I have sewellia lineolata hillstream loaches I got as F1s from a sort of local breeder. They take 2 or 3 years to get even close to wild caught size & breed for me. I only offer weekly water changes & food almost every day. By the time I see small 1/4 inch fry they are likely at least several months old. I do nothing to speed up their progress or rescue eggs or tiny fry.
If I were trying to make $$ I could probably do better but that's not a goal for me. Nor is it for Asian fish exporters. Yes, they have almost free water & cheap labor; mine is not, lol. They are grazing fish so I'm not sure how they could be fed more often...that's probably why they are usually sold as wilds from importers. But also why they breed fairly easily if slowly from domesticated stock & sold that way. I rarely see very large (for domsetic bred) fish any more. The younger fish tend "sleep" on the front glass, the big 1s don't but there are a few. I've never seen a dead sewellia of any size but I imagine there have been losses over 13 years.
I'd say many (most?) of my fish live at least 5 to maybe 10 years or more in my care, barring disease or disaster...or having to move...I kind of expect that into the future too.
I think many fish losses can be from lesser maintenance, overcrowding, bad species mix, or far wrong water parameters...or poor fish quality...quarantine!!!
