Lifespans

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Betta_Shark5678

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Here's a story about when I today found out something about two fish I've had for about a year... 
 
So when I research fish I think about things like water requirements, temperature, pH, hardiness, tank size, adult size, compatibility with other fish, if they have any special requirements, etc  Something which until now I have neglected to research?  Lifespan.
 
Just found out that the cute little Albino BN plecos I have can live past 20 years! Thank goodness I'm so into this, otherwise I'd be looking to get rid of them now.  The reason I didn't want to get goldfish is because they live so long, but now I might go for it.  I'm going to be a lot more careful about that from now on.  Always learning right? :lol:
 
Newbies please remember to research fully, and don't buy fish unless you intend to keep them for a loooong time! :p
 
And I was impatient because they haven't gotten their bristles yet...
 
Interesting thought.
While I do look for life expectancies of fish, I wonder how many do.
Have not gotten a BN yet. Been hard not too, cuties that they are. I look forward to years with my Corys, the oldest just over two. But I also know time is fleeting with my two year old Betta.
 
Some of my little Tetras just last a couple of years. It would be great if you had acidic water and could breed them to keep the generations going all the time, but it's not easy.
 
It's a good shout. I have to admit, I have rarely looked for lifespan when doing my research. If the info is there, that's just a coincidence. Looks like I've got another fifteen years with Blondie, my Albino BN :)
 
cry1.gif
  My precious gudgeons only have a lifespan of 2 years, and since last year they won FOTM they probably wont make another appearance.
 
It is a sad fact that many fish will never even get part way through their potential life span. Many common plecs are lucky to get a few years before they are given to shops then euthanised because no one wants large plecs. Oscars are lucky to get 2-4 years before hundreds meet the same fate.
 
star4 said:
It is a sad fact that many fish will never even get part way through their potential life span. Many common plecs are lucky to get a few years before they are given to shops then euthanised because no one wants large plecs. Oscars are lucky to get 2-4 years before hundreds meet the same fate.
 
Really?  Is this what happens to them?  I did wonder where they all go to.  My gorgeous Oscars are 5 now and I wouldn't dream of parting with them.
 
frapadoodle said:
Interesting thought.
While I do look for life expectancies of fish, I wonder how many do.
Have not gotten a BN yet. Been hard not too, cuties that they are. I look forward to years with my Corys, the oldest just over two. But I also know time is fleeting with my two year old Betta.
I'd never considered lifespan because I just assumed that most of the fish I wanted would live under 10 years, and that I'd take care of them their whole lives no matter what.  So much for under 10 years, but the second part stands, it doesn't matter how long they live I'll be taking as good care as them as I possibly can!

I want to more colors of BNs, I love my Albinos, but I hear about all these fancy colors and I get jealous.  :lol: I definitely recommend them! I haven't had Cories myself, but I'm looking forward to getting some soon!
 
coolie said:
Some of my little Tetras just last a couple of years. It would be great if you had acidic water and could breed them to keep the generations going all the time, but it's not easy.
That would be pretty cool! I've had my Tetras exhibit breeding behaviors, so I could probably attempt it, maybe I'll try :D
 
dougie said:
It's a good shout. I have to admit, I have rarely looked for lifespan when doing my research. If the info is there, that's just a coincidence. Looks like I've got another fifteen years with Blondie, my Albino BN
smile.png
Exactly what I did, if it was there, great!  If not, whatever.  Lol well I hope that's a welcome surprise :)
 
DreamertK said:
cry1.gif
  My precious gudgeons only have a lifespan of 2 years, and since last year they won FOTM they probably wont make another appearance.
That's such a short lifespan :( I think I saw them, they were beautiful! Shame that they won't be around much longer... :no:
 
 
star4 said:
It is a sad fact that many fish will never even get part way through their potential life span. Many common plecs are lucky to get a few years before they are given to shops then euthanised because no one wants large plecs. Oscars are lucky to get 2-4 years before hundreds meet the same fate.
That is sad, I didn't realize that they got euthanized if they don't get sold quickly enough, though I suppose if I had thought about it I could've figured that out... It's terrible that so many fish have to die because of human stupidity and ignorance...
 
Blobfish said:
 
It is a sad fact that many fish will never even get part way through their potential life span. Many common plecs are lucky to get a few years before they are given to shops then euthanised because no one wants large plecs. Oscars are lucky to get 2-4 years before hundreds meet the same fate.
 
Really?  Is this what happens to them?  I did wonder where they all go to.  My gorgeous Oscars are 5 now and I wouldn't dream of parting with them.
 
I didn't know that either! :p I can't imagine having to get rid of any of my fish, even if they got too big.  I'd be upgrading for sure!
 
Well they breed so often, they don't need to live such a long life. But still.
cry1.gif
 
To answer the question about checking lifespan, I have sometimes considered it - definitely looked into this with Oscars.  With smaller fish I tend not to bother so much, they are not so difficult to accommodate so it doesn't particularly matter.  I do find the information is frequently not readily available and not necessarily very accurate, I have seen varying reports with the oscar of anything from 7 years to 15 - I planned for the 15!
 
It is sadly down to cost for most shops. If they take in a large common plec 10"+ it will take up just one tank, or be dumped in the sump tank. This single fish taking up one tank would be up for sale for £10-20 and could take months to sell, but the same tank could be filled with 50 smaller fish all at £2 each, which would also sell faster.  The same does go for oscars. One of my oscars was given to me by a shop because he was due to be euthanised that night, the guy who had been told to do the deed by the manager couldnt bear it so he gave it to me.
 
Betta_Shark, get the Corys!
Been putting off the BN, til I got the big tank moved.
I always do my best to create the proper environment for all my fish. As to life expectancy as part of research, it lets me know not to panic when an old age death pops up.
 
DreamertK said:
Well they breed so often, they don't need to live such a long life. But still.
cry1.gif
That's true, but doesn't make it less sad... :(
 
Blobfish said:
To answer the question about checking lifespan, I have sometimes considered it - definitely looked into this with Oscars.  With smaller fish I tend not to bother so much, they are not so difficult to accommodate so it doesn't particularly matter.  I do find the information is frequently not readily available and not necessarily very accurate, I have seen varying reports with the oscar of anything from 7 years to 15 - I planned for the 15!
I have looked into it with bigger fish before, but I figured because the BNs are so small they wouldn't live very long... Oops.  I did research lifespans of all the fish I have now after posting this, and I agree that it's not easily available or accurate.  I had a hard time finding a few of them.
 
star4 said:
It is sadly down to cost for most shops. If they take in a large common plec 10"+ it will take up just one tank, or be dumped in the sump tank. This single fish taking up one tank would be up for sale for £10-20 and could take months to sell, but the same tank could be filled with 50 smaller fish all at £2 each, which would also sell faster.  The same does go for oscars. One of my oscars was given to me by a shop because he was due to be euthanised that night, the guy who had been told to do the deed by the manager couldnt bear it so he gave it to me.
That's a happy ending for your Oscar! Glad you were able to take him.  Something I really want to do is start an animal shelter for just fish... It would be hard yeah, but in the end I'd have most of the big fish anyways so why not take care of them in the "shelter" until someone else wants one of the big guys! :D Who knows how well that'll work out, though if people have a special place to dump their old fish maybe they won't release them or end up in worse homes.
 
frapadoodle said:
Betta_Shark, get the Corys!
Been putting off the BN, til I got the big tank moved.
I always do my best to create the proper environment for all my fish. As to life expectancy as part of research, it lets me know not to panic when an old age death pops up.
I plan to once I get my 65 gallon set up! I'm going to start with 6 of a small variety to make sure they get along with all my other fish, if they do I'll get more, if not I'll move them into my Betta tank!
That's probably the best plan, they're lots of fun :D
That makes sense, not panicking is a good thing lol! I haven't had to deal with old age yet, so I didn't think about that.
 
Old age is relative.
Bettas average 3 years, and most are 6+ months old when purchased.
Angels 10+ years.
And old for me is always at least ten years older than I am now.

Anyway, get corys for all your tanks! You won't be sorry.
 
Well, some good news, I recently sold an older Pleco via local buyer on eBay. Some people still like them. And I bumped into them in the street and they said their original tiny Plecos now lay next to the big mummy Pleco! :)
 

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