 20 I also had some muscles, but not as many as this guy.
After 15 minutes I felt like I was hit by a Mack Truck and was pushed off a cliff only to be dropped back on top of the cliff by a bald eagle and the truck driver, while looking for me put it in reverse and ran me over again.
After the 27 operations I had on various bones, joints, ligaments and tendons and all the hardware including toggle bolts I have holding various parts \of me from falling off, this torture device is painful.
I am now going to take a bath in WD-40 and caster oil
It looks innocuous enough with all the pulleys, sliding seat and trampoline on one end and you watch the video of these skinny girls gliding back and forth on it with little effort. I watched the Geezer Video with this old guy but he has muscles like a 20 year old.
When I was 20 I also had some muscles, but not as many as this guy.
After 15 minutes I felt like I was hit by a Mack Truck and was pushed off a cliff only to be dropped back on top of the cliff by a bald eagle and the truck driver, while looking for me put it in reverse and ran me over again.
After the 27 operations I had on various bones, joints, ligaments and tendons and all the hardware including toggle bolts I have holding various parts \of me from falling off, this torture device is painful.
I am now going to take a bath in WD-40 and caster oil
Boy you make growing old something to look foward to
I hear you brother my wife said I went from Hulk Hogan to Homer Simpson since I retired from wrestling
Paul B
NJRC Member
I went to my boat yesterday to winterize it. I have two engines. I went to start the first engine, stone dead. Just barely a click.
I started the other engine no problem. I have a switch that jumps out all three batteries for an emergency and the dead engine started.
I bought all three batteries together maybe 8 years ago so I will replace them all. About $1,000.00 which is about the same as about the same as 25 Copperband Butterflies
Buying them isn't the problem. I am not a spring chicken any more and although I installed the last set of batteries myself, I think I have to get someone younger to put these in as they are about 75lbs and have to be dragged out of the bilge.
I started the other engine no problem. I have a switch that jumps out all three batteries for an emergency and the dead engine started.
I bought all three batteries together maybe 8 years ago so I will replace them all. About $1,000.00 which is about the same as about the same as 25 Copperband Butterflies
Buying them isn't the problem. I am not a spring chicken any more and although I installed the last set of batteries myself, I think I have to get someone younger to put these in as they are about 75lbs and have to be dragged out of the bilge.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I used to have small lights underwater in the caves. There was no silicone in those days that I remember so I sealed the connections with wax. (this was in the fifties) The lights were from old flashlights. Electricity leaked into the water and made bubbles. That is also how I got the idea for the majano wand. I experimented with those bubbles and discovered all sorts of useless things. Everything on my tanks then was experimental as I had no money and some of my fish keeping enclosures were made out of wood or cement because I had to make them myself. They started out as turtle enclosures.
Paul B
NJRC Member
I'm sure I put this on here someplace. If you read it, go and watch Oprah.
Thinking outside the box
Unfortunately there is this box. It is very comfortable and warm inside the box which is why almost everyone wants to stay and think inside the box. People inside the box all have much of the same ideas and ways of thinking and oddly enough many of the same problems that don't get resolved using the same methods that people inside the box have been using since the salt water hobby started in the United States in 1971. I think it was on a Tuesday about 2 or 2:30 in the afternoon. Even though many of the methods don't work, people still use those methods because the sides of the box are very hard so the information gets echoed all over the box and we hear the same wrong information over and over again. We can't help but to use those methods because that is whats inside that box. The box also gets a daily influx of Noobs and many times Noobs will try something and it will work. Of course they don't know that that thing has been done forty seven thousand times. Then that information bounces around the box and everyone in the box hears it and thinks that is the way to do that particular thing. So it is done over and over again and even though it worked once, and never works again, it is still done because eventually that Noob gets out of the hobby and goes on one of those "Getting out of the Hobby, everything for sale " threads, but his Ideas keep getting re-circulated. He goes on to collect stamps and becomes an accountant at Burger King where he becomes a manager of the French Fry cooker.
Many years ago there was no box. All we had was wide open spaces, Elvis, Marylin Monroe, bell bottoms and a lot of sky. There were also no methods so we had to find our own ways to do things. We had to experiment and in doing so we killed more fish than StarKist Tuna. There was only one salt water hobbiest per state and there was no internet and we didn't know each other so everyone was a researcher. When we bought a fish,no one knew anything about that fish except the fish itself and Jacues Cousteau and he wasn't talking. So if our tank got overcome with hair algae, we learned on our own how to deal with it. We grew enough algae to cover a 19 hole golf course, but eventually we overcame and eliminated the algae. Of course if we were inside the box we would learn that changing the water will help with that. But we, outside the box realize that never works so we didn't do that.
When our fish got parasites we quickly learned how to deal with that also. Again, if we were inside the box we would change the water , with the same result.
If a fish died, we learned through trial and error how to correct that situation. No, we didn't change the water or check our parameters. We had no test kits anyway so we had to rely on our common sense which worked out pretty well.
We also learned, on our own how to feed fish so they would never get sick. We found out that our fish were supposed to spawn all the time and if they didn't, they were not healthy and prone to diseases. We could have changed the water but knew that in the future there would be this box where everyone changed water all the time but still had numerous problems.
We never had a new fish that wouldn't eat because our tanks were natural and healthy, not sterile like a newly shampooed rug like many of the tanks inside the box.
Sometimes, after a while someone climbs outside of the box and in doing so trys to go against the fine folks inside the box. The people inside the box make fun of that person and say his (or her) Ideas can't work because it is just not done that way. If say that person uses a reverse undergravel filter, the laughter from inside the box will rise to a roar. If that person goes against biblical box knowledge and finds a way to keep fish healthy without quarantining, that roar will become a typhoon and the box will shake.
The box people will never accept those outside the box ideas because it is just not taught inside the box. Even if those outside of the box ideas are proven, they will never be taken seriously, and more importantly if any of those ideas and methods are very cheap and easy to implement, forget about it, that person may as well take up collecting old shoes because he will be driven out of the fish hobby.
Now everyone knows there are some really nice tanks inside the box. Some tanks, everyone are jealous of so going outside the box is not for everyone. But history proves that all of the new, important, earth shattering or Awe inspiring events that happened were the result of thinking outside the box because if everyone always thought inside the box there would never be any improvement because the box doesn’t allow for it. Most Neanderthals thought inside the box which is the reason they walked around for thousands of years carrying sticks and little else. It took an outside the box thinker to invent a microwave so Neanderthals could throw away that stick and heat up a TV dinner. Eventually Neanderthals got taken over by Liberals who invented that box.
Thinking outside the box
Unfortunately there is this box. It is very comfortable and warm inside the box which is why almost everyone wants to stay and think inside the box. People inside the box all have much of the same ideas and ways of thinking and oddly enough many of the same problems that don't get resolved using the same methods that people inside the box have been using since the salt water hobby started in the United States in 1971. I think it was on a Tuesday about 2 or 2:30 in the afternoon. Even though many of the methods don't work, people still use those methods because the sides of the box are very hard so the information gets echoed all over the box and we hear the same wrong information over and over again. We can't help but to use those methods because that is whats inside that box. The box also gets a daily influx of Noobs and many times Noobs will try something and it will work. Of course they don't know that that thing has been done forty seven thousand times. Then that information bounces around the box and everyone in the box hears it and thinks that is the way to do that particular thing. So it is done over and over again and even though it worked once, and never works again, it is still done because eventually that Noob gets out of the hobby and goes on one of those "Getting out of the Hobby, everything for sale " threads, but his Ideas keep getting re-circulated. He goes on to collect stamps and becomes an accountant at Burger King where he becomes a manager of the French Fry cooker.
Many years ago there was no box. All we had was wide open spaces, Elvis, Marylin Monroe, bell bottoms and a lot of sky. There were also no methods so we had to find our own ways to do things. We had to experiment and in doing so we killed more fish than StarKist Tuna. There was only one salt water hobbiest per state and there was no internet and we didn't know each other so everyone was a researcher. When we bought a fish,no one knew anything about that fish except the fish itself and Jacues Cousteau and he wasn't talking. So if our tank got overcome with hair algae, we learned on our own how to deal with it. We grew enough algae to cover a 19 hole golf course, but eventually we overcame and eliminated the algae. Of course if we were inside the box we would learn that changing the water will help with that. But we, outside the box realize that never works so we didn't do that.
When our fish got parasites we quickly learned how to deal with that also. Again, if we were inside the box we would change the water , with the same result.
If a fish died, we learned through trial and error how to correct that situation. No, we didn't change the water or check our parameters. We had no test kits anyway so we had to rely on our common sense which worked out pretty well.
We also learned, on our own how to feed fish so they would never get sick. We found out that our fish were supposed to spawn all the time and if they didn't, they were not healthy and prone to diseases. We could have changed the water but knew that in the future there would be this box where everyone changed water all the time but still had numerous problems.
We never had a new fish that wouldn't eat because our tanks were natural and healthy, not sterile like a newly shampooed rug like many of the tanks inside the box.
Sometimes, after a while someone climbs outside of the box and in doing so trys to go against the fine folks inside the box. The people inside the box make fun of that person and say his (or her) Ideas can't work because it is just not done that way. If say that person uses a reverse undergravel filter, the laughter from inside the box will rise to a roar. If that person goes against biblical box knowledge and finds a way to keep fish healthy without quarantining, that roar will become a typhoon and the box will shake.
The box people will never accept those outside the box ideas because it is just not taught inside the box. Even if those outside of the box ideas are proven, they will never be taken seriously, and more importantly if any of those ideas and methods are very cheap and easy to implement, forget about it, that person may as well take up collecting old shoes because he will be driven out of the fish hobby.
Now everyone knows there are some really nice tanks inside the box. Some tanks, everyone are jealous of so going outside the box is not for everyone. But history proves that all of the new, important, earth shattering or Awe inspiring events that happened were the result of thinking outside the box because if everyone always thought inside the box there would never be any improvement because the box doesn’t allow for it. Most Neanderthals thought inside the box which is the reason they walked around for thousands of years carrying sticks and little else. It took an outside the box thinker to invent a microwave so Neanderthals could throw away that stick and heat up a TV dinner. Eventually Neanderthals got taken over by Liberals who invented that box.
You just let me know when you’re ready, I’m available on weekends no problem,, you just need to ask I’ll be there for youI went to my boat yesterday to winterize it. I have two engines. I went to start the first engine, stone dead. Just barely a click.
I started the other engine no problem. I have a switch that jumps out all three batteries for an emergency and the dead engine started.
I bought all three batteries together maybe 8 years ago so I will replace them all. About $1,000.00 which is about the same as about the same as 25 Copperband Butterflies
Buying them isn't the problem. I am not a spring chicken any more and although I installed the last set of batteries myself, I think I have to get someone younger to put these in as they are about 75lbs and have to be dragged out of the bilge.
Paul B
NJRC Member
How to tell if a marine creature is dying of old age.
(I posted this a few years ago, no one has to believe it or tell me it is not a scientific study, ask me where I got my facts, who did I correspond or collude with and what makes me an expert. So if you feel you need to argue with me about this, send me a SASE and I will steam off the stamp and shred the letter, pour a glass of Grand Marnier and fall asleep.)
We as aquarists try very hard to keep our animals living as long as possible for a few reasons. Yes, we are caring people and don't want to see them hurt. And, yes, they cost us a lot of money, how much money depends a little on us. If we buy a purple tang for $100.00 and it lives for ten days, then that fish cost us $10.00 a day to enjoy so I would say that is an expensive fish. But if that same fish lives ten years, then that fish only cost us maybe 3 cents a day (I didn't do the math, but you get my point) So then, it is a very cheap fish.
We should all try to keep our fish long enough so that they die from nothing except old age. If our fish keep getting sick, we are doing something wrong as our fish should "never" get sick except for the occasional headache or upset stomach.
Most medium sized ornamental aquarium fish live for about 12-15 years as that is their natural lifespan. That is a general statement because some fish such as clowns live well into their 30s. Smaller fish such as clown gobies, small bleenies, pipefish and seahorses may live for 5 or 6 years and some tangs will live into their 20s and groupers may reach 50. These are generalizations as different fish have different lifespans and many of them do not reach their life span in captivity. I do feel that most fish in a tank can live longer than their wild counterparts just due to the fact that they don't have enemies in our tanks and no one is trying to catch them with huge nets where they will be sold for food.
A fish is an animal that can only look forward to a peaceful death if it is in a very good aquarist tank. Virtually all wild fish die by being eaten alive or suffocating on the deck of a ship.
How do we know if a fish is dying of old age? Actually it is relatively easy. First of all the fish should be full grown. That is easy. Next we should have an idea how long that type of fish would normally live. I gave some examples above. A fish that has lived to the full extent of it's lifetime displays symptoms that are easy to spot. I had many fish die of old age and they all do it about the same. About the last couple of weeks of it's life, it will start to slow down but not exhibit any signs of disease. They will not be the first one to feed any more and may not even try very hard to eat. In a few days, they will stop eating and may rest in a corner. Eventually other fish will pester them and take nips at them. At first, they will try to get away or bite back. Right near the end, they will stop fighting back and their fins will become torn, They may get some spots as their immune system is no longer functioning, they will then get very lethargic and we will find them dead in the morning.
There is nothing we could have done for such a fish except pat ourselves on the back for allowing such a beautiful creature to exist for as long as possible.
We don't have to worry about that for corals as they are immortal. Yes, corals live forever, sort of like politicians. The actual coral polyp is not immortal, but the colony is. Each coral colony is composed of numerous polyps and as new polyps are born, they settle on top of older polyps and in that way, make the colony larger. Entire coral colonys do die because if they didn't, the world would be full of corals. Colonies die from typhoons. I am not sure why storms in the southern hemisphere are called typhoons and storms in the northern hemisphere are hurricanes. I would imagine the guy who makes these names up had some free time, I don't know. But either way, typhoons can destroy corals quite easily. I have been in the South Pacific in some typhoons and I am surprised anything lives. I have seen brain corals the size of my car, up side down and elkhorn corals almost the size of my house broken into little pieces. I saw numerous, very large sea fans hundreds of yards up on the side of mountains. Besides the turbulence from the storm, huge quantities of dirt from Islands run into the water covering corals for miles out to sea. These storms kill some corals but they allow others that were shaded from the larger corals to prosper. This is life and has always been that way.
(I posted this a few years ago, no one has to believe it or tell me it is not a scientific study, ask me where I got my facts, who did I correspond or collude with and what makes me an expert. So if you feel you need to argue with me about this, send me a SASE and I will steam off the stamp and shred the letter, pour a glass of Grand Marnier and fall asleep.)
We as aquarists try very hard to keep our animals living as long as possible for a few reasons. Yes, we are caring people and don't want to see them hurt. And, yes, they cost us a lot of money, how much money depends a little on us. If we buy a purple tang for $100.00 and it lives for ten days, then that fish cost us $10.00 a day to enjoy so I would say that is an expensive fish. But if that same fish lives ten years, then that fish only cost us maybe 3 cents a day (I didn't do the math, but you get my point) So then, it is a very cheap fish.
We should all try to keep our fish long enough so that they die from nothing except old age. If our fish keep getting sick, we are doing something wrong as our fish should "never" get sick except for the occasional headache or upset stomach.
Most medium sized ornamental aquarium fish live for about 12-15 years as that is their natural lifespan. That is a general statement because some fish such as clowns live well into their 30s. Smaller fish such as clown gobies, small bleenies, pipefish and seahorses may live for 5 or 6 years and some tangs will live into their 20s and groupers may reach 50. These are generalizations as different fish have different lifespans and many of them do not reach their life span in captivity. I do feel that most fish in a tank can live longer than their wild counterparts just due to the fact that they don't have enemies in our tanks and no one is trying to catch them with huge nets where they will be sold for food.
A fish is an animal that can only look forward to a peaceful death if it is in a very good aquarist tank. Virtually all wild fish die by being eaten alive or suffocating on the deck of a ship.
How do we know if a fish is dying of old age? Actually it is relatively easy. First of all the fish should be full grown. That is easy. Next we should have an idea how long that type of fish would normally live. I gave some examples above. A fish that has lived to the full extent of it's lifetime displays symptoms that are easy to spot. I had many fish die of old age and they all do it about the same. About the last couple of weeks of it's life, it will start to slow down but not exhibit any signs of disease. They will not be the first one to feed any more and may not even try very hard to eat. In a few days, they will stop eating and may rest in a corner. Eventually other fish will pester them and take nips at them. At first, they will try to get away or bite back. Right near the end, they will stop fighting back and their fins will become torn, They may get some spots as their immune system is no longer functioning, they will then get very lethargic and we will find them dead in the morning.
There is nothing we could have done for such a fish except pat ourselves on the back for allowing such a beautiful creature to exist for as long as possible.
We don't have to worry about that for corals as they are immortal. Yes, corals live forever, sort of like politicians. The actual coral polyp is not immortal, but the colony is. Each coral colony is composed of numerous polyps and as new polyps are born, they settle on top of older polyps and in that way, make the colony larger. Entire coral colonys do die because if they didn't, the world would be full of corals. Colonies die from typhoons. I am not sure why storms in the southern hemisphere are called typhoons and storms in the northern hemisphere are hurricanes. I would imagine the guy who makes these names up had some free time, I don't know. But either way, typhoons can destroy corals quite easily. I have been in the South Pacific in some typhoons and I am surprised anything lives. I have seen brain corals the size of my car, up side down and elkhorn corals almost the size of my house broken into little pieces. I saw numerous, very large sea fans hundreds of yards up on the side of mountains. Besides the turbulence from the storm, huge quantities of dirt from Islands run into the water covering corals for miles out to sea. These storms kill some corals but they allow others that were shaded from the larger corals to prosper. This is life and has always been that way.
Paul B
NJRC Member
Thats very nice of you Paulie. I hope someone closer helps as I don't want to put you through that long ride. I am not going to change them until the spring.
Anytime Winter spring summer fall whatever I have no problem making a ride like that I drove around this whole planet