which of your fish has the potential to live the longest, and are you really ready for that???

[Magnum Man33 148]

so in my growth spurt thread, I looked up flying foxes, and AI says they can live to 8-10 years… I know my kisser fish is longer, so I looked that up, and they can live to 25 years according to AI, so in reality, that fish could outlive me… curious which of your fish has the potential longest life, and are you really prepared for that???

 

[Fishmanic33 149]

I have a Peppered Cory and a few Bushynose Pleco.
Peppered corys are a small catfish species ... Lifespan: 10-20 years, up to 25 years in exceptional cases.
Bushynose (or Bristlenose) plecos typically live between 5 to 10 years in captivity. However, with optimal water parameters, a high-quality diet (including natural driftwood), and a stress-free environment, many dedicated aquarists report them thriving for 10 to 15 years, and occasionally up to 20 years.

My Peppered Cory is already about 6 years old. My Pleco are only about a year old. With me being a senior citizen, they may outlive me. Maybe I should leave them in my will like people do when they have parrots like @jaylach has.

 

[GaryE]

It's a thought provoking question. I have a lot of different fish from the Cory group. Lots of long lived tetras. Quite a few of my fish could outlive me - all of them if I get hit by a meteor when I go to water the tomatoes.

As far as making plans - no. I probably should, as in the past two weeks, one fishkeeping friend died, and another is so far into dementia it's lights out with him. Both were more than a decade older than me. I hope that I'll see it coming when I get there, and in the meantime, I'm doing the human thing and pretending I'm immortal.

I've inherited one person's fishroom in his will, but the family had already gotten rid of his tanks and fish to his local club before they read the document. I would have had nowhere to put these things. I just inherited, again in a will, a fellow aquarist's library. I've gone with other club members to break up fishrooms to help the family before, and it isn't a happy task.

I like small fish. Many tetras can live 10 years, and cory group fish can technically double that. A lot of small fish have short lifespans. It's the people who like medium to large fish that can have them for a long time. My aquatic creature record was my red eared slider turtles - 37, 39 and 41 years of age when they died.

 

[Back in the fold]

The only one I have that could go beyond three years is my lone Angelfish . They can go a long time but I’m not sure how long .
My childhood best friend , Killifish mentor and model rocket co - conspirator who passed away at the much too young age of 62 nearly ten years ago had a parrot who he once told me would outlive him and go to his son . I’ve never forgotten that he said that and his prophecy came to pass for him so it always spooks me when people make that prediction about themselves . Please don’t say those terrible words .

 

[bgarthe33 51]

I have a couple of 6 yr old Corycats. Last spring I got rid of the last of my koi…..a few of which were 30 years old.

 

[JuiceBox529]

My leaf fish (Ctenopoma acutirostre) lived over 11 years! 11 years documented and she had a prior owner before that as well

 

[Innesfan31 15]

Currently I have a quintet of cories, Hoplisoma CW 21, that are in their mid/late twenties. I wish i could recall exactly when I got them at a local shop but I know it was before 9/11. There used to be 8 of 'em. Historically I had a Jack Dempsey male, Rocio octofasciata, that made it to his mid teens and a shoal of F1 Wild Tefe Green Discus , Symphysodon tarzoo, all but one of whom made it to double digits, the eldest leaving us just shy of 13.

 

[fishorama29 4]

My friend sent me his 2 retired zebra pleco breeders at over 20 years old. But he also sent 2 juveniles, I thought long & hard about what to do with them when I'll be 90...I'm pretty sure they'll outlive me.

I had loaches & corys of a few species I had to rehome after 10 years before a long distance move. Many were adults when I got them so no telling their ages. Also stiphodon gobies I got where I live now. I keep thinking they've died out but 2 males of 2 species make an appearance just to surprise me every year or so, always a thrill!

 

[GaryE]

So far in my fishkeeping journey, there has been an out of the tank natural disruption about every ten years. Combine that with moves and a lot of fish haven't reached their potential. I've had an icestorm with 8 days of no power in a Canadian January. A tree fall onto local power lines the day after I moved, on a 35c summer heatwave weekend. A few other longer blackouts. I lived for 9 years in an area with lots of older deciduous trees, and they had a way of keeling over in extreme winter weather. I lost my 9 year old cardinals to that - how long could they have continued? They were healthy the day before...

Where I am now, I need to get a generator, but at least the tree danger is gone. The grid is very stable, til we get a hurricane. I'm hoping I can settle in here and see what fish make it to 25. Then I can retire from fishkeeping in my mid nineties, and maybe take up online gaming like everyone else.

Generally though, fish longevity isn't what I look for. I'm a killifish guy, and 3 years is about what I can expect from individual fish. I have species I've kept now for 35, 21 and 15 years, through breeding them. That's another approach, and the one I'll go into more and more.

 

[seangee7]

Most of my fish are between 5 and 10 years old. I also have A BN that I have had for 3 years which was bought as an adult. My last BN made it to 19, so I guess that will be the one that's around the longest.

 

[gwand32 149]

In primates life span is greatly influenced by status in the rigid social hierarchy. Could this be true for some fish species?

 

[Innesfan31 15]

In primates life span is greatly influenced by status in the rigid social hierarchy. Could this be true for some fish species?

Well, based on the last-fish-standing convos we've had in the past, I have always felt it was the alpha-fish that was the ultimate survivor and then lived on and on as a singleton. I realize our glass boxes and anecdotal experiences may not be indicative but it happens over and over again. I have three of them, two characins and a barb, from three different genera, in my retirement home tank now.

 

[Uberhoust]

I expect some of my angelfish might live to 15 years. My eldest is from 2019 and the newest 2021, so they are all over 5 years now, as is my single Ember tetra. I hope to be around for another 10 years. I am concerned about their care so I am not getting anymore, haven't for a few years now. I don't have anyone that would look after them.

 

[raylove2]

so in my growth spurt thread, I looked up flying foxes, and AI says they can live to 8-10 years… I know my kisser fish is longer, so I looked that up, and they can live to 25 years according to AI, so in reality, that fish could outlive me… curious which of your fish has the potential longest life, and are you really prepared for that???

Not a flying fox, but similar, I just this morning lost a Siamese Algae Eater that I'd had for 19 years.

 

[bgarthe33 51]

For your loss.