12/13/2023 0 Comments Zebra loach and salt![]() No fish will last very long in poor water conditions, if fed a diet that is poor in nutrients, or if kept in a stressful situation. The fact that some specimens are living so long must be a combination of genetics and extra care taken by the fishkeeper. Started keeping marines in 1992 and have a Regal tang, pair of Clowns and a Humbug, which were my among my first fish purchased.” Well done Mr Hussey, I say. Mr A B Hussey said: “I have been a fishkeeper for 35 years. Marines were featuring too, even common community species. ![]() Lots of ‘common plecs’ and ‘gibbiceps’ plecs were registering at the 27, 28 year mark, so that is another good reason why you should think long and hard about introducing one as a solution to controlling a short-term algae problem. The list includes a Bronze corydoras at 11 years old, no surprise there perhaps, but what about a Corydoras zygatus at 21? Other small catfish species continued to surprise me, with Corydoras really opening my eyes. ![]() flavitaeniatus at 20 and the small, true upside down catfish, S. But even smaller synos are hitting the 20 years of age mark and beyond. I would go so far as to say that some catfish are known for being long lived, Synodontis in particular, and a Synodontis schall, a large syno, is listed at 38 years old. A 15-year- old Dwarf chain loach has been recorded along with a 17-year-old Kuhli loach. I’ve already mentioned the 24-year-old Clown loach, but even smaller loach species seem particularly aged. Whether this is good or a bad I have yet to decide, but some families, genus and species stood out as being long lived. The average life span for a guppy, apart from that one, was a much more average 18 months. If those two cases are true then these small ‘‘short lived’’ fish species are outliving species like rainbowfish and some cichlids, both of which are normally noted for their longevity. I’ve listed two fish in the table at the end of this feature with big questions marks around them - a nine-year-old guppy and a 12-year-old White Cloud Mountain minnow. An Emperor tetra was listed at nine years old and a Neon tetra at 10! Most tetras, rasboras and small barbs can hit five years old, as you might expect, but my investigations showed that some were swimming through to seven, eight and even 10 ten years of age. ![]() ![]() It seems it’s not always the small species that have the shortest life spans. Twenty five years is a large chunk of anyone’s life and who can predict what they will be doing and where they will be living for the next quarter of a century? I found ages up to 24 years reported, and, considering that in that time they can and will reach 30cm/12” in length and are a social species requiring the company of their own kind, the number of enthusiasts who can truly offer them what they need, compared with the number of people who purchase them, is very low indeed. My investigations led me to discover that many community species of fish are capable of outliving a cat or a dog, so making themselves a long-term commitment for the fishkeeper. To find out how long a broad selection of aquarium species are living I posted a blog asking readers, to share their experiences. Life is short when you are an avid fishkeeper, as there are so many species to keep and so little time to keep them. I think that as well as researching fish size and water requirements, we should also consider the length of time for which they will live. Unfortunately, although some fish die every year through disease, or mistakes, the ones that are being cared for properly are going on to reach a truly ripe old age, and that doesn’t always seem to be related to species size. Having seen lots of aged fish on my travels, I wanted to find out the length of time some our aquarium veterans are surviving, and my findings are amazing! This a question often asked in the postbag of Practical Fishkeeping magazine. ![]()
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