Foxface aging?

[Anihiel1]

Has anyone had a foxface die of old age, and what are the symptoms? I bought him fully grown at least 6 or 7 years ago and he's outlived all my original inhabitants. Lately I've noticed his color seems faded out at times. Not the foxface nighttime pajamas, just generally faded. He seems otherwise happy fat and healthy, is this possibly a normal symptom of aging? Should I be concerned?

125g, 6 ft fowlr tank. Other inhabitants are a baby powder blue tang, baby tomini, tiger goby, 2 serpent stars, pencil urchins, and a gorgeous pistol shrimp that I've only seen once.

 

[Damage12]

My magnificent foxface is probably 15 years old or more and haven’t noticed any significant color changes in him.

 

[Anihiel1]

That is good to know and relief. I'll continue to monitor him and try to determine what might precipitate the change when it happens.

 

[Silly clownfish]

I don’t really believe in aquarium fish dying of old age. I be had a flame hawk die at the age of 19 years by jumping, a clown that made it to 25 before a catastrophic power outage when I was out of town. My One Spot Foxface was 9 years when he passed from the same crash. None of them showed any signs of “aging” and the 25 year old clown was spawning every 9 days with her younger mate.

Kinda like my box turtle looks the same as the the day I found her when I was 5 - that was about 50 years ago. Most of these critters typically die of predation or accidents in the wild and we really have no idea how long they can live in a safe environment.

If your fish is losing color, have you made any dietary changes in the last several months? It might take a while for color changes to be noticeable. It wouldn’t hurt to enhance the diet.

 

[Anihiel1]

Ah, interesting! I did not make that correlation but I have indeed changed the food slightly. It's weirdly not a complete 24/7 fading. This is going to sound very strange, but I see that he looks faded, I walk over to the tank, he swims over to me and colors back up after a few seconds.

 

[malacoda]

I don't think it sounds strange.

Many dominant males of various fish species get ultra-vibrant coloration to attract females (and to broadcast their dominance to other males. Many fish also pale and develop camouflage at night for protection.

So, I wouldn't be surprised if more vibrant color as you pass the tank occurs whether it be a response of familiar (positive) excitement ... anticipation of food ... etc.

Is your tank super peaceful and lightly stocked? Maybe the occasional dull coloration is due to a lack of need to show off dominance or something? Dunno, just a thought...

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I don’t really believe in aquarium fish dying of old age.

Meaning you don't believe it ever happens? Like fish could live forever?

Old age isn't itself something that kills, but all sorts of systems are more and more likely to begin to fail as animals of all types get older and older.

 

[Anihiel1]

Yes super peaceful and lightly stocked. Lots of rock with hiding spots. The only incident was recently accidentally bought not one but two powder blue tang. They were fine for a few days, then suddenly I had one. The victor seems to be bffs with the foxface now. Interesting thought, it does seem to be happening when he's at rest /calm. Then he colors up bc he wants food? Makes sense LOL

 

[Anihiel1]

To clarify my comment on the other fish dying of old age, I've had the current tank i believe 10 years? They were in a 55g tank prior, probably another 10 years. Over that time I've had fish individually that "slowed down" for lack of a better term. No signs of diseases, no changes in the tank, no other tank members affected. Years in between. Just, slowed down and eventually passed. I always assumed it was old age..?

 

[jmcdona6]

Meaning you don't believe it ever happens? Like fish could live forever?

Old age isn't itself something that kills, but all sorts of systems are more and more likely to begin to fail as animals of all types get older and older.

Agreed.

I think the sad reality is it is very uncommon for a captive fish to make it to death of natural causes. A ton of fish die at the hands of inexperienced aquarist. Then you have tank crashes, jumpers and other accidents that hit even the best aquarist over the long run. Also. many long-term kept fish are rehomed several times so no one has any idea their age even if there wasn't an accident. Assuming anyone even knew their age at original purchase.

I bet there is a super small part of the community, <1% that have been diligent enough in their husbandry, lucky and in the hobby long enough to have any real experience in it.

 

[MikeReefs]

It all depends on the health of the fish itself. Fox faces have been known to live 10+ years with proper care but 5-8 years seems to be the common range. I’d consider yourself lucky to have him so long. Ive seen clowns live 30+ years, tangs 20 years, it’s just not as common because most find it hard to keep a tank going for that long. As with age the fish will fade in color and not seem as active, eventually it’ll stop eating and pass. Could take months or years before that happens. It’ll be hard to pinpoint if it’s just old age or something internal happening such as kidney failure or digestive issues due to old age

 

[Silly clownfish]

Meaning you don't believe it ever happens? Like fish could live forever?

Old age isn't itself something that kills, but all sorts of systems are more and more likely to begin to fail as animals of all types get older and older.

I wasn’t clear. I certainly don’t think they can live forever, but I do think people are often quick to write off a death as old age and not consider other causes.

 

[Isaac Alves]

My one spot Foxface is currently ~10 years old. Recently got an infection from a clownfish bite that needed a hospital tank to go through a neoplex treatment. After a month of that she's been great. I haven't seen signs of "old age" I think. She seems more social than she was when she was younger....and I mean social to the humans around her.