do fish float when they die?

Why do fish float when they die?
Most fish are slightly denser than water, so sink immediately after death. However, like a drowned human, they become more buoyant over time as bacterial decomposition produces gases inside the body. Usually, enough gas builds up in body cavities to make the corpse float, like an inflated balloon. That’s not always so, as I can testify from my own fish tank: they occasionally just decompose unnoticed on the bottom.

do fish float to the top when they die?

Do GoldFish Always Float To Th Top When They Die ?
My goldfish is lying at the bottom of my tank ! :D. Its not moving and has no eye ? And its mouldy ? But i thought they always float to the top when they die :O? His Names FhishhFood :D? Is He Dead ? Or Sleeping :)?
Where did his eye go? He sounds dead and if you have other fish, they probably have been pecking at it and eating it.
You can nudge him with your net and if he doesnt move just take him out. You should be able to see his gills move if he was alive.

Goldfish dont usually float to the top when they die. They will eventually the longer you leave it in there. The goldfish will start to decompose interally and this will produce oxygen and other gas products as waste. It are these internal gases which will allow the dead fish to float. Even trapped air.

It sounds like your fish has been dead for a while now.

Im sorry to hear about your loss.
All freshwater fish when they die will float to the surface, it has to do with the way they decompose. After a while they sink to the bottom, and since yours is starting to mould up, its been dead for at least 1 week....give or take a few days. Sorry about that. There are a couple of exceptions, and they are mainly in the Catfish family.

On the plus side your now learning about the time frames involved with death and a fish tank, at least the moulding cycle.

In the almost 30 years I have kept and the last 15 that I have been breeding fish I have had a little more than a hundred (100+) fish die for a variety of reasons, some of them mine, some due to the fish jumping out of the tank, and some doe to mechanical/electronic failures (Filter or heater). Its an unfortunate part of fishkeeping.
Source(s):
30+ Years of Fishkeeping Experience
Former employee of 3 different pet stores (Fish Department)

how long should fish float in bag?

How long do i float my bettas bag in the tank for?
How long do i need to float the bag with my betta in it in the tank?

and how long do i wait before feeding him?

Fast answers would be appreciated
30 min. if you do it for longer it won't hurt them any - it makes sure that the water temp is the same because they will die from shock. ALWAYS make sure your water for your fish (when changing the water) is the same.

I also advise that if you switch your fish from their bowl into a holding container that you should put the toilet seat down :) my one fish flipped right out of the fish net into it once.

when fish float on their side?

My fish keeps floating on to his side, and is moving a bit to try to not do this, but still is ending up on? his side. Help please. 6 years ago Report Abuse LucySD Best Answer - Chosen by Voters Swim Bladder Disease ... symptoms cause fish to become unable to swim correctly, your fish may exibit ... bottom of her tank, ( she would float heplessly back to the top) I immediatly ...www.hv3.7h.com/Swim Bladder Disease.html - 14k - Cached - More from this site ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Swimbladder is a disease which symptoms cause fish to become unable to swim correctly, your fish may exibit swimming toward the bottom of your tank or bowl, then floating back up, swimming in circles or laying or floating on his side.... There are three main things according to the posts and articles I've read that can lead to swimbladder disease. Constipation due to overfeeding Bad water quality Bacteria I have kept bettas for a few years, and this had been a problem on a regular basis for one fish in particular as well as a couple of others. Many people or websites recommend epsom salt baths as well as antibotics. I haven't tried either- and have not lost a betta to swimbladder. I recommend the following regimine, recommened to me over two years ago. First, If you have your fish in a bowl, and your normal routine consist of 100% water changes, As soon as you notice signs of swimbladder do a complete water change, taking care not to stress the fish by having the water temp as close to his bowl as possible, and using something as a cup so you don't have to net your fish. After your water change you should not feed your fish any food for two days. On the third day feed your fish a fresh pea. Frozen peas thawed, popped out of the skin, and cut into bite size pieces. And then do another water change so that any uneaten peas do not contaminate your water.... If you do partials, or have a tank, do a significant change when you suspect swimbladder disease and then follow this treatment. If you don't use aquarium salt this is a good addition to most tanks. The recommended dose is one teaspoon per gallon, or one tablespoon per five gallons. If you have never added salt and you are unsure; you may want to first acclimate him at only 1/2 tsp per gallon. If this seems to be a frequent problem you may consider feeding less. Your water quality could indicate more frequent water changes, or in my case I break up the food for this one particular betta. It seems easier for him to digest. All my fish seem to love the peas and it may be of great benifit to feed a pea once a week. If you suspect that there is bacteria causing the symptoms of swimbladder perhaps antibotics may be needed. I recommend the pea "trick" first as it will at least correct the swimbladder symptoms that bacteria or bad water quality could be causing. I wanted to share this treatment because I have responded to many posts, recommending this procedure and I'm not sure if people take it seriously. It is cheap, simple, and has never failed my bettas....I have one male who has looked dead laying on his side and he has always recovered by this simple effective treatment. Just recently One of my females could not swim toward the bottom of her tank, ( she would float heplessly back to the top) I immediatly changed the water, held of food for two days and then fed the pea, she is perfectly fine. I know there are many people who probably lose thier fish needlessly, or who treat with harsh antibotics when it may not be necessary. First give this a whirl! And pass it on.

Why do fish float on their sides when they die?

Why do fish float on their sides when they die? — Cierra, Franklin, Ind.

Marshall Brain Answers:

When a fish dies, it can do one of two things: it can float or sink. Dead fish tend to float, at least for awhile, as seen here:

That happens because bacteria in the intestines produce gas, and the gas trapped inside the body causes it to float (see What causes flatulence? for info on bacteria in the gut).

Given that the dead fish’s body contains an air pocket, it is going to float head-up, tail-up, top-up, bottom-up or on its side. If the air bubble were in the head and the tail were heavy, the fish would float head-up. The reverse would cause the fish to float tail-up. But the gas bubble is toward the center of the fish’s body. Therefore, like a board, the fish floats on its side.

Do all fish float when they die?

Why does my fish float on it's side?
Every now and then one of my fish floats on it's side as though it is dead. But after a few minutes or a nudge by one of the others it starts moving again. It swims funny for a second or two as though slightly stiff then returns to normal. This is happening more often now but used to be once a week at first.

Is he having strokes or some kind of fits and is there anything we can do?

Genuine, helpful answers preferred!

Additional Details
Just to add, the fish is around 7 or 8 years old and shares a large tank with 3 other fish, He has being doing this for the last month or so but it has become more frequent. The other fish appear fine.

it sounds like its got a swim bladder problem,which can be caused by constipation from over feeding don't feed it for 3 days and then feed shelled peas for another 3 days
just because a fish has a swim bladder prob it does not mean its going to die don't answer if you don't know the answer

How do fish float?

There are a few different answers – depending on what type of fish we are asking about.

The most sophisticated types of fishes, bony fishes, have a swim bladder. These fish can inflate their swim bladder with gas from a special gas gland. The gas is basically oxygen from the fish’s blood. Bony fishes that spend most of their lives on the bottom of the ocean floor (e.g., flounder) don’t have a strong swim bladder – therefore, don’t float.

Sharks, skates, and rays are all types of fish. But, they are more primitive. They stay afloat with a fancy liver filled with oil, using their long pectoral fins for balance in mid-waters, and maintaining a light framework. The ‘light framework’ is made up of cartilage (the same stuff found in our nose and ears).

How do fish rise and sink in the water?

Fish are a bit like birds or flying insects: They have built-in­ mechanisms that allow them to move up and down and side to side in their environment. But the methods that let fish do this are closer to the principles behind manmade flying machines than to natural flying methods. Most fish rise and sink in the water the same way a helium-filled balloon or a hot air balloon rises and sinks in the air.
To see how this works, you need to understand the various forces at work in the air and underwater. While these environments seem very different to us, water and air are actually very similar. Both are fluids, substances with mass but no shape. On Earth, an object immersed in a fluid (such as a fish or a person) experiences two major forces:
The downward pull of gravity
The upward push of buoyancy
Buoyancy is caused by a difference in fluid pressure at different levels in the fluid. Particles at the lower levels are pushed down by the weight of all the particles above them. The particles at the upper levels have less weight above them. Consequently, there is always greater pressure below an object than above it, so the fluid constantly pushes the object upward. (To learn more about the force of buoyancy, read How Hot Air Balloons Work.)
The force of buoyancy on an object is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by that object. For example, if you submerge an empty gallon milk jug in a bathtub, it displaces a gallon of water. The water in the bathtub then pushes up on the jug with a little more than 8 pounds of force, the weight of a gallon of water. An object with greater volume is pushed up with greater force because it displaces more fluid. Of course, if the object is denser (and therefore heavier) than water, it doesn't matter how much water it displaces -- it will still sink.
To ascend, a fish must reduce its overall density by increasing its volume without significantly increasing its mass. Most fish do this with something called a swim bladder. A swim bladder is just an expandable sac, like a human lung. To reduce its overall density, a fish fills the bladder with oxygen collected from the surrounding water via the gills. When the bladder is filled with this oxygen gas, the fish has a greater volume, but its weight is not greatly increased. When the bladder is expanded, it displaces more water and so experiences a greater force of buoyancy. When the bladder is completely inflated, the fish has maximum volume and is pushed to the surface. When the bladder is completely deflated, the fish has minimum volume and sinks to the ocean floor. To stay at a particular level, a fish fills its bladder to the point at which it displaces a volume of water that weighs what the fish weighs. In this case, the forces of buoyancy and gravity cancel each other out, and the fish stays at that level.
Most fish rise and sink using this method, but not all do. Some species don't need a swim bladder because they spend all their life skimming along the ocean floor. Other fish, such as rays and sharks, ascend and descend by propelling themselves forward. Just as in an airplane, the movement of fluid under the fins creates lift, which pushes the fish upward. To learn more about this process, check out How Airplanes Work and How Sharks Work.

Fishing float

This article is about angling floats. For fishing net floats, see fishing net. This article is about angling floats. For glass net or dropline floats, see glass float. Different types of fishing floats A float, also called a bobber, is a device used in angling that serves two main purposes: it can suspend the bait at a predetermined depth, and it can serve as a bite indicator. They are often used in conjunction with a fishing sinker.[1] Fishing with a float is called float fishing. Floats come in different sizes and shapes. They are usually brightly coloured so they are easy to see. The waggler is a thin tube of plastic with a line threaded through an eye at the bottom. It is commonly used as a running line float on still waters. The avon has a somewhat large and oval-shaped hollow area near the tip. Extra shot is added to the line so only the tip shows, allowing the line to be cast further. Avons are used in slow-flowing water. Long, thin floats are very sensitive and are used for coarse fishing Contents [hide] 1 Directional floats 2 See also 3 Notes 4 References 5 External links [edit]Directional floats There are also floats that allow directional control on rivers. If the current in the river is not too fast, it is possible with these floats to steer left or right down stream. In this way, areas can be reached which could not be reached in any other way. This eliminates the need for multiple casts. Directional floats can also be made to work in still water, such as lakes. If there is no current, the float is reeled in at about one quarter of the normal speed, using a travel of 4 inches for each 1 inch of reel. This reduces the number of times needed to cast by a factor of four. They can be used to steer under docks or trees.