Sad, sad day! :'(

[Timfish]

Lost one of my favorite fish, a purple tang I've been taking care of since 1997. No indication anything was wrong, good body weight, good appetite, good color, water tested fine Monday, all the other fish and corals look and acted normal. It's had a good run though. It was bought initially in '95 or '96, went through three aquariums and three owners (2 systems with one owner and one system has had two owners). Since it was already large when it was bought I'm guessing it was maybe 22 - 25 years old. Considering they live 30-40 years in the wild I would think it was only late middle age but it could have been older.

 

[BrandonFlorida]

Man sorry about your loss. I really want one and eventually will get a smaller one to grow with. That is a very good run for a tang and you gave it the best life possible. in the wild it could have lived that long but with predators and such I bet it lived longer with you..

R.I.P. Mr. Tang

 

[SecretiveFish]

I am sorry for your loss! It is never easy to lose one of your fish, especially one that you have kept for so long.

 

[snorvich]

I am sorry for your loss! It is never easy to lose one of your fish, especially one that you have kept for so long.

I agree.

 

[solidcore]

wow, sorry man

 

[alton]

I feel for you, I had to move my Copperband that I have for the last 13 years into his own temporary 100 gallon tank last night. I don't know how much time he has left either, he swam into the net last night like he knew it was coming. It is amazing how much we get attached to our fish

 

[sirreal63]

Sad news Tim, it is never easy.

 

[trembz]

Sorry to hear, but wonderful job keeping healthy for so long

 

[andrewkw]

Sorry to hear this.

 

[harley3ky]

Sorry to hear this. That is one fish I hope to have someday.

 

[ezerasurfr]

Sorry for your loss, but serious bravo to you on your husbandry and commitment. Sometimes fish become almost 'disposable' pets. Good on you for the dedication and care to keep such a beautiful fish for such a long time.

 

[Cheebs]

That sucks

It sounds like it had a long happy life, can't get much better than that.

 

[kmbyrnes]

Sorry for your loss, but happy the fish and you had such a long time together.

 

[dkeller_nc]

That's a bummer - they're beautiful fish with lots of personality.

But yeah, that's a very impressive tale of dedicated fishkeeping. I'd guess that while public aquarium fish tend to live long lives, your tang made it past the lifespan of 99.999% of his bretheren.

 

[johnike]

Nice job, sorry for your loss.

 

[ca1ore]

Isn't that strange. I've had a couple of tangs just die for no outwardly apparent reason. Most recently it was a Sailfin - swimming and eating normally in the morning, dead on the sand at lunch. No clue as to why. Perhaps your purple was older than you think. Either way, keeping a fish for the better part of two decades is extraordinary. Best I've done (under my care, at least) is 12 years.

 

[billdogg]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[SouthFla]

...serious bravo to you on your husbandry and commitment. Sometimes fish become almost 'disposable' pets. Good on you for the dedication and care to keep such a beautiful fish for such a long time.

Perfect reply, I wholeheartedly concur. Great job on giving the fish such a wonderful life! Best,

John

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

That's a good run for a fish kept in captivity. Very sorry for your loss.

 

[Shivsreef]

Perhaps your purple was older than you think.

+1 a fish's size is depicted on the nutrition and the diet of the fish; not the age, therefore your fish could've been much older than you initially thought, probably due to a poor diet in previous ownerships or in the ocean.