How old are your clownfish pair?

[Me No Nemo]

I think I probably have one of the oldest pair of clownfish currently in captivity. They are a retired pair of Maroon Clowns from ORA and we figure they are about 30 years old and have been together at least 28. I received them from ORA early this year when they wanted a good home to retire them to and to my surprise they recently began spawning again. I've also got a pair of true percs that are close to 10 years old.

I'm now really interested in researching how long they'll live and how long others have been able to keep a pair or even a single clownfish. How long did they spawn for? I love to educate folks on proper husbandry of fish and would love lots of examples to share that prove that taking good care of our finned friends can mean many years of good health. Thanks for sharing. Marcye

 

[Haddonisreef]

My blk saddle back iv had for for 4 yrs but are wc caught so dont know the actual age. but telling fro the size of them i would say at least 10 yrs! But that a crap shot

 

[Me No Nemo]

Here's a recent pic of Paul and Paulette:

 

[Eric55]

My LFS has a pair in a display tank and they are listed as 16 years old.

 

[Slakker]

I think there was someone on this board that had a pair of perc's or ocellaris for 20 some years.

 

[Me No Nemo]

I've been asked a lot what the lifespan is on clownfish so it's great to hear that so many live long lives. My percs are about 10 years old now so it's great to know I have years yet to enjoy them.

 

[phender]

I can't match 30 years, but I had a pair of wild caught ocellaris for over 16 years and they were still spawning. I lost them because I didn't read the fine print on a red slime algae cure.
I felt really bad for a long time.

 

[Me No Nemo]

sorry for your loss.

 

[gberry]

My LFS has a BTA that's been around since '84 and a pair of Occelaris that have been around since '85 I believe. The BTA is a monster, easily 24" wide, and supposedly has never been fed anything other than oyster eggs and cyclopeeze.

 

[Me No Nemo]

24" is enormous! Does it have the green mouth? Most I've seen get that big do.

 

[thor32766]

Marcye your two are gorgeous< I love how big the girl is!

 

[gberry]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10891912#post10891912 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Me No Nemo
24" is enormous! Does it have the green mouth? Most I've seen get that big do.

It's tenticles are green, not sure about the mouth. I'll have to try to get in there and snap a picture, maybe this weekend.

 

[Jovreefer]

Rainforest cafe in orlando has some false percs that are pushing 10 years old & their water conditions are NO WHERE near "good".

 

[Me No Nemo]

A few new pics of these guys as I got a couple emails asking. Thanks to Christie and Kevin for their excellent camera skills:

Paulette

Paul

Paul and Paulette

 

[Me No Nemo]

Also, this is about a 4 year old sebae anemone that, when open is bigger than a dinner platter and is very healthy! Just to gauge how big these fish are...they look pretty tiny in this pic. It was donated by one of my customers to house Paul and Paulette as it had outgrown her tank. Believe it or not, this anemone came out of a 55 gallon tank and was housed for 5 years under PC's