How long do you expect your fish to live?

[bluemarlin]

I've been doing this hobby for a long time. It seems that everyone I talk to that is part of this hobby has dealt with many deaths over the years. Some shrug their shoulders when a fish dies after just a few weeks and try again. Others have the same fish for years and when one dies its a major catastrophy. So I'm wondering if there are expectations on fish life.
I expect my fish to live for a long time. Months is not enough. Years is more of what I am looking for. Is this unreasonable for captive fish? Am I looking to do the impossible?
When you purchase a new fish how long do you expect it to live? If it dies in just a few months is this acceptable?
Looking for opinions here, please.

 

[grayne]

Originally posted by jeffandnance:
<strong>your fish will live as long as you have the knowledge to keep them alive and healthy, years is not asking too much at all under the right conditions........most die from ppl who don't have a clue about chemistry, or simply put common sense.......i'l say it again........don't care about the flack I recieve.........this hobby is not for the timid, uneducated or poor, like most KIDS these days they want it all and they want it NOW without the work, time, money and research that it takes to be succesful</strong><hr></blockquote>
You sound like you have some issues with uneducated, poor kids - I feel sorry if one of them would happen to want a fish tank
. Really, I think that there are many, many so called "KIDS" who probably do an excellent job taking care of marine fishes - so come on, try and not be so negative. Also, it irks me bad when someone rags on someone else about being uneducated and then can't use proper gammer to do it. Sorry for sounding like I'm nagging, I just wanted to take the other side of your statements.
Now for my respose to the actual question asked in this post. I assume that different types of fishes will live for different amounts of time. As already mentioned, the quality and quantity of care they recieve can go a long way to increasing the lifespan of any living thing.

 

[musipilot]

It depends. Fish have different life spans. If you look at it scientifically, its almost impossible to tell the proper life span of a small fish since if its collected to study, its no longer in its natural environment.
I've been in the hobby a long time, let me give you some of my experiences, and some are gleaned from other people I know.
Yellow tang: 10-12 years
Regal Tang: 5-6 years.
Porcupine Puffer: Don't know, the 3 I know of are still alive, one is 3 one is 6 months, one is 7 years.
Tomato clown: 20-25 years.
Damsels: 3-5 years
Cowfish: 15-20 years.
Wrasses: 1-3 years
Flounders: 7-10 years
Percula Clowns: 5-7 years
Clown triggers: 15-20 years
Huma triggers: 17-23 years.
These are numbers that I have from experience in my own tanks, and from a large group of people I communicate locally, they are by no means scientific. Hope this helped!

 

[marcandkelly]

I think the life expectancy of a fish has three primary variables.
1. How was this animal removed from it's natural habitat? If it is tank raised then this should be a fairly stress free process. If it is captured using poisons, such as cyanide, the expectancy will be much less. Removal from habitat is the one side of that the consumer does not have complete control over.
2. Self education. The more you know about the fish the longer it will live. This process should not end after the pruchase either.
3. Monitoring current conditions. It does not matter how much you know about your fish if you don't know what is happening in its environment.
If the consumer knows these three things, a fish can live a long and healthy life. Otherwise...
Just my 2 cents.

 

[fishymissy]

Let's put it this way....with proper care most fish should live long lives....
To add to the list Musipilot gave you, lionfish should live close to 40 yrs, there are clownfish in an aquarium in Italy that have made 21 yrs, anemones over 100 yrs.....
Having fish live for a few months is not being successful in this hobby. Having an anemone live for 3 yrs isn't making great strides either.
Whether you are rich or poor doesn't make a difference....it's your ability to give the animals what they need that counts.

 

[fshhub]

mine i would like to see years,
this is definitelly longer than most lfs's want or even imagine, but hey i am a hobbyist, not a salesman(of fish that is)
to add to the lists mentioned above, i personally knwo of a blue hippo that is soon too turn 15, pair of clowns 13, and an anemone of over 13 yrs,
now htose numbers are not the norm, esp the anmeone, bu tthey are good expectations in my book

 

[frankl15207]

I've had fish that lived for over 14 years, tanks with no losses for over 7 years.
They will live until they die, but after 34 years in the hobby I have zero tolerance for any loss that is my responsibility. If I don't think that I have the capabilities to keep a fish alive for its normal life span, then I don't purchase the fish.

 

[ruaround]

I had my lion for 6 years, my clown for 8 years, a manderin for 7 years, a coral beauty for 6, and a flame for 3...be for my disaster struck...who knows how long those fish would have gone on!!!Ive had my two yellow tangs, a blue velvet damsel and an undulated trigger now going on 4 years!!!
as far as life span in general...who knows...there are too many variables...all I know is that i try my best to keep the fish i buy alive for as long as possible!!!IMO there are alot of people who get into the hobby looking for instant gratification, either they keep making mistakes and spending alot of money, or they start to educate themselves so they dont make the same mistakes they have mad or other people have made...Im not by any means justifying the death of fish, but it is reality. I dont think anyone intends to kill a fish, perhaps they just think its really pretty and just have to have it when the amonia is spiking, not even knowing that their tank has to cycle ~or~ the LFS owner sets a person up with $2000 worth of equipment and tells them they can put any fish that they want to as soon as the water goes in...alot of people will take the word of an LFS owner/worker over a hobbiest cuz they dont yet realize the $$$ in the owners eyes.

 

[justchillin]

i've had my mexican dragon eel for about 4 years and he's still doing very well...unfortunatly when i move next month i won't be able to keep my tank, but at least it's going to my moms so i can still see it

 

[blutang]

I've read that anemones are supposed to live for a long time. When you have an anemone for that long of a time, will it grow A LOT bigger than the size it was at the time of the orginal purchase, or will it only grow in small increments?

 

[sinner's girl]

I'm glad to hear clowns can live that long. we have one clown ~ 1.5 year, and the other is ~7 months (that's how long we had them, they were small when we got them but don't know how old).

 

[bhav_88]

I hope they live for years, that's for sure... Scientifically, I know they can live very long lives...
Ahh yes... I am one of those "KIDS" with a fish tank... And yet, it seems to be working out fine. It also seems like I know more about fish than a bunch of idiots who criticize me for trying to keep one at my age. Go figure.

 

[jerrybsal]

There are many factors to consider,tank size,diet,type of fish...My current tank is 125 gal. and have kept a Powder Blue Tang,Naso Tang ,Blue Tang,Clown Trigger , Tomato clown ,Porc. Puffer and other fish for 7 years and counting.I have not added any fish the last 6 yrs. but QT is a major factor in your success. Also STAY AWAY from *****,buy your fish from small stores.

 

[bang guy]

I expect my fish live many years. I expect my 20 year old Yellow Tang to live another 20 years, my baby Perculas another 15 - 20 years, my corals to outlive me. Stuff happens but if all goes well fish should fare better in a captive environment than the wild.

 

[abhaya]

I started my first saltwater tank as a poor kid. Yes having money does help but you can provide a good healthy enviornment for your fish even if you dont have a lot of money or are a kid. I have a hippo tang that is 13 years old and doing well. and a pair of cinnamin clowns that are also 13 years old.

 

[class clown]

I wish I had a story to share about fish living for decades like some of you guys but I've only had my tank for a little over 1 1/2 years. But on a similar subject, I have yet to lose a fish. I think getting through your learning stage without a fish dying is an accomplishment in itself. Most people I talked to warned me about the disasters that were going to happen for sure the first few months. Most of those people also didn't seem to understand much about cycles, bacteria, etc.
Succesful saltwater fishkeeping, I think, is 85% knowledge and 15% equipment. That's what's done it for me so far, and I still have a lot to learn.
To those of you who were patient and responsible enough to take the time to learn, have kept fish alive and healthy for years, and share your knowldege in this board, here's a big HELL YEAH for you all!

 

[flamehawk]

People, whether kids or adults, should not get into this hobby if they don't have the money and /or are not disciplined enough to keep up with the regular maintenance as well as patient enough to learn allot by reading and asking questions of experienced hobbiest. Not having or doing these things will lead to shorter life spans for the specimens kept.
I expect my S/W fish to last for years and so far ok. Yhe only one I have not had any luck with and appear to die suddenly has been the flame angel. I suspect that they are collected w/ cyanide. Who has the longest living flame angel?? I did see 3 years which is the longest I'm aware of. Thanks.
" Live Long and Prosper"

 

[bang guy]

My Flame is only 2.5 years old but it's definately not showing any signs of decline. It's actually my wifes fish.
Here's Fireball getting her gills cleaned:

 

[conundrum]

Hey JEFFANDNANCE, why don't you become a member and share your experience/education with some of the poor, stupid kids that come here to learn to do it right. That way they can know the sense of amazement we all feel when we look at our tanks.
Who knows, maybe a few kids will turn out better from the responsibility and sense of accomplishment to be gained by this difficult endeavor. That is why we take time to reply to posts, why we are all here, to learn to do it right.
"If you think doubling your efforts can compensate for lack of skill, there is no end to what you can't do."

 

[doodle1800]

When I first started I failed 4 or 5 times. They lived for 2 months, I got impatient, added more and more fish, knew nothnig about water quality, live rock, live sand, protein skimmers, filtration, etc, etc, and they alll eventually died. I depended on the LPS to assist me only. Now I have the internet, this forum to help me and books. What a difference education makes. I hope my fish last years this time so my wife can stop smirking...