How long can he live?

hartin461 · Jul 1, 2017

Got a powder brown tang 8 yrs. ago with a 75 gallon tank. He's been a great algae eater over the years, going from tank upgrade to tank upgrade and now, hopefully, in his final tank , a 180 marineland.
Tank inhabitants at the moment are melanarus wrasse, flame angel, coral beauty, female blue throat trigger, starry blenny, yellow watchman goby, and the powder brown tang. Seeing how the senior tang keeps a tight ship and I don't like to "rock the boat" with new additions, how long does the average captive PBT live, other that till death do we part...

Kershaw · Jul 1, 2017

I believe if the tang is truly healthy. Thy can live about close to 20 years. I could be wrong on this , but allot of the fish we keep live between 10-20 years

ndrwater · Jul 1, 2017

15-20 years is not uncommon. A happy healthy fish in captivity has the potential to outlive their wild cousins.
In the wild there is predation as well as a constant need to maintain territory and dominance oftentimes leading to a relatively shorter lifespan.
In captivity, in an optional system, where (hopefully) predation and territorial fighting is kept to a minimum, there is a potential for very long life

hartin461 · Jul 1, 2017

Thanks guys for the replies..I guess if thats the case he`ll have to be accepting some new friends. Not sure what but I`ll bounce a few ideas around. Haven`t added a new fish for a couple years so not sure of what to add. Maybe just leave well enough alone..

Tahoe61 · Jul 1, 2017

hartin461 said:
Thanks guys for the replies..I guess if thats the case he`ll have to be accepting some new friends. Not sure what but I`ll bounce a few ideas around. Haven`t added a new fish for a couple years so not sure of what to add. Maybe just leave well enough alone..

Boy that is a tough one. I am always so reluctant to rock the boat when adding new fish.

While I encourage QT for any new additions there is still the really possibility of introducing disease. You have to consider the dynamics of interaction as well. Will a new addition bully or be bullied.

I am pretty bad at introducing fish to any existing tank that I have had, for fear that I should leave well enough alone.

Good Luck to you.

miyags · Jul 1, 2017

Mines around 10 now. I love when they flash, They go from light grey to dusky purple. QT any new fish. That's when it hurts the most, when you lose a fish you had that long.