Oldest Striped Raphael Catfish (47+ Years Old)

[Deadeye]

That’s incredible! I’ve heard of very few fish living that long. Gives me something to hope for with my Raphael, so far 2 years since I got it.

On the topic of size and lifespan correlation, I agree they aren’t always related. Both koi and clownfish have the potential to reach over 40 years old, I’ve heard of 50 year old clownfish!

 

[jjohnwm]

Kudos to a keeper who can provide such care that a fish lives for almost a half century in his/her tank!

Not so much to the jerks who dogpiled on and started to whine about the pain they felt at seeing a picture of a dead fish...which I, like Redshark1 , didn't even realize was dead until they pointed it out.

 

[jjohnwm]

That may make sense on paper, but it doesn't seem to add up with aquarium fish. Neons have a natural lifespan of 10 years (the same as the much larger weather loach) and kuhli loaches' 15 year lifespan matches that of the much, much larger red tail catfish, for example.
I suspect classification (family of the fish), ecology or some other factor trumps size when it comes to lifespan.

I tend to doubt a lot of the info put out there by the "experts" and the suggested lifespan of the Redtail Cat, listed in several places at 15 years, is a prime example. I'd bet that 15 years is the likely maximum for the species in aquariums, simply for lack of proper care; the vast majority of them don't last even a fraction of that. I'd be astonished if a Redtail in the wild wouldn't be capable of living several decades; likely even more if a captive one actually received proper care in an adequate size tank.

It's very dependent upon the spin put on it by the person doing the report/study. Are they giving a "maximum" lifespan? A "typical" or an "average" lifespan? Those would be three verrrrry different numbers.

I remember a government-sponsored study of wild turkeys in Ontario. They listed the "average" lifespan of the bird in the wild to be something like 3 minutes! When the vast majority of the birds are eaten while or before hatching, the numbers actually work out that way. An eye-catching number that attracts attention...but tells us...pretty much nothing.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

The biggest RTC raised in captivity is 160 cm or 5'4", 41 years old (in 2013)

http://www.tankterrors.com/world-record-red-tailed-catfish-world-record/ By TankTerrors 16 February, 2013 The IFGA world record for a Red Tailed Catfish currently sits at 124cm, per the IFGA website. That is a pretty big Red Tail, but not even close to the size of this tank terror. These...

www.monsterfishkeepers.com