I lost a fish and it got me thinking

[Raising Reef.]

Lost a fish and it got me thinking
What’s the live expectancy of our fish?
And should we expect to keep them as long as they live on the reef?

 

[Mjrenz]

There's really not enough reliable information available to answer that question, I've seen a lot of people post here that they've had some fish for over 20 years, my lfs had a maroon clown for 31 years and the only reason she died is because she jumped one night. It's just really hard to say

 

[LiveWire]

I have seen an article in the past that actually said most fish in our systems will live much longer than they would in the wild as we make sure to give them everything they need to be happy and healthy which reduces stress and there are also no threats of predators wanting to eat them in our system.

 

[Braves Fan]

I recently lost a monster Yellow Choris Wrasse from old age ,, not really sure how old he was,, I forgot when I got him ,, my money is on 7 to 8 years old, may have been older ,, I knew it was a matter of time that he wouldn't come out of that sand bed one morning ,, he had been getting skinny from old age for awhile ,, not sure how long the live in the wild though ,,

 

[Raising Reef.]

I have seen an article in the past that actually said most fish in our systems will live much longer than they would in the wild as we make sure to give them everything they need to be happy and healthy which reduces stress and there are also no threats of predators wanting to eat them in our system.

This would be my first assumption for all the reasons you stated but when researching these fish and finding out the ages they say they reach out in the Ocian I don’t know anyone that’s had a tank for 40yrs let alone the same yellow tang. It will be interesting to see how long these captive bread yellow tangs live in home aquariums and if any will still be going 40yrs from now.

 

[ReeferReefer]

I have seen an article in the past that actually said most fish in our systems will live much longer than they would in the wild as we make sure to give them everything they need to be happy and healthy which reduces stress and there are also no threats of predators wanting to eat them in our system.

Depends on the system really. If you look at the hobby as a whole, I suspect that mortality rates are very high, and likely exceed the mortality rates in the wild. Think about how many hobbiests struggle with disease in their tanks. Think about the countless people who never post online and tear down their tank in the first year because their fish die.

 

[Coralreefer1]

Life expectancies of fish varies depending on the species. Moreover, some fish tend to live longer in captivity than others. Combine that with the fact that we don’t know how old many of the fish we have are, and you have a whole lot of uncertainty. The only way you can get any sort of idea how old a fish is is by having the fish spawn in your tank or work in a facility such as ORA or University of Maine.

 

[Timfish]

Probably only a tiny, tiny fraction of the animals we keep probably make it to an age comparable to their wild counterparts. Which is sad as there's plenty of examples of fish maintained in captivity outliving their wild counterparts. Here's some links:

www.int-res.com/articles/meps/134/m134p015.pdf
https://www.reefsmagazine.com/aquarium-fish-longevity/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1444899?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Check some of Paul B. and Lasse threads. They have fish part of AARP.

My yellow tang and Vlamingi are pushing 11. I would imagine it’s different for each species

 

[Gareth elliott]

Still trying to write my will for someone to take my greenland shark. Every toddler i ask says no.

But this is one area where i think people who have been in the hobby for a very long time might be best to answer.
@Paul B
@atoll

 

[atoll]

Still trying to write my will for someone to take my greenland shark. Every toddler i ask says no.

But this is one area where i think people who have been in the hobby for a very long time might be best to answer.
@Paul B
@atoll

I don't see why fish shouldn't live as long as they do on the reef in fact probably longer. Most fish smaller ones anyway are food for bigger fish and I believe most will become a meal before they achieve their natural life snan/ expectantly. There are records of fish living a long time in captivity either in public aquaria or hobbyists tanks. Obviously it depends on the species with some we keep only having a lifespan of a couple of years, generally the very small fish. Clowns being something of an exception. Having moved round a bit and never taken a tank or fish with me the longest I have kept a fish is about 10 years and that was a trio of common clowns.

 

[Tastee]

I’m only 20 months into my reefing journey, so my oldest SW fish are my clown pair which have been in the tank for 19 months now. In previous FW systems I had an Angel and a Blue Ram (Cichlid) live to about 12 years each before dying of what appeared to be old age - no visible infections or injury.