# if your fish die



## gary007 (Apr 3, 2011)

i read many times of peoples fish dieing but they claim to have a mature tank, u see could it be down to where u buy the fish the reason they die and not the tank set up? i feel pet shops barely feed the fish., if u get a large shoal of neons and lose 3 but 10 still thriving well, i feel it could be down to pet shop 'not so good fish keeping' the reason many report fish deaths. what do u think?


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## Victor (Apr 21, 2010)

it's definitely possible it it could be related to the poor care it had in the past from places like a pet store, but realistically it is VERY hard to pinpoint exactly what it is. It could also be things like improper acclimatization to stress, etc.


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## Sprucegruve (Apr 11, 2011)

well it is good to have fish from a good stock or reputable breeder/importer.
alot of the big chain pet stores(in alberta)have terrible bloodlines(deformity's,sickness you name it) 
but that is not the entire battle,i have seen fish from terrible stock live longer than wildcaught fish.

your tank definitely needs to be established/mature,or the fish will pay the price.

most big-chain stores i see(in alberta) over feed their fish and fowl the water.
and they feed the cheepest worst food possible aswell.
but of coarse not all the stores are like this.there are some really awesome stores in alberta aswell.

alot of deaths in the home aquarium stem from putting the wrong chemical in the tank,because new people to the hobby usually dont know what disease they are trying to treat for.
this also happens at stores.

also some people dont acclimate their fish properly(or have quarantine tanks)

some people dont do a water change for 2 months and wonder why their aquarium looks 
dirty,and their fish are dieing ''for no reason'' to quote someone i know in alberta lol

i would say its like 50/50,the stores should have healthy happy stock all the time,and knowledgeable staff,but its your responsiblity to maintain the aquarium and keep the fish happy once you get them home.also you should be able to spot sick tanks/fish.....dont buy those ones.



thats my opinion anyway
i dont know where i stand.....lol


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

pet store fish are stressed - from recent shipping, crowded display tanks and _sometimes_ from poor tank conditions. The transition from pet store to home tank can also be shocking, because of wildly different pH and hardness values, abrupt change in diet, new tank mates. Depending on the fish, new heirachies will be established...

there are a host of factors and you can't lay it all down to bad care at the fish shop. Rehoming fish needs to follow a methodical approach of acclimation and introduction.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

I've had fished shipped to me many times and there's lots of times where fish will not make it after a few days or a week in my tank. Too many factors to list. But alot of times, the fish may already be on its way to the fishbowl in the sky before it even arrives at home. I'm certain LFS lose alot of fish after arrival even in their own tanks. Sometimes fish will arrive alive but probably not in good enough shape to survive a few more weeks. I've also had fish that looked dead out of the bag and live many years.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

I often think about the journey that fish make to the fish store.I imagine that for a fish, the trip from Singapore or Florida to Vancouver by plane is the equivalent of 24 hours of extreme bungee-jumping for humans. I know that along the way, everyone does what they can for the fish and most of the time, most of them survive; but still, an intercontinental journey by air for a fish does seem a little like science fiction to me. 
Just getting them home from the fish store to my tanks (usually by bus with an insulated bag -- more than a 30 minute journey) seems likely to be stressful. 

I applaud the good care that reputable fish stores, importers, breeders and aquarists give their fish while they're in their care, and I hope I can do my best for them, too. I do my best as a hobbyist, but definitely the more I learn, the more I need to learn.


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

Morainy said:


> ... I do my best as a hobbyist, but definitely the more I learn, the more I need to learn.


that about sums it up, for fish keeping and just about everything else in life.


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## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

Morainy said:


> I often think about the journey that fish make to the fish store.I imagine that for a fish, the trip from Singapore or Florida to Vancouver by plane is the equivalent of 24 hours of extreme bungee-jumping for humans. I know that along the way, everyone does what they can for the fish and most of the time, most of them survive; but still, an intercontinental journey by air for a fish does seem a little like science fiction to me.
> Just getting them home from the fish store to my tanks (usually by bus with an insulated bag -- more than a 30 minute journey) seems likely to be stressful.


i think about how much stress the fish have had in transit so when i buy fish the bag never leaves my hand, i must look ridiculous on the drive home as i raise and lower my arm with all the bumps but i think its helped. if a fish doesn't last a week i figure it was already in bad health when i got it and with those kind of deaths i cant really do anything to help
really check out the fish first before you buy and local hobbyist raised fish are usually the best as they would have lived a very comfortable life and are already acclimated to our water


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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

Morainy said:


> I do my best as a hobbyist, but definitely the more I learn, the more I need to learn.


Couldn't agree more!



christhefish said:


> i think about how much stress the fish have had in transit so when i buy fish the bag never leaves my hand, i must look ridiculous on the drive home as i raise and lower my arm with all the bumps but i think its helped.


I've done that!! 

I can't imagine the stress put on a fish during transit / changing water parameters / potential exposure to diseases / so many causes of stress to list. All would contribute to a seemingly healthy fish not lasting long in your tank


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

I always use a cooler with a seperate co

Sent via Tapatalk; SGH-T589R


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## Jaguar (Oct 19, 2011)

I think a lot of it has to do with genetics and their poor thoughtless breeding, too. Big scale fish producers don't cull etc. so poor traits are just left to multiply, like in any mill situation. Yeah, I know they're "just fish" but the whole point of breeding something is to improve it as a whole. Like all those poor goldfish that have chronic swim bladder issues because we want them to look cute... add that on top of all the stress from being shipped and (probably) improperly acclimated to a new store with vastly different water conditions...

I actually watched the Petsmart here unpack their fish yesterday for about 20 minutes and I didn't see a single DOA. I would still never buy a fish on its first day in the store. Give a day or two for the weak/ill fish to die off.


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