Can fishes commit suicide?

Some fish jump.
I’ve had fish jump out of the pond to their death. It happens and it’s not abnormal.

Wow..what kind of fish? And was the water, like, super hot or something?

It happened with one of my bettas a long time back and one black molly a loooonger time back. Some fish jump. They do not realize they will not land in water.

@Dutchess_III the water was normal room temperature. The fishes that killed themselves were gold fish.

@kaywizard This is not necessarily normal for goldfish. What was the temperature of the room? It sounds to me like the fish got hot.

@kaywizard Keeping goldfish, especially multiple goldfish, in a bowl is not very comfortable for them. Goldfish are actually very dirty fish (they produce a lot of toxins) and despite popular belief, they require larger tanks than many other fish. It sounds like the bowl chemistry may have become very polluted and they wanted out. I could be totally wrong on that; I’m not an expert.

I’ve had tens of goldfish. My longest living fish were 2 (from an original set of four…purchased at Woolworth’s for 25 cents a piece) goldfish living in a room temperature bowl. The bowl was placed in a cool, darker location for summer.

None of my goldfish have ever jumped to their death.

@Mariah Makes sense..

@SpatzieLover I live in the tropics

There were other fish in the bowl some hylaries and two angles. My little cousins got quite a few fish. The little girls fishes started to died but not the boys his are still alive.

How many fish in one bowl? What is the room temp?

@kaywizard Is this a very large bowl? A general rule of thumb is one gallon of water for every inch of fish, and even more space when there are dirty fish like goldfish involved. Plus, those rules apply to fish tanks that are generally aerated and more comfortable for fish than a bowl. It sounds like the bowl may have been very overcrowded.

@SpatzieLover 29°C room temperature.

@Mariah Okay so maybe she needs a bigger bowl but the boy had more fish than she did (but his were all hylaries). Both their bowls are about the same size his had two section hers only had one.

Goldfish are usually one of the few fish that won’t jump out of a tank. They were stressed by something, whether it was a new environment, unsatisfactory conditions, or aggressive behavior from the other fish. Their behavior was not a suicide attempt, it was a reflection of the stress that they were under.

I’m not sure what “hylaries” and “angles” are, but as a general rule, the few fish that can be kept in a bowl rather than a tank environment are goldfish and bettas (a labyrinth fish ).

Are you referring to an angelfish? They have some very specific conditions that they prefer, and are not a good beginner fish. I have no idea what “hylaries” might be.

It’s also not recommend that you mix tropical fish with goldfish (because they tend to overload filter systems) and bettas (contrary to popular myth, the bettas are not too aggressive to live with other fish. Rather, they are poor swimmers and tend to get their long fins picked at by other fish).

Your best bet will to be to find a knowledgeable employee at the pet store and get some information on what types of fish should be kept in what kinds of habitats.

Interesting question. I doubt they even know what suicide is ^^

There is a particular type of goldfish that does jump – the Golden Orfe (actually it’s not technically a goldfish but it looks like one). My father (who formerly bred goldfish and now breeds Koi carp) had some many years ago. They need a lot of space – an outdoor pond rather than an indoor tank or bowl, and will grow quite large if given enough space. They seem to jump purely for fun and all individuals he had of this variety would do it. Unfortunately the local heron population got wise to them, and he eventually lost them all to predation.