What’s a fish or invert that has / had a surprisingly long lifespan for you?

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I had a clown and yellow tail make it over 25 years. I think the youngest fish in my tank is about 10 years old. 2 starfish 1 for 8 years and the other for 20+. A scarlet crab that's 18 to 20. Hes a monster. I haven't bought any since 2006.

What kinds of starfish are they? Have you done anything in particular to care for them?

 

[littlefoxx]

Horseshoe crab!

 

[darrick001]

What kinds of starfish are they? Have you done anything in particular to care for them?

1 orange and 1 tiger serpent stars. Nothing special I just feed them raw shrimp 2-3 x a week. My system is 710 gallon 500 gal display 210 refugium. I do not use any form of filtration so they eat a lot of plankton and pod when the die.

 

[Zionas]

What fish do you have in the system? Which ones have lived 10+ years?

 

[darrick001]

How big’s your tank and what fish do you have currently?

Was the Clown wild caught?

I only have a few fish right now becase I'm downsizing from 710 to a 114 gallon system. I just moved the yellow tang, Randell goby, a pair of black ocellaires clowns, the 2 starfish, and the cuc into the 114 at their new location. Unfortunately medical issues have made it impossible to care for the larger system. The 114 is a miniature version of the previous setup. My 710 still has the excess coral that won't fit in the 114. It also has about 3-400 lbs of live rock. As soon as the coral and live rock are sold it will be shut down. I have had a yellow tang, Reagle tang, Leopard wrass , splendid dottyback, green chromes, 2 yellow tail damsels, 2 pair of clowns, Randell goby, all live past 10 years. A pair of green Mandarin may have made it 10 but I can't remember exactly.

 

[dochoot]

Be well and good luck.

 

[darrick001]

Thanks.

 

[jtf74]

Royal gramma 12 years after I got it almost fully grown. My bristle star is about 12-13 also. Not sure if thats long though for them .

 

[Wen]

Good thread, let's keep it going.

RIP:

• Copperband 7 years (stopped eating, RIP)
• Bellus 7 years (went from super female to super male and then jumped out)
• Melanurus rescued fish, had 6 years (was very old and eventually blind)
• Coris wrasse 7 years (gorgeous super male jumped out)
• Mexican turbo snail the size of a baseball 12+ years

Still going strong:

• Pair bullet hole clowns 12 years and still laying eggs
• McCullochi pair 5 years and laying eggs
• Royal gramma 6 years
• Emperor 4 years
• Hippo 6+ years (rescue fish)
• White tail bristle tooth 5 years *HOW LONG DO THESE LIVE?*
• Flame hawk pair 4 years
• RBTA and its spawn, 15+ years (can't kill these things, they live forever!!!)
• Red Ball of Death nem (Paracorynactis hoplites) acquired as an adult, I've had 12+ years

Curious about bristle tooth tangs because something is going on with mine. Fat, good diet, no new fish additions, but its been pale last 3 days. You know when somethings up with long term fish.

 

[littlefoxx]

Good thread, let's keep it going.

RIP:

• Copperband 7 years (stopped eating, RIP)
• Bellus 7 years (went from super female to super male and then jumped out)
• Melanurus rescued fish, had 6 years (was very old and eventually blind)
• Coris wrasse 7 years (gorgeous super male jumped out)
• Mexican turbo snail the size of a baseball 12+ years

Still going strong:

• Pair bullet hole clowns 12 years and still laying eggs
• McCullochi pair 5 years and laying eggs
• Royal gramma 6 years
• Emperor 4 years
• Hippo 6+ years (rescue fish)
• White tail bristle tooth 5 years *HOW LONG DO THESE LIVE?*
• Flame hawk pair 4 years
• RBTA and its spawn, 15+ years (can't kill these things, they live forever!!!)
• Red Ball of Death nem (Paracorynactis hoplites) acquired as an adult, I've had 12+ years

Curious about bristle tooth tangs because something is going on with mine. Fat, good diet, no new fish additions, but its been pale last 3 days. You know when somethings up with long term fish.

One thing I noticed with my bristletooth Ive had a year now is he is always a different color when I see him. He is a blue lip, so that stays the same but sometimes he is a beautiful dark color and other times he is a pale pink. Weirdo. He changes to almost a red when food is in the tank.

 

[Slocke]

Not been in the hobby long enough to have anything very impressive though my fire shrimp and my one eyed orange spot goby are both approaching 3 years. The second is most surprising as it lost its eye getting badly thrashed by my Falco hawkfish and am surprised it lasted a day after that much less two years.

 

[OneSockERock]

Had my Pajama cardinal pass after 8 years a few months ago. Currently have a yellow watchman goby and a tiger brittle star both turning 7 this fall.

My resident old man is my candy cane pistol shrimp, Claws. I've had him since May 2015 and my buddy had him for about a year previous. Little dude has to be nearly 11 at this point. He out lived his first goby but bonded right away with the watchman when I got him. That duo has gone on to survive two tank transfers together. I can tell he's getting really old though, he definitely isn't as active of a builder as he once was, but he's still kicking around sand piles for now.

 

[Boreas_SA]

I've had a blue Linckia starfish that came as a hitchhiker in January 2011, still around, or rather lots of them still around, it drops legs and makes a new starfish quite regularly.

 

[Dburr1014]

I recently lost my coral banded shrimp @ 7 years.
My Google tells me 4 or 5 years is the norm but IDK.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I bought this starfish in August 2002. I don't know how old it was when I got it. It's still going strong.

That starfish is huge!

 

[Paul B]

What fish do you have in the system? Which ones have lived 10+ years?

Mandarin
Copperband butterfly
Cusk eel
2 Fireclowns (34 years so far)
Hippo Tang
Perchlet
I can't remember the rest.

 

[Dburr1014]

10+ years and looking a little ruffed up, lol.

 

[SantaMonica]

Blue Ribbon eel... 6 years. Not sure the lifespan in the wild but this is the longest I've heard of in the hobby.

 

[Badspstank]

Is there a fish or invert you keep or used to keep that lived a surprisingly long lifespan for you?

I have had a yellow tang and a black tang, and a pair of clowns 15 yrs gave then t my buddy he has had them 7

 

[Tamberav]

Is there a fish or invert you keep or used to keep that lived a surprisingly long lifespan for you?

I haven’t kept this fish but it shocked me that a tiny goby called a starry goby was kept and studied for 11 years before being released. So this little fish has a life span over 11 years.

Aquarium Fish Longevity

By J. Charles Delbeek M.Sc. (1) and John E. Randall PhD (2) 1. Senior Biologist, California Academy of Sciences, Steinhart Aquarium 2.Professor Emeritus,

reefs.com