Life expectancy of aquarium fish table. How long do aquarium fish live?

Fish is a creature sensitive to everything that surrounds it. It is very difficult to notice her illness, discontent or hunger. Proper care following her is the only way to prolong and simplify her life.

How long do goldfish live?

The lifespan of a fish depends on many factors. There is a certain pattern: small inhabitants of aquariums live 1-5 years, medium-sized ones (5-10 cm) - 10-12 years, large-sized ones - 15 - 35 years. Catfish, carp, sturgeon can even outlive humans. Egg-laying carp-toothed representatives, for example, Nothobranchius, live in puddles, die immediately after the reservoir dries up, the eggs survive. Even if you breed them at home, they will only live for a few months.

Most experts are inclined to believe that the average age of a goldfish is 4-5 years, in good conditions and with professional care, a pet can live 10-15 years. There is information that in one of the Moscow zoos the fish lived for 34 years, in Great Britain - 43 years.

Factors that influence the life of the “golden” inhabitants of the aquarium

How long aquarium goldfish live is directly affected by water temperature. Fish are cold-blooded animals, that is, their body temperature is almost equal to the temperature of the water in which they are located. Warm speeds up metabolic processes, the body will wear out faster. The color of older individuals is more colorful compared to young animals.

Improper feeding can also kill your pet faster. Remember, it doesn't have to be just dry. Overfeeding is more harmful than underfeeding. Must be done periodically fasting days for the “golden” beauties.

The population of the aquarium and its size are important for the normal existence of the fish. Before purchasing individuals, make sure that they are compatible and will not outlive each other. Don't forget to change the water. Professional aquarists say that a container with a volume of 150-200 liters is ideal for fish.

Following these rules will significantly increase the chances of your pets becoming long-lived.

Aquariums are quite common in apartments ordinary people. Sometimes they complement the interior well; some people like to watch the inhabitants of the vessel and take care of them. Every holder wonders how long they live aquarium fish. For amateurs, this is an opportunity to understand how long it will take to go to the pet store, and for professionals - great way calculate the number of spawnings.


For successful breeding and maintenance aquarium fish ok it is important to know about their life expectancy.

Main Factors

There are several main factors that determine the lifespan of aquarium fish. This is primarily affected by:

Usually large fish live longer. Incorrect temperature conditions will shorten life span, and a sudden change can lead to death. If underfed, the individual will not receive enough energy for normal life activities, and some varieties should never be overfed. Content small fish together with a large carnivorous individual, it threatens the existence of the former. And also we should not forget about special conditions contents inherent in many species. For rare varieties this is even more relevant.

Fish size

Size greatly influences how long fish live in an aquarium. Usually the shortest period is allocated to the small inhabitants of an artificial reservoir. For example, fish measuring less than 5 cm in length, such as swordtails, neons, and guppies, live no more than 5 years, but usually more than a year.

But the lowest bar in water world belongs to the South American cinolebias. The life of this record-breaking small fish is highly dependent on the rainy season., because drought is fatal to her. This species was saved from complete extinction by its peculiarity - timely spawning. She manages to grow and spawn before the end of high water.

Medium-sized species live much longer. For example, when starting piranhas, you need to understand that these fish live in an aquarium for up to 25 years. For other comparable varieties, this value is much more modest - about 15 years.

The duration may also depend on gender: in males it is usually higher. In some cases the difference reaches two years. This is often due to the fact that it is the female that lays eggs. The process not only takes a lot of resources, but is also associated with risk. Some fish die immediately after hatching. No one is immune from some diseases or unsuccessful spawning, but more often these troubles occur in swordtails and guppies - rather small species.

Water condition

How long do aquarium fish live? big influence affects the temperature of the water. Any cold-blooded person has a problem controlling their body temperature. It directly depends on environment, which determines the rhythm of organismal processes. Heat accelerates vital activity, shortening life, and cold acts exactly the opposite.

Sometimes, with a slight difference in degrees, the lifespan of domestic fish changes by several years. However, you need to understand that there are threshold limits at which the cold-blooded will simply die.

In water, not only temperature is important, but also purity. If you rarely clean the aquarium, the concentration of toxins will inevitably increase. This will lead to a shorter life span and the appearance of many diseases. Dysfunction is also possible respiratory organs or digestive diseases - all this leads to rapid death. When replacing water, it should first be settled to reduce the chlorine content to an acceptable value.


How long aquarium fish live is greatly influenced by water temperature.

The right diet

Food greatly affects life expectancy. Obesity is quite common among fish. This happens especially often when the aquarium is in a house with small children. The kids love to look at the fish while feeding, so they can give them food, violating all sorts of norms. Excess food puts a lot of pressure on digestive energy and the heart.

Some species are almost insatiable, while in others overfeeding can lead to rapid death. However, underfeeding is also a major problem. Lack of vitamins and nutrients has a detrimental effect on any organism. You can tell if the fish can live normally with the current amount of food by smelling it. If any specific odor emanates from the liquid, this indicates a violation of the maintenance rules. It's good when the water doesn't have any aromas.

In addition to the rotten smell, there are other features that indicate overfeeding:

  • after replacement, the water quickly becomes cloudy;
  • a slippery coating appears on the algae and walls;
  • a film is formed.

At good graphics the food should be eaten within a few minutes after serving. In order for the lifespan to correspond to that stated in the pet store, you need to monitor not only the feeding schedule, but also the diet itself. To find out which foods are suitable for a particular species, it is better to consult a specialist or read specific literature.

Choice of neighbors

When selecting aquarium inhabitants, you need to take into account not only the size or appearance individuals. A lot depends on the character of your neighbors. Most species are able to adapt to the hardness and temperature of water, but not always to each other’s character.


When choosing a company of aquarium fish, you need to take into account their character.

The wrong combination of fish sizes is one of the fundamental mistakes when creating an aquarium. The most obvious problem: large individuals will eat small fish and their fry, ignoring their hunting preferences. But compatibility has been well studied; you can ask a seller at a pet store about it or read about it in specialized literature.

Matching errors also lead to overpopulation, which causes difficulties such as:

  • lack of food and its uncontrolled distribution;
  • great competition between individuals of the same or different species;
  • oxygen deficiency;
  • high probability of diseases;
  • struggle for leadership and aggressive behavior.

Particular care when choosing is required by quarrelsome varieties, which often kill each other due to competition. It is also important to take into account the volume of the aquarium - each individual should have a certain amount of water.

Specific terms

Many factors influence the lifespan of aquarium inhabitants. The lifespan with the correct content can be found in the table below.

variety namelife expectancy (years)
tetra4−6
piranha10
pack10
minor4−6
cardinal5−10
neon4−6
gold fish 10−30
angelfish8−10
discus10−18
frontosis8−10
apistogram3−5
guppy3−5
catfish5−15
lalius4−6
loach10−15
sharks baloo10
angel pimelodus8
combat10−15
barb5−15
astronthus10−18
gourami4−5
zebrafish5−7
congo5
labeo4−10
metinisfrom 10
molinesia4
mistus5
poecilia3−5
otocinclus5
Malawian cichlidsfrom 10
severum10−18
raztobor5−10
plecostomus7−15
cockroachfrom 10
catfish bangio7−15
frontosis8−15
black morulis10−15
tetradon5
sturizom10
splasher5
cichlamosis10−15
wedge-bellied5
iris3−5
panakia10
glass catfish8
swordtails3−5
big catfish5−7
labeo4−10
Corridatus5−7
cockerel4−6
poecelia3−5
mollies3−5
severum10−18
Malawian cichlid8−10
barb5−10
pack10
labidochromis8−10
common loach9
macropod7

These varieties are the most common. The upper limit of the term should be considered only when creating ideal conditions.

Many novice aquarium hobbyists have a question: how long do aquarium fish live? It should be understood that the lifespan of any living creature depends on its type, proper care, and comfortable living environment.

In an aquarium, the lifespan of fish is influenced by the degree of its population. If there are a lot of fish, their life expectancy will decrease accordingly. In addition, do not forget that only species of fish that are compatible with each other can live together for a long time. Remember that aquarium fish are cold-blooded: their body temperature directly depends on the temperature of the water in which they live. The warmer the water, the faster the life of the fish proceeds due to accelerated metabolic processes in their bodies.

The lifespan of fish also depends on their size: the life of small fish is short - from 1 to 5 years, medium-sized fish can live up to 10-12 years, and large fish live 15 years or longer.

Rare changes of water in the aquarium, as well as overfeeding, lead to a reduction in the lifespan of fish. Moreover, overfeeding has a much worse effect on fish than underfeeding. The older they get, the more susceptible they are to stress and various diseases.

Life expectancy of some types of aquarium fish

Let's find out how long some species of aquarium inhabitants live: betta fish and guppies, swordtails and angelfish, telescope fish, parrots, zebrafish and others.

Experts disagree on how long they live. Some believe that these fish live for 3-4 years, others believe that their life expectancy reaches 10-15 years. The longest living goldfish in the UK died at the age of 43.

The aquarium telescope fish, like other goldfish, can live in an aquarium for about 15-17 years.

The fish belongs to the cyprinids and lives from 5 to 7 years.

The angelfish, a species of cichlid, can live up to 10 years. In Germany, the long-lived angelfish lived for 18 years. The cichlid species also includes the parrot fish, which in appropriate conditions can also live up to 10 years.

Swordtails and guppies are viviparous carp fish and their life can last no more than 5 years.

Constantly fighting betta fish do not live long in captivity - 3-4 years.

Labyrinth gourami fish can live in an aquarium for 4-5 years, glass catfish - up to 8 years, and piranha, which belongs to the characin species, lives in captivity for up to 10 years.

Remember that the lifespan of your aquarium pets largely depends on your attentive and careful attitude towards them and proper care.

Life expectancy depends on the type of fish and proper care for them.

There is an approximate pattern associated with the size of fish as a species:

  • small fish live not long, from one to five years;
  • medium sized fish(5-10 cm) up to 10-12 years;
  • large fish from 15 years or more.

For example, astronotuses, cichlazomas, and piranhas can live 25-30 years. Experts do not have a unanimous opinion on how long goldfish live. Some determine their lifespan to be 3-4 years, and some believe it to be 10-15. There is a known case when a goldfish lived for 34 years (this happened in one of the Moscow zoos). Very large fish, catfish, sturgeon, and carp can survive a person.

The lifespan of fish is sharply reduced if the aquarium is overcrowded . When purchasing fish, you should always take into account the volume of the aquarium in which they will live; it is also advisable to have as many living plants as possible, this will have a beneficial effect on your fish. Remember to keep pH and dH within acceptable limits. Fish are cold-blooded, so their body temperature is equal to the ambient temperature, i.e. water. Consequently, the higher the water temperature, the faster the metabolic processes in the fish’s body go and the faster the fish lives its life.

Overfeeding reduces the lifespan of aquarium fish. By old age, fish gain maximum color and become more sensitive to stress, susceptible to diseases, and therefore require more careful handling.

Unfavorable living conditions, rare changes of water, unsuitable neighbors - all this has a great impact on the lifespan of your fish. Therefore, the requirements for keeping specific types of fish should be treated as carefully as possible.

Approximate lifespan of fish:

Characinaceae

Tetras (all varieties) – 5-6 years
Congo - 5 years
Neon - 4 years
Minor - 6 years Metinnis - 10 years
Piranha - 10 years
Paku is 10 years old

Carp

Danio - 5-7 years
Goldfish -10-30 years
Black Morulius - 4-10 years
Rasbora - 5-10 years
Barb (depending on the type) - 5-10 years
Labeo - 4 -10 years
Shark Ball - 10 years
Cardinal - 4 years

Cichlids

Shark Ball - 10 years
Angelfish - 10 years
Discus - 10-18 years
Cichlosoma mesonauta - 10 years
Black-striped cichlozoma 10-18 years
Cichlosoma meeka - 10 -15 years (and other cichlosomas)
Frontosa - 8-15 years
Nimbochromis Livingstoni (other Nimbochromis) - 10 years
Astronotus - 10-18 years
Severum - 10 -18 years
Pseudotropheus, labidochromis - 10 (and other Malawian cichlids)
Apistogram 3-5 years

Viviparous carnivores

Mollies - 4 years
Swordtail - 3-5 years
Guppy 3-5 years
Pecilia - 3-5 years
Loaches
Botia - 10-15 years
Common loach - 10 years

Labyrinthine

Gourami - 4-5 years
Lyalius - 5-6 years

Catfish

Glass catfish - 8 years old
Otocinclus - 5 years
Angel pimelodus – 8 years
Plecostomus - 7-15 years
Mistus - 5 years
Synodontis - 5 years
Catfish Banjo – 7-15 years old
Corridoras - 5-7 years
Tarakatum - 10 years
Sturizoma – 10> years

Other:

Tetraodon – 5 years
Splash fish – 5 years
Wedgebelly - 5 years
Afeosimion - 1-2 years
Leporinus striata - 5 years
Rainbow - 3-5 years
Panak - 10 years

    As far as I know, small fish will live in an aquarium from 1 to 5 years, medium-sized fish live on average about 10 years, and big fish can live up to 15 years. So if you want the fish in the aquarium to live longer, then take at least medium ones and take good care of them.

    I don’t know for sure, but in our abandoned aquarium one gupia lived for a year and a half without feeding. Those. We didn’t even know that someone else lived there, and we couldn’t get around to throwing out the water with the plants. And when we started cleaning we were very surprised!

    How will you care for it and how ready are you to breed fish? In the right hands they might not last an hour;)

    Gupeshki are generally the most unpretentious fish, and she eats dirt from plants or even the plants themselves. Dad used to breed gupeshkas separately to feed other, more valuable fish.

    Different fish live in aquariums and everyone has a different life expectancy. For example, the well-known goldfish can easily live 15 years if you take good care of it.

    Fish such as angelfish are also quite common. Their lifespan is approximately 10 years.

    Small fish called zebrafish live from 5 to 7 years.

    But swordtails and guppies cannot boast of life expectancy. They live no more than 5 years:

    Aquarium catfish can live up to 8 years.

    All aquarium fish lovers also need to remember that the lifespan of their pets depends on many factors. From care, from the number of fish in the aquarium, as well as from the size of the fish itself. As you know, large fish live longer than their small companions.

    In the lifespan of fish in an aquarium, much depends on the condition of the water, fish need a special acidity of the water, if it does not suit them, then the duration will decrease, I have now had an aquarium for three years already and at first the fish in it somehow died quickly, they lived no more than six months , I took the water, filtered it, bought different plants and snails that seem to have been living for two years and not dying, my fish are simple guppies, zebrafish, neons, molynesias

    One of the aquarium fish, the angelfish, famous for living in pairs and caring for their offspring, can live in an aquarium for more than ten years with proper care! In general, angelfish belong to the cichlid family, and their homeland is the Amazon River, where piranhas live. The fish is unpretentious and can even live in a toilet cistern. The only thing they died from for me personally was overeating. They drive all the other fish away from the feeder and eat everything themselves.

    Life expectancy depends on the type of fish. Most short term life in Nothobranchius, this is because in nature they live in puddles during the rainy season, after which they lay eggs and die for the entire cycle of 2-6 months, although they are quite beautiful.

    In general, if we take all the fish, then small fish live very briefly from 1 to 5 years, medium fish (5-10 cm) - up to 10-12 years, and large fish from 15 years or more. For example, large cichlids such as Astronotus and Cichlazomas can live up to 25 years or more. Particularly large fish, such as large catfish or sturgeon, can survive humans.

    Below is the approximate life expectancy of fish.

    Characinaceae.

    tetras, neons, minors 4-6 years

    piranha, pacu - 10 years

    Cyprinids.

    danios, barbs, labeos, cardinals, bala sharks 5-10 years

    goldfish - 10-30 years

    Cichlids

    Angelfish, frontosa, Malawian cichlids (labidochromis, pseudotropheus) 8-10 years

    Cichlazomas, astronotuses, discus, severums 10-18 years

    Apistograms 3-5 years

    Viviparous

    guppies, mollies, swordtails, pecelia 3-5 years

    Labyrinthine

    gourami, lalius, cockerels 4-6 years old

    Catfish

    Loaches

    Loach, loach 10-15 years

    This depends on the type of fish, as well as its content, so it is difficult to say exactly how long your fish can live. In general, if you take average duration of all aquarium fish, then it is equal to 4-6 years. And so the fish live from 4 to 15 years.

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