longevity of damselfish

[bowdens]

I was wondering what the natural lifespan of a damelfish is. At the end of this month I've been lucky enough to keep a yellowtail blue damsel (Chrysiptera parasema) for 8 1/2 years. It's been the only fish in a small nanoreef (20H) all that time. It still is colorful, active and eating well though.

 

[JCJHET]

They usually have a lifespan of 3-6 years in a home aquarium and 10-18+ in large public aquariums. There has not been much research on the lifespan in the wild, so its only guess work on how long they will live.
Under the right conditions, I see no reason why your fish wont live many more years!

 

[Don-Coraleone]

iv'e had a yellow tail damsel for over 6 years now.

 

[weluvfish54]

lifespan of a damsel=too long

 

[Zionas]

Old thread but hey, that’s impressive OP. Keep it up! Since they are relatives of Clownfish, I wouldn’t expect them to be short-lived.

 

[lionfish300]

If this damsel still alive OP would have him over 20 years lol

 

[ThRoewer]

Gerontological Studies of the Damselfish, Dascyllus albisella

D. albisella appears to have a relatively rapid initial growth rate, growing linearly
or exponentially during year I and attaining half its reported maximum length
(127 mm; Stevenson 1963) between its first and second year. After a rapid initial
growth period, the maximum age and predicted values of K (0.230) indicate that
D, albisella is a long-lived, slow growing fish. Stevenson (1963) proposed that the
reproductive maturity of female D. albisella from Oahu is about 113 mm TL
which indicates that D. albisella begins reproducing after most of its somatic
growth is complete. According to the growth model proposed in the study, age of
reproductive maturity would be 7 years.

 

[ThRoewer]

Validation of annual growth increments in the Otoliths of two species of Damselfish from the Southern Great Barrier Reef

Abstract
If the otoliths of fish are to be used as an ageing tool, they must fulfil three criteria: they must display an internal structure of increments, this structure must be relatable to a regular time scale, and the otoliths must grow throughout the lives of the fish at a perceptible rate. These criteria were assessed for two species of damselfish: Pomacentrus moluccensis and P. wardi from One Tree Reef on the southern Great Barrier Reef. Transverse sections of sagittae from both species contained an alternating sequence of opaque and translucent zones that formed an interpretable pattern of increments. Treatment of fish with tetracycline showed that the opaque zones were formed on an annual basis, generally between spring and early summer. The assessment of growth of otoliths from fish treated with tetracycline indicated that those as old as 10 years of age were still laying down increments of regular thickness. Consequently, the otoliths from both species successfully fulfilled the three criteria required for the direct determination of age. Furthermore, this study helped to identify two levels of variation in otolith structure, manifested in the clarity and interpretability of the increments; there was an interspecies difference and a significant intraspecies latitudinal difference.

So at least 10 years for Pomacentrus moluccensis and P. wardi.

 

[ThRoewer]

A damselfish living for more than 15 years: a longevity record for small reef fishes