Lifespans section???

[ScottishFish]

Apologies if this has been mentioned before.

Not a lot of fish profiles have the fishes lifespan in them, I think this is quite an important piece of information. I know I have some fish that I am unsure of how long they live for. Also for beginners it may be a helpfull piece of info.

Along with this it would be good to have how quickly they grow, I.e oscars live for quite a while but grow to that size relatively quickly. On the other hand royal Pleco live a while but grow to full size very slowly.

Just an idea

[PhillipOrigami]

That is one heck of a good point.
All I know is that tetras usually can live up to 10 years.

[Dave66]

Some fish can live for an awful long time. I personally know of a Senegal Bichir (Polypterus senegalus) that has outlived three owners at this writing so is at least 85 years old. And I've had a Ornate Bichir for well over 25 years and it has survived several moves back when I was in my 'see the world at least the US' stage.

Do think a dedicated 'properly kept' lifespan list of certain kinds of aquarium fishes would be a good idea. Since I have many awfully old fishes (both freshwater and marine) in my tanks, can certainly contribute to it.

And several tetras can live well over ten years. A year or two ago replaced several members of my lemon tetra school since some were starting to fade away after 18 years in my care, but the rosy tetra school tanked with them is still hale and hearty and are nearing 20 years old.

Without the threat of predation and other stressors most species of aquarium fish can live a really long time. Bettas, for instance, from birth to death live about three years, so is one of the short lifespan fishes.

Dave

[ScottishFish]

I know scientificaly that it can be very hard to decide an organisms lifespan. But a list of fish could be drawn up and members could contribute to how long they have had them live. Urban legends are not included

[patinthehat]

this is a great idea!

[Lady Hobbs]

Scottish, how about you start one. Thought of it before myself but there's thousands of kinds of fish and more time than I want to invest.

[William]

A list of lifespans for species where it is known is a good idea.

[ScottishFish]

I would happily start one lady hobbs. Where could I start one? Best bet to write a list then paste it into a thread?

[PhillipOrigami]

Plus, I want to know if my fish is going to outlive me.

[leaveittoweaver]

That's an awesome idea :)

And on the subject of Betta's short lifespan, how old are they usually when they reach pet stores?