Why do so many fish get sick?

[Paul B]

So many posts are about fish dying and this is a shame. Most of the fish we keep should live at least ten years and many 15 or 20 years with the exception of small gobies, pipefish and seahorses as their life span is only a few years. Fish should also almost "never" get sick with anything. No spots, discolorations, fin rot, losing appetite, the heartbreak of psoriasis etc. I feel it is all about food. No, not water parameters, salinity, hair algae, cyano or Lady GaGa, although Rap music may cause some problems. :hmm2: Food is the secret and flake food and pellets are not helping your fish even if they love the stuff. I love peanut M&Ms but I don't eat them every day. Fishes health depends on their immune system and their immune system will hardly function without the proper food. I wrote many articles on that so I don't want to do it again but virtually all of my paired fish are spawning and they spawn all the time. That, and only that is the sign of healthy fish as healthy fish spawn continuously all of their adult lives. Almost all fish will live much better and have few if any health problems if they are fed whole foods such as clams or worms. No, freeze dried do not count at all. Some commercially available frozen foods are very good but look for whole foods on the label such as clams or fish eggs. Trout pellets, fish fillets, squid, octopus tentacles and cocktail shrimp are not real good foods so you can send the shrimp to me.
Oysters, clams and mussels are excellent foods. But then live or frozen, not canned. Freeze them and shave off thin slices. Live blackworms which I have been using for fifty years are excellent and all of my fish get some every day even my 24 year olds and they are still spawning. I realize many people live in Siberia, Tunesia or Utah and have a problem with these foods all I can say is, move. I am sure they ship clams to Utah but I don't remember the last time I was there what I ate. Live blackworms can be ordered on line. Live earthworms are also an excellent food. Hold the worm up to a faucet (preferably while your wife is out) and gently squeeze the thing down to the tail. The head is the end where the eyelashes are. Cut them up or use them whole for larger fish. Anemones and crustaceans also love them (as do Platypusses) You can also cut them up and freeze them. If you don't want to wash them, just put them in some clean soil for a week to flush them out and don't take them from a place that weed killer , bug killer or fertilizer has been used. They are a great food and free. Free is good but many people don't think a food is good just because it is free. If you feed nothing but whole foods to your fish, they will get so healthy that they will start demanding things from you like the TV remote. If you quarantine, that is up to you. I personally don't have to but I don't want to get into that because of the hate mail I will get demanding that I stick myself in the eye with a bristleworm and leave town.
For more "difficult" fish such as mandarins, pipefish, shrimpfish, manta rays etc, a target feeder is almost a necessity. Those fish will live without one, but not really thrive for many years and also spawn. I am not sure about the manta ray.
Pregnant ruby red dragonette.

Pregnant blue stripe pipefish

 

[Nandez13]

Have you successfully raised the fry of any of your breeding pairs?

 

[Paul B]

The only ones I raised (that I remember off hand) were some percula clowns, seahorses a few times, blue devils and bangai cardinals. Fish are easy to raise but you need to hatch them in a place where you can collect them, not a 6' long reef. It takes time and you need to be prepared ahead of time with rotifers. I don't try to raise them any more as it it to time consuming but I want them to spawn.