life expectancy?

[Erok7620]

maybe this has been covered but I was just wondering how long some of you have had your livestock and what the average life expectancy is on most aquarium fish/inverts/corals? I know there are many variables.. tank size and conditions, maintanance, feeding, disease... etc. Lets just say under average aquarium conditions.
Allright, who has the oldest fish here?

 

[roka64]

You are definitely right, there are many variables. I have heard of folks having a specific fish for more than 6 or 7 years. I don't know if you can really pin an average in home aquaria, but it is an interesting question.

 

[ccCapt]

The oldest fish I "had" was a watchman goby that was 13-14 yrs old before it died. That 1 was replaced by the current watchman I have now which is about 5 yrs old.
Most cleaner shrimp I get live about 5 yrs. The 1 I have now is about 3 yrs old.
In the ocean, hard corals live forever (barring predatation & polution). They are the builders of reefs. I don't know the life span of soft coral, but I have mushrooms and zoa's that are almost 20 yrs old.

 

[Sadielynn]

My oldest was a saddle back clown that I had for 4-5 years ....My other clowns that I had a year max was the longest , I never could pinpoint what was wrong if any thing . To many varieables to give a Scientific life expectancy tho

 

[melosu58]

I have several fish in my tank that have lasted from day one whenI started my tank 10 yrs ago. I dont know how old they were before I got them.

 

[Lance M.]

I don't see how you could even find out how old mushrooms are, like anemones, you don't know if it's the same one you saw 10 years before or if it's a clone of the original, so I would include them in the forever (if kept in proper conditions) category.

And clownfish, normally, will last anywhere from 15-25 years.

 

[usmcmarc]

As I understand, the typical lifespan of an anemone is about 200 years. I'm sure thats in the wild.

 

[Erok7620]

200 years! thats awesome. I never would have guessed that.

 

[usmcmarc]

Thats what I was told by someone I know who has been doing SW for quite a while...I'm not sure if it's 100% correct.

 

[Lance M.]

How would they be able to tell how old it is?

 

[Ziggy953]

I think this is one of those questions that the answer is more of an educated guess rather then fact. I would say that in the home aquarium the conditions are the main factor in how long something is going to live. The better maintained a system is the better chance you have of enjoying your fish for a long time. My tank is young in the grand scheme of things only 3 years old but the first fish I ever put in the tank is still with me, again how old was it when I got it? I don't know. Unless you breed a fish, like a clown, and raise the young yourself it is hard to really say how long they are going to live and there again it all depends on how balanced your system is.

 

[usmcmarc]

How would they be able to tell how old it is?

I don't know...Carbon Dating?