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9 Responses to “How long can fish tank fish last?”
record goldfish live for 40+ years. mostly it depends on the fish. some like killifish and sparkling gouramis live a year at most. in labs they have gotten bettas to live 10 yrs. its thought in the wild they only live about 3. cichlids (including angelfish) and loaches often go past 10 years.
When I was growing up my mother had a tank with goldfish and a huge upside down catfish in it. The pleco was about 4 inches when she got it, and it lived for 11 years in a 75 gallon tank.
Supposedly, there have been Koi that have lived 100+ years but I am a little skeptical.
each species of fish will have a slightly different life span, from a year to 30-40 years. and in the case of Koi and large wild freshwater fish, over 100 years!
in the case of neon tetras, they used to live for around 10 years, but now I think they’re too inbred these days and are far less hardy.
a tank will last as long as you can maintain it! (leaks and wear and tear would need to be taken into consideration of course)
I have a 90 gal. tank. In it I have a Plecostomus that is 22 yrs old. Several Clown Loaches, a Gibeceps, and a Waterlot’s Synodontis in the 8 to 10 yr. bracket. Most of your larger fish (although that is not always the case)like the ones I mentioned here, and some Cichlids like the Oscar are long lived. A lot of the schooling varieties are short lived, (Danios, Tetras,etc.) and are prolific breeders, as they are at the low end of the food chain. I have only named a few. There are other examples among the answers here.
I have a 30 gal fresh and a 30 gal salt water tank that have been running for 30 years.
Not the same fish as when I started mind you. The fish store where I buy all my fish has been in business for more than 60 years. They have a 1000 gallon display tank that used to house a fish (Frank) who weighed 60 pounds. he was an Amazon fish who ate of all things heads of lettuce! he was so large! Phil the owner got him in a shipment by accident. The fish (Icannot remember the typeof the fish) lived in the tank over 40 years. People would stop in just to see the fish. He passed away from old age.
It really does depend on you with the tank and they type of fish you have. There have been gold fish and carp who live beyond 47 years. Now not all fish will live that long even in optimal water conditions.
I have a Koi in an outside pond who is more than 12 years old.
March 30th, 2009 at 3:15 am
Allen Harwell
depends on the fish and how well u care 4 it
March 31st, 2009 at 12:52 am
Jimmy Leggett
record goldfish live for 40+ years. mostly it depends on the fish. some like killifish and sparkling gouramis live a year at most. in labs they have gotten bettas to live 10 yrs. its thought in the wild they only live about 3. cichlids (including angelfish) and loaches often go past 10 years.
April 2nd, 2009 at 12:52 am
Daisy Craver
When I was growing up my mother had a tank with goldfish and a huge upside down catfish in it. The pleco was about 4 inches when she got it, and it lived for 11 years in a 75 gallon tank.
Supposedly, there have been Koi that have lived 100+ years but I am a little skeptical.
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Natasha Yager
neons are supposedly able to live 10 years
clown loaches longer than that…every species is different
April 3rd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
David Leong
each species of fish will have a slightly different life span, from a year to 30-40 years. and in the case of Koi and large wild freshwater fish, over 100 years!
in the case of neon tetras, they used to live for around 10 years, but now I think they’re too inbred these days and are far less hardy.
a tank will last as long as you can maintain it! (leaks and wear and tear would need to be taken into consideration of course)
April 4th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Althea Cammack
if u take the responsibility 2 feed them 2 times a day and change tank 1 time a week they will live10-20years if healthy ~*well by*~
April 5th, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Robert Granados
Depends on the species. Some live a year (killifish) some live 40 years (goldfish and plecos) and the rest live in between.
April 7th, 2009 at 5:37 am
Harkey
I have a 90 gal. tank. In it I have a Plecostomus that is 22 yrs old. Several Clown Loaches, a Gibeceps, and a Waterlot’s Synodontis in the 8 to 10 yr. bracket. Most of your larger fish (although that is not always the case)like the ones I mentioned here, and some Cichlids like the Oscar are long lived. A lot of the schooling varieties are short lived, (Danios, Tetras,etc.) and are prolific breeders, as they are at the low end of the food chain. I have only named a few. There are other examples among the answers here.
April 7th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Glenn Mccray
I have a 30 gal fresh and a 30 gal salt water tank that have been running for 30 years.
Not the same fish as when I started mind you. The fish store where I buy all my fish has been in business for more than 60 years. They have a 1000 gallon display tank that used to house a fish (Frank) who weighed 60 pounds. he was an Amazon fish who ate of all things heads of lettuce! he was so large! Phil the owner got him in a shipment by accident. The fish (Icannot remember the typeof the fish) lived in the tank over 40 years. People would stop in just to see the fish. He passed away from old age.
It really does depend on you with the tank and they type of fish you have. There have been gold fish and carp who live beyond 47 years. Now not all fish will live that long even in optimal water conditions.
I have a Koi in an outside pond who is more than 12 years old.