Fish Life span

[k0y0te]

Just wondering is there a web site that can give infomation on the average life span. i am sure that it verys from differant types of fish. i have came across several sites that gave great info on them but they never say how long they live. just wondering. i hate to spend big money on a fish that only lives 3 yrs. im looking for the long term. i have a 55 stock and working on a 75 though not sure if i want a salt tank or not. lol

 

[Lupin]

Which fish are we exactly looking for? It is quite impossible to find a site that automatically records the lifespan of all species. You could try the fancy goldfish. They last at least 20 years although the oldest ever recorded is 43 years. Clown loaches can last 40 years. Bichirs can last about 10-15 years, etc.

 

[k0y0te]

i c. thats cool. im not into the gold fish. i really not sure on the fish i want. been looking for something that gets a lil size to him but has some coloring too. i dont trust places like petsmart or petco anymore, beside they never have what im looking for. llol. in my 55 i have 2 gourami's, 2 rams, a rainbow shark and a pleco.

 

[Lupin]

Which rams do you have?
Blue rams-2-3 years only
Bolivian rams-4-5 years

Rainbow shark 5-7 years

What species are your gouramis and pleco?

 

[k0y0te]

Thanks again for the info. its a big help . for the ram i have Bolivian.though i think they both r males...not sure and gourami i have 1 blue (female) and 1 opaline (i think thats how u spell it) which is a male, as for the pleco, i have no idea what kind he is. it looks like the ones you see at petsmart and petco. hahaha

 

[Lupin]

3-4 years for the gouramis I believe. Sparkling gouramis are the shortest living gouramis I have observed in the trade at 12-18 months only.

 

[k0y0te]

12-18 months only.

lol thats not very long.

 

[Retuks]

sizable with some color?

goldfish can grow pretty huge compared to the fish u own so far.
but most SA cichlids like Jack dempseys and green terrors will grow about 6-8 inches and have a ton of coloring.

usually if u buy a fish around the 6-12 inch mark, on average fish of these sizes will live for 10 years. but its not limited to this size either. exodons which are much smaller (4-6 inch) have a 10 year avg. life span too, just to put it in perspective.

oh yea. and plecos in the wild (assuming a "petco" pleco is the common bristlenose) can live for several decades. but in aquarium they can't get to their full size so that cuts it down to about 10 years but i have never known any pleco that old even.

 

[sostoudt]

your pleco is probably a common(Hypostomus plecostomus) or sailfin. it will probably live 15 years. if it is the a type i mentioned you will need to upgrade your tank if you want to keep it its whole life.
it gets over 1.5 feet.

koi are probably the longest living fish the oldest one supposed lived to be 200, but i dont believe that. expect them to live probably 70 years in very good care
or maybe the white sturgeon, gets like 10feet and lives a 100 years

saltwater fish live longer then most fresh water fish. even the small ones live around 7-8 years, the larger ones live around 15. these ages are assuming you can give them proper care. the investment in a salt tank is great. reef tank is quadruply so. dont expect to be able to frevilously do water changes like in fresh, the salt for 150 gallons is about 50 dollars, more or less depending on the brand. a fish only tank is great place to start in salt, i would only go coral if your sure you like them or really enjoy gardening. since salt is so expensive you must buy equipment to make up for it. the best combo is a skimmer and refugium. in a fish only you will probably only have to do water changes once or twice a year. i have a reef nano setup myself(used to have a 90 reef too), by far the most annoying thing about a marine tank is the salt, its messy and expensive. other then that its very enjoyable.

edit: some sites say plecos live over 20

 

[yogurt_21]

I I do believe that koi are about the longest living in the hobby, but that's only with a proper pond that isn't ridicoulously overstocked (which almost all koi ponds I've seen are lol)

most cichlids live 10 years or so, plecos it depends if you keep them in proper conditions they can live as long as 30 years this means you need to get them in a large enough aquarium (240g+) or in a pond as they can grow as large as 3 feet long in some variations.

I've heard that some puffers can live as long as 30-40 years

then of course there are the fancy goldfish varieties that live up to 50 years.

typically if you get smaller(1.5-5" adulthood)/cheaper fish from the pet store they live anywhere from 3-5 years (mollies, platies, small gouramis, small tetras, etc)

medium (5-8")/moderate cost 5-7 years (small sharks, medium gouramis, etc)

medium large (5-14")/ moderately expensive 10 years (cichlids, large fresh water sharks, small plecos, etc)

large (14"+) / expensive (or moderate cost in the case of koi and plecos bought as babies) 15-40 years Koi 50-100 years if kept in the family (large plecos, koi, large puffers, most saltwater fish, fancy goldfish (size exception), any of the ancient fish types, etc)