Have you traveled before for a few days only to come back and noticed that your fish has disappeared or disintegrated? If you have experienced this, you will be wondering what happened and might be wondering if fish can disintegrate. If you are reading this article, it means you may have experienced this and you want to know why your fish disappeared or disintegrated, then I suggest you read this article to the end to fully comprehend.
Can a Fish disintegrate? Yes, fish will disintegrate when they die as a result of decomposition bacterias.
Have you ever tried to find out why animals decompose when they die? well, it is a result of decomposition bacterias.
When it dives it expels oxygen to reduce buoyancy. After the fish dies there is no more DO being ingested and the air in the bladder starts to dissipate, causing the fish to sink to the bottom.
After a few days, the internal organs of the dead fish decompose and a gas is formed.
This is simply the reason why fish and other animals will disintegrate because as a living thing with flesh, it is supposed to decompose and rot away leaving only the skeleton.
Fish will disintegrate or disappear when they die because of decomposition or decay as you may call it.
Can A Fish Disintegrate In A Tank?
Yes, fish as a living organism will decompose anywhere it is when it dies, including in a tank.
The fact is, all living things with flesh will disintegrate once they die, no matter where they are, so fish will disintegrate in a tank when it dies and that’s why it is advisable to remove them once you spot them to avoid breeding deadly toxins such as Ammonia, etc which could kill other animals in the tank.
How Long Does It Take For A Fish To Disintegrate?
For a fish to totally disintegrate or for the whole body to disappear it could take between 7 days to 10 days.
The truth is that the average time it will take for a fish to disintegrate solely depends on the size of the fish and how long your tank has been established.
For instance, if your tank is above 6 months old, it will be very faster for dead animals in it to decompose.
So, the average time it will take for a fish to decompose depends on factors such as the size of the fish and the age of the tank.
If your fish is big, you don’t expect it to just disappear into thin air in a few days, but if it is small, then it will decay very quickly.
Can Betta Fish Disintegrate?
Just like every other living thing, Betta fish will decompose when they die.
As I explained above, all living things with flesh will disintegrate as a result of decomposition bacteria once they die and Betta Fish being a living animal with flesh is not an exception to this
So, Betta Fish will also decompose or disintegrate when they die too.
It will only take a few days for Betta fish to disappear when they die, depending on the size. So, Betta Fish will disappear when they die.
Conclusion
Every living thing will disintegrate when they die, including fish, so check on your substrates, rocks, and caves when your fish disappear to see if you can find the skeleton.