Lifespan of reef inhabitants???

when someone posts on your thread it pops up on new posts (I believe) which usually gets the most views - or at least that's where I usually look on the forum...

 

Oh ok that makes sence. I sure hope more people read it & post.
Thanks again Oldfishkeeper!!


Coach

 

In the land of the blind the one eye'd man is king ;-)

I have a 13 year old clown... or at least one ive had for 13 years. My first orchid dotty lived 9 years. I have a 5 year old YTB damsel.

Fish that are long lived if you don't kill them: Tangs, Angels, Damsels.

Fish with shorter lifespans: Wrasse and Basslets

 

It is hard to answer your question because the truth of the matter is we don't know and collecting real data on the subject difficult.
It has just recently been discovered that some tang species can live over 40 years.I had a Golden striped maroon clown for 23 years.(Homey RIP) It has been documented that most species of clown can live over 30 years with the percula/occelaris being the exceptions.I had a good article to share but I can't find it. Studying a fishes lifespan in the wild is near impossible but they discovered rings on the otoliths of tangs(and other fish) that grow at a fixed rate. They determined the age of the fish by counting the rings kinda like a tree lol).The specimen was 40 years old when it died.

Heres some good reading that explains the otolith.It may help you understand how we can (in some cases)actually aquire this data.

http://elearning.uaf.edu/cc/otolith/whatis.htm

 

Thre's a 40 year old Six Bar angelfish in france, all the way to most Eviota and similar micro gobies, some only live 5 months.

 

Alex,
Thanks for the info.

Vinny,
That makes a lot of sence. Thanks for the link to the article. RIP Homey!!!! Sorry for your loss.

1.0reef,
Very interesting. Thanks

Coach