20+ (now 30+) year old tangs

[Cthulukelele]

There's something special about having fish for so long. Some of the longer lived hobbyist species like larger tangs and angels are truly special. A dream of mine would be having a massive FOWLR with a few huge tangs, a dogface puffer, a trigger, and a French angel

 

[Timfish]

Stumbled across this paper below. Pretty fascinating info on the life expectancies of tangs:

Recent research uncovered a surprising split-phase or biphasic pattern in life expectancies in Surgeon fish. Instead of having the expected "catch at age" gradual decline in numbers as fish age, they found a faster than expected dieoff initially then a slower than expected dieoff past a certain age. This gave turnover rates two to four times faster than previously believed. Researchers noted "grow fast - die young" only partially explains the why this is happening.


So it seems, as aquarists some of the unexpected deaths we see as our tangs age might be due to variables out of our control. We may have individuals that can live decades but 10-15 years is a more realistic expectation for most.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/faf.12853

 

[Timfish]

And we're 31!

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

And we're 31!

That's just awesome to see. Thanks for sharing!

 

[backbayreef]

Man - that fish is older than me! Yikes

 

[Should I]

them are some big boys

 

[Utubereefer]

That’s impressive! Subscribed to your channel!

 

[Zionas]

Wew! And I’m 29.

 

[IntrinsicReef]

And we're 31!

That's a healthy looking Tang for 31. I have some in the 20s, but haven't broken the 30 mark. Well done!

 

[Timfish]

That's a healthy looking Tang for 31. I have some in the 20s, but haven't broken the 30 mark. Well done!

Thank you!

 

[Timfish]

That's just awesome to see. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you!

 

[revhtree]

And we're 31!

Honestly this is so amazing! Can we change your thread title to reflect 30 years now?

 

[Timfish]

Honestly this is so amazing! Can we change your thread title to reflect 30 years now?

Thank you! By all means! :D

 

[JumboShrimp]

You should be rightfully proud of such a notable accomplishment, x 3!

 

[Timfish]

Thank you!

 

[revhtree]

Thank you! By all means! :D

Done and yes you should be very very proud of this!

 

[Should I]

do you still have the yellow tang? i see the purple and sailfin but no yellow

 

[SurfTrack]

Wow!

 

[PPBlimpy]

Wow. very lively for 31!!

 

[Timfish]

Done and yes you should be very very proud of this!

Thank you! I certainly have a sense of accomplishment but honestly I feel more lucky than proud.