Lifespan of Matted FileFish?

[alysak6075]

Hi does anyone have experience in how long Matted filefish live in a reef tank? (dont trust the online sites that all quote the same thing)
I've had mine ~5 years and found it today on the sand bed still breathing but not moving. No one ever picked on it, it is/was a model citizen. Would be a bummer to lose it cause my husbandry was not up to standard . When I got it it was pretty big, it did grow maybe another 1/4 of an inch in my tank. So not sure if it was already approaching adulthood.
For the last month its had a weird growth on its tail (i've checked and rechecked every disease picture out on the internet, doesnt look like anything out there, looks like a piece of hair algae was growing on the tail, one side only, never got bigger or smaller). It ate fine yesterday (it would eat everything I put in the tank).

 

[Ron Reefman]

A photo might help.

I don't know how long they live. I collected a file fish in SW Florida a few months ago and it was quite small. Since then it has more than doubled in size. It's now about 2" long and like yours, it eats everything!

 

[alysak6075]

So a small update:
Its alive, there seems to be an issue with the swim bladder, no control of upright or upside down. Still not eating. Hard to get a picture, she is in a rock hiding. When I saw her last time: no visible issues of any kind, except the weird growth on the tail (but thats been there for months).

I will not be taking her out of the DT, she is a skittish fish and the stress will most definitely kill her.

So time will tell.

This truly sucks. I forgot that some fish have a much shorter lifespan

 

[mort]

5 years plus is a good age for a wild caught filefish. I'd guess they can get a couple of years older than that but we never know the age we buy them at.
It's sad when we lose fish/see them deteriorate but just like us they can develop natural health problems as they age, so don't beat yourself up about it it will have had a good life.

 

[alysak6075]

So the fish died....

I didn't take a picture. No visible markings of any kind, no parasites. The weird growth was just that, a weird mini "fin" that grew on the tail, like a "wart" or something. I assume she was just about 6 years old.

I'm not gonna get anything else for the tank for a while. Will let everything else settle.