exquisite wrasse....life span??

[CareyMarie]

Hello!

Does anyone know how long these wrasses live? I have had mine for over five years, is that normal for them?

Thanks!

 

[NaH2O]

I'm by far an expert on wrasses, however, I can give you my opinion on the lifespan. Considering you've had the fish for over five years, then you must be doing something right. I don't know how well life spans can be determined, as in the wild if a fish slows down for whatever reason, it will become food for something else. In captivity, I think a lot depends on the environment fish are kept in, tank mates, quality of foods, how they were captured, and/or how old they are initially. A stressful environment would shorten a lifespan, by using up the fish's energy and make the fish more susceptible to disease, and lessen its ability to heal (among other things). There can also be factors like accidents with additives, or top-offs, power outages, etc. that might shorten the tank inhabitants' life. Some people have kept fish for over 16 years, which is the case with Mtndewman's clownfish (there is also another member that has had a clown for 17 years). Sorry I couldn't answer your question more directly, but I hope this helps a bit.

 

[Terry B]

I haven't personally kept very many wrasses (maybe 2 in 30= years), but judging by how long most other species seem to be able to live in captivity I would expect 10 years or more.

Terry B

 

[CareyMarie]

Thanks you two!

I really love my guy, strange how I can get attached to a fish. LOL
He (?) is about two inches long, fat, and colorful. I really don't do much to his environment, not even water changes. He is in a 120g, that has a w/d filter, U/V, giant skimmer, and that's it. Tank mates are: PBT (almost 2yrs),
Brown Scopas Tang (almost 2yrs), Scribbled Angel (one month), a bicolor blenny, glass blenny, belted sand bass, and the fish I have had the longest Foxy (you guessed it a Fox Face lo). Foxy came to live with me in 1998. He is big. His problem is that he is so tame that I have to shoo him away so I don't get stung when I need put my hand in the water! (that HURTS) Other tankmates are some soft corals, misc inverts, misc macros (that are mostly fish food) which get replaced often.

I hope my wrasse lives for ten or more years. He has a new tank mate, a Sargassum Trigger, well, he will have when he is out of QT. I hope he lives a long time too.

Thanks for responding, so I will just wait and see how long he lives. Then I'll post the answerso we all know.

Carey