What’s a fish or invert that has / had a surprisingly long lifespan for you?

ISpeakForTheSeas

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I had a clown and yellow tail make it over 25 years. I think the youngest fish in my tank is about 10 years old. 2 starfish 1 for 8 years and the other for 20+. A scarlet crab that's 18 to 20. Hes a monster. I haven't bought any since 2006.
What kinds of starfish are they? Have you done anything in particular to care for them?
 

darrick001

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What kinds of starfish are they? Have you done anything in particular to care for them?
1 orange and 1 tiger serpent stars. Nothing special I just feed them raw shrimp 2-3 x a week. My system is 710 gallon 500 gal display 210 refugium. I do not use any form of filtration so they eat a lot of plankton and pod when the die.
 

darrick001

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How big’s your tank and what fish do you have currently?

Was the Clown wild caught?
I only have a few fish right now becase I'm downsizing from 710 to a 114 gallon system. I just moved the yellow tang, Randell goby, a pair of black ocellaires clowns, the 2 starfish, and the cuc into the 114 at their new location. Unfortunately medical issues have made it impossible to care for the larger system. The 114 is a miniature version of the previous setup. My 710 still has the excess coral that won't fit in the 114. It also has about 3-400 lbs of live rock. As soon as the coral and live rock are sold it will be shut down. I have had a yellow tang, Reagle tang, Leopard wrass , splendid dottyback, green chromes, 2 yellow tail damsels, 2 pair of clowns, Randell goby, all live past 10 years. A pair of green Mandarin may have made it 10 but I can't remember exactly.
 

Wen

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Good thread, let's keep it going.

RIP:
  • Copperband 7 years (stopped eating, RIP)
  • Bellus 7 years (went from super female to super male and then jumped out)
  • Melanurus rescued fish, had 6 years (was very old and eventually blind)
  • Coris wrasse 7 years (gorgeous super male jumped out)
  • Mexican turbo snail the size of a baseball 12+ years
Still going strong:
  • Pair bullet hole clowns 12 years and still laying eggs
  • McCullochi pair 5 years and laying eggs
  • Royal gramma 6 years
  • Emperor 4 years
  • Hippo 6+ years (rescue fish)
  • White tail bristle tooth 5 years *HOW LONG DO THESE LIVE?*
  • Flame hawk pair 4 years
  • RBTA and its spawn, 15+ years (can't kill these things, they live forever!!!)
  • Red Ball of Death nem (Paracorynactis hoplites) acquired as an adult, I've had 12+ years
Curious about bristle tooth tangs because something is going on with mine. Fat, good diet, no new fish additions, but its been pale last 3 days. You know when somethings up with long term fish.
 

littlefoxx

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Good thread, let's keep it going.

RIP:
  • Copperband 7 years (stopped eating, RIP)
  • Bellus 7 years (went from super female to super male and then jumped out)
  • Melanurus rescued fish, had 6 years (was very old and eventually blind)
  • Coris wrasse 7 years (gorgeous super male jumped out)
  • Mexican turbo snail the size of a baseball 12+ years
Still going strong:
  • Pair bullet hole clowns 12 years and still laying eggs
  • McCullochi pair 5 years and laying eggs
  • Royal gramma 6 years
  • Emperor 4 years
  • Hippo 6+ years (rescue fish)
  • White tail bristle tooth 5 years *HOW LONG DO THESE LIVE?*
  • Flame hawk pair 4 years
  • RBTA and its spawn, 15+ years (can't kill these things, they live forever!!!)
  • Red Ball of Death nem (Paracorynactis hoplites) acquired as an adult, I've had 12+ years
Curious about bristle tooth tangs because something is going on with mine. Fat, good diet, no new fish additions, but its been pale last 3 days. You know when somethings up with long term fish.
One thing I noticed with my bristletooth Ive had a year now is he is always a different color when I see him. He is a blue lip, so that stays the same but sometimes he is a beautiful dark color and other times he is a pale pink. Weirdo. He changes to almost a red when food is in the tank.
 

Slocke

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Not been in the hobby long enough to have anything very impressive though my fire shrimp and my one eyed orange spot goby are both approaching 3 years. The second is most surprising as it lost its eye getting badly thrashed by my Falco hawkfish and am surprised it lasted a day after that much less two years.
 

OneSockERock

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Had my Pajama cardinal pass after 8 years a few months ago. Currently have a yellow watchman goby and a tiger brittle star both turning 7 this fall.

My resident old man is my candy cane pistol shrimp, Claws. I've had him since May 2015 and my buddy had him for about a year previous. Little dude has to be nearly 11 at this point. He out lived his first goby but bonded right away with the watchman when I got him. That duo has gone on to survive two tank transfers together. I can tell he's getting really old though, he definitely isn't as active of a builder as he once was, but he's still kicking around sand piles for now.
 

Boreas_SA

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I've had a blue Linckia starfish that came as a hitchhiker in January 2011, still around, or rather lots of them still around, it drops legs and makes a new starfish quite regularly.
 

Gumbies R Us

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I bought this starfish in August 2002. I don't know how old it was when I got it. It's still going strong.
big_red.jpg
That starfish is huge!
 

Paul B

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What fish do you have in the system? Which ones have lived 10+ years?
Mandarin
Copperband butterfly
Cusk eel
2 Fireclowns (34 years so far)
Hippo Tang
Perchlet
I can't remember the rest.
 

Tamberav

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Is there a fish or invert you keep or used to keep that lived a surprisingly long lifespan for you?

I haven’t kept this fish but it shocked me that a tiny goby called a starry goby was kept and studied for 11 years before being released. So this little fish has a life span over 11 years.

image.png.947c0cad013fff62a0a3482292b04216.png


 

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