# Life Expectancy???



## WillieWonka1 (Mar 20, 2006)

Like the title says....

what would be a reasonable life expectancy of a fish once it reaches 14 or 15 inches?

If your buying a fish of this size, how long could you expect to have it, assuming that there are no tank or aquarium related problems?


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

It depends on how long it took the fish to reach that size. It could be 10yrs old or it could be 20. Overall, I would think you would get some solid years out of a fish that size.


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## bigredjeep (Jul 12, 2007)

I think about this everytime i see a massive piraya or rhom of this size,,,you could spend 500+ dollars on the fish and it could die in 8 days from age...


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## CorGravey (Feb 13, 2007)

Wasnt there a thread a while ago about a 70 year old rhombeus or something? I think you are pretty safe buying a large rhombeus, but you can never really be 100% sure.
Its my opinion that the risk is worth it.


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## Lifer374 (Dec 5, 2003)

CorGrav420 said:


> Wasnt there a thread a while ago about a 70 year old rhombeus or something?


I was under the impression that a rhombeus only lived up to 30 years.


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

Tango374 said:


> Wasnt there a thread a while ago about a 70 year old rhombeus or something?


I was under the impression that a rhombeus only lived up to 30 years.
[/quote]

yes, ive never read personal accounts of it, but i have read documented evidence that rhombs live well over 25 years and sometimes up to 30 plus.


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## WillieWonka1 (Mar 20, 2006)

So, assuming that the life expectancy is 25 years or so and that the majority (if not all) of the larger rhoms are wild caught, how many years would it take for them to reach this size in the wild?

thanks Willie


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## Dezboy (Apr 2, 2006)

im sure that rhoms only live a maximum of arouind 25 years here-or-there......................


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## NegativeSpin (Aug 1, 2007)

CorGrav420 said:


> Wasnt there a thread a while ago about a 70 year old rhombeus or something? I think you are pretty safe buying a large rhombeus, but you can never really be 100% sure.
> Its my opinion that the risk is worth it.


I heard that S. rhombeus can live for up to 70 years by some nut I was talking to over the phone years ago who published The Piranha Gazette. Hastatus quickly came on the thread and couldn't verify that claim but we'll start to get an idea in like 10 to 15 years if some of the members with large rhombeus's still have them.


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## Piranha_Mcfly (Jan 11, 2007)

Tango374 said:


> Wasnt there a thread a while ago about a 70 year old rhombeus or something?


I was under the impression that a rhombeus only lived up to 30 years.
[/quote]

...only 30 years. That seems pretty impressive for a fish.


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

The question should be started into another thread.
WHAT IS THE LIFE EXPECTANCY FOR.....Rhom, SPilo, etc etc?
Anyone know is there a website out there that gives an average?


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## Gigante Pirana (Apr 23, 2004)

This is a difficult question to answer! Generally speaking, we haven't had many members or individuals who have kept one particular individual or group of piranhas for more than 10 years let alone 20. When you find such a piranha-hobbyist, you might then begin to get some ideals of longevity in our tanks for various species. In the past, public aquariums and zoos would be the most likely to have kept particular individual/ group of species for prolong periods of time!


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## chomp chomp (Oct 28, 2003)

SERRAPYGO said:


> This is a difficult question to answer! Generally speaking, we haven't had many members or individuals who have kept one particular individual or group of piranhas for more than 10 years let alone 20. When you find such a piranha-hobbyist, you might then begin to get some ideals of longevity in our tanks for various species. In the past, public aquariums and zoos would be the most likely to have kept particular individual/ group of species for prolong periods of time!


/\ agree with the above

I have heard that P's can live for 25 years or so but usually poor water quality in their tanks lead to a premature death. Given proper care, environment and adequate space, I do not see a issue with keeping a P 15-20 years.


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

generally in a tank environment life spans are depicted by the owners care. diet, water condition, space, etc...the natural life span is depicted by predators or disease. a rough estimate is as good as it gets because theres so many what if's


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

i wonder how old a monster like frankeinstein (22" piraya)would be or 18" rhoms?


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## CorGravey (Feb 13, 2007)

Id bet at least 20 -25 years.


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