How old is your oldest fish?

[BigKahuna]

After looking through some old photos and their corresponding capture dates it reminded me my mean ole Blue Hippo Tang is over a decade old. Just out of curiosity how old are some of your oldest fish?

 

[BlueFyre]

1 year since I haven't been reef keeping very long.

 

[SNAKEMANVET]

I have a pair of clowns that are 7.5 years old and a ywg thats 4 years ..

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

AS old as my tank.

 

[malbulja]

My clowns are 11 years old.

 

[SDguy]

I've had my powder blue since '06. Just an fyi... there is a 40 year old angel in France.

 

[falconut]

Pair of Ocellarous Clowns that are a little over 9 years and a Royal Gramma that's a month away from 9 years.

 

[humaguy]

blueface just under 15 years and pinktail just under 10...though I no longer have them...current oldest are around 5 years- Assassi, Cortez...3 years- Lunula...

 

[humaguy]

here is the possibly 47ish year old 6 bar at the Nancy aquarium in France that Peter mentioned...love 6 bars and find them to be an incredibly overlooked fish...




The sixbar angelfish, Pomacanthus sexstriatus, is one of the lesser known species of large angelfish although it is a very common species where it is exported from the Philippines. What the sixbar angelfish might lack in ostentatious coloration it makes up with undemanding care requirements, and a tenacity for life as exemplified by the record breaking 40 year old specimen living at the Nancy Aquarium in France.
Well known for long-lived angelfish and butterflyfish species, the Nancy Aquarium first received this sixbar angelfish December 18, 1971 at which time it was only 14cm, or about 5.5 inches long. Over the last four decades the Nancy Aquarium’s sixbar angelfish has grown to a size of 30cm (15 inches) and it currently resides in a 10,000 liter (1600 gallon) aquarium stocked primarily as a display of large and old reef fish.

Although sixbar angelfish can grow to be 18 inches long, we assume this guy is done growing. If this Pomacanthus sexstriatus has lived in captivity for over 41 years and it was already a medium size when collected from the wild, this particular fish is probably 45 years old, maybe more. For comparison that means this sixbar angelfish is more than a decade older than this author!

In addition to the longevity record that the Nancy Aquarium has obtained with this forty year old sixbar angelfish, they deserve additional accolades for keeping this fish in prime condition, with not a scar of its body, nick of its fins or any hint of HLLE anywhere on the middle aged reef fish. Huge props to the skilled and experienced fish keepers at the Nancy Aquarium and the next time you think your fish is old, just remember that there is a sixbar angelfish out there that’s been cruising its aquarium as long as Greenpeace and NASDAQ have been in existence.

 

[roenicknewf]

Thats amazing ...

I lost my purple tang last year which i believe was 13-14 years old ..
Previous owner was an LFS that kept him in a display tank ..They had to close up because of the economy and sold everything..I got the PT and they think it was between 6-8 years old ..It was one of my first fish ,and the reason i wanted to get into saltwater

 

[Ryphen]

Huh, didn't know some fish could get that old. Props to the aquarium for keeping it going. Oldest we have is only 2 years, but that's also how long the tank has been set up.

 

[pr12]

I have a blue damsel that I was given, the owner had it for 10 years before me and I've had her for 2. He got her from someone else, but dosnt know how long. So she's at least 12 years old.

 

[Handil]

I've had my clown pair 6 years. The oldest fish I had was a clown that was 13 years old in captivity. Not sure how old from pre-LFS.

 

[BigKahuna]

here is the possibly 47ish year old 6 bar at the Nancy aquarium in France that Peter mentioned...love 6 bars and find them to be an incredibly overlooked fish...

Wow, thanks for posting that. I figured some of these fish could go 2+ decades but nearly 50 years old is shocking. Heck, we hadn't even put a man on the moon when that fish hatched. I think with all that can go wrong in our tanks at any time from power outages, neglect, contamination, equipment failure and just plain bad luck it is good to see some of these fish live long lives.

 

[Scridifer]

I had a common clown for 22 years before it perished in a cuke-related wipe-out!

 

[dixiedog]

I had a tank crash in October 2010, so ... my oldest is about 2 1/2 years.

Ironically, that fish is a neon goby, so he's like 90 in his terms.

 

[megatron8121]

My oldest was 2 before a tank crash.

I know a guy that has a hippo tang though that's 19-20 years old now, I haven't seen it in a year so i'm not sure if it's still alive or not but i'll have to make a trip to see.

Ironically it's been in a 75 gallon tank it's entire life. It's funny reading what people say here , and then he has such success with his. He obviously didn't overstock it with 5 tangs and stuff though, just the one hippo and like 3-4 other small fish and a full tank of live rock. I'll take a picture next time I see it.

 

[humaguy]

Wow, thanks for posting that. I figured some of these fish could go 2+ decades but nearly 50 years old is shocking. Heck, we hadn't even put a man on the moon when that fish hatched. I think with all that can go wrong in our tanks at any time from power outages, neglect, contamination, equipment failure and just plain bad luck it is good to see some of these fish live long lives.

it is truly amazing...
such a beautiful and hardy fish and so rarely seen in the hobby...
I had one in 1988 and have always been tempted to get another...
swf.com seems to be the one place that always carries them...

 

[pdfrogman]

pair of ocellarious clowns 12 years old got them when my son was a year old went from a 20L to 60 gal custom tank, to a 180, onto a 450, back to the 60 and now reside in a 120
they lay eggs like no tomorrow, eat like cows and fat too!