Is it normal that my fish attempted suicide?

33% Normal
10 Comments

I have a tank full of tropical fish and for the most part the fish behave like stereotypical fish (e.g: swimming around, picking at the gravel, mouthing the aquatic plants etc) but there's this one molly fish that tried to clamp his own gills shut underneath a tight area. It looked very much deliberate - he rotated so that one of his gills was parallel to the ground and the other to the rock. A relative brought out the aquarium net to lift the rock out and intervened in the act. IIN?

Voting Results
33% Normal
Based on 66 votes (22 yes)
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Comments ( 10 )
  • Holzman_67
    10 years ago | pl

    something fishy is going on

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  • PureLikeSnow
    10 years ago

    "My fish tried to drown themselves."

    The thought I had about this post before clicking on it.

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  • Freedom_
    10 years ago

    That little daredevil.

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  • Avant-Garde
    10 years ago

    Interesting... It's a shame that you can't get him a therapist. Perhaps, the stays of the tank isn't clean enough for him? He could be the type of fish that needs to be alone or with very few others. Are the other fish mean towards him? Look into these things. The solution might really be a simple on.

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    • shuggy-chan
      10 years ago

      Sometimes fish are just suicidal, I've had a few "jumpers" that jump, forcing the lid open and land on floor where if u do find them in time they die

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      • Avant-Garde
        10 years ago

        What if they were just like the fish in Finding Nemo and desperately trying to find a way back to the sea?

        It is all pretty unfortunate.

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  • Riddler
    10 years ago

    Fishacide! LMBO

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  • [Old Memory]
    10 years ago

    My friend actually talks about one of her fish turning depressed and suicidal because he was being "bullied" somehow by the other fish apparently haha. He would lifelessly float around, purposely trying to get himself jammed in precarious positions.

    Or perhaps these fish have a higher than average cognition and feel depressed that all they will ever do in life is swim around in some fish tank.

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  • thegypsysailor
    10 years ago

    Dolphins and whales do it quite frequently. But fish do not have the cognitive skills to make such a decision. Probably just got caught by accident.

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  • Mersaphe
    10 years ago

    Well how would you feel if someone made you walk around in a cage all day? You think fish like being stuck in tiny aquariums? Fish belong in a river or the ocean where they're free to go anywhere they want and do anything they want. Being domesticated is unnatural to them, even more than it is for dogs or cats. And it's animal cruelty to keep them in a small place, they want to swim and explore. It's the same as beating a puppy.

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