long time, no see

[fishorama39 14]

I have a 55g "riverish" tank next to my computer. It's been set up since 2012 with sewellia loaches that breed a bit, stiphodon gobies that don't...& lots of plants. "Jungle" vallisneria & java moss need heavy control & cryptocorynes that don't do much but survive. This week I did a long overdue weeding & I'm sure I saw a goby!! Of course it was behind a patch of algae on the glass. Probably giving me stink eye for disrupting his tank.

I always think of small fish having short lives. This tank has had 3 or 4 species of schooly fish over the years that eventually die out ( Vietnamese & "regular" whiteclouds, leopard danios, & rasbora sarawakensis). I know some have had small fish live longer. but I'm still thrilled to see an old friend. Now I wonder if the goby of a different species is still alive too. Very similar looking, it wasn't until we saw both at once a couple years ago that we knew. Time to scrape some algae. These stiphodon are not really shy but better hiders than some nocturnal fish

 

[gimme30]

Same for me with kuhlis. I never know if they're alive or not until I tear up the tank. Which I'm currently in the middle of and lo and behold, there's an ember left! I thought they'd all died off years ago.

 

[gwand43 159]

I haven’t seen my L136 and L183 plecos since I released them into the tank. Yesterday I saw a dwarf red coral platy that I have not seen since March.

 

[Innesfan41 3]

I always think of small fish having short lives.

Depends on the small fish. I have found most rhomboid-shaped tetras --Serpae, Lemon, Rosy, Garnet etc--have the potential for long lives of upwards of 7 years. I've kept 16 species of Nannostomus, many really small, and found them all to be long-lived. Many rasboras as well, certainly Harlequins (Trigonostigma heteromorpha) and the tiny Emerald Eye (Brevibora dorsiocellata). I bought a school of thirty of the latter several years ago and today I have a school of...thirty.

Most danios start showing their age around 3 if they get that old. Same with White Clouds, in my experience, though it's been a while since I've had that lovely species in my charge.

 

[fishorama39 14]

I prefer to get younger fish if I can but sometimes a species I want are adults, Many of my schoolers were gifts from club members for whatever reason so I didn't have long life expectations. I really wanted the smaller micagemmae whiteclouds but there were a couple "regular" 1s mixed in. I think you're right , Innesfan, lemon tetras, harleys & espei rasboras seemed to live quite a while.

 

[gimme30]

At risk of getting poked in the eye, I will say I wish my neons would age out to that great fishbowl in the sky. Not that I don't like them. They were rescued fish that I've kept before and I really didn't want another batch. They're nearing 11 years old now and that's plenty long enough for me!

So many species to try, so little time.....

 

[GaryE4 2]

So many species to try, so little time.....

There lies the road that made me get a lot of tanks.
I don't like species that vanish like that, but I think it does reflect putting together a decent, well planted complicated tank. I brought my daughter's tank here a few weeks ago as she moved quite a distance, and she had some Hisonotus or Paraotocinclus in there - I think both. I didn't see them except in quick movements through the shadows for close to a month, but now, they have decided my fishroom is tolerable and they come out. That was a slow process.
My Pseudomugil luminatis blue eyes are also painfully shy. That's kind of annoying, as I've had them before and they were sociable enough. They're even in the same tank they were before, 8 years later.

I have a dark bodied killifish, Chromaphyosemion poliaki, that live about 3 years. I think I got them in 2005. They are astonishing at hiding in very planted tanks, and have skills for getting around uninvited. They'll breed in a community tank largely unseen for years. You just see juveniles occasionally, where you don't expect them.