How Long Do Pet Fish Live? Researched Actual Data

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As there are thousands of popular pet fish species in the world so you will get the average answers from here of different types of pet fish species. The advantage of knowing pet fish’s life span is you can set an aquarium accordingly.

The lifespan of fish in an aquarium depends on care and maintenance. But the average lifespan range of all types of fish species is 3-8 years. Some fishes like pleco, goldfish live more than 10 years and some fishes like betta, platy, killlfish, etc. live less than 3 years. If fishes get proper care and maintenance then fishes can live more than 15 years too. 

May you have got your answer but still there is more data about this and you should know this information. This information will help you to choose the right fish species for your aquarium. So let’s start to discuss.

Now we have to identify fishes according to their sizes and after that, we’ll know the lifespan of each of the fish’s species.

The data of ‘lifespan of fishes of aquarium’ are based on actual research-based. These data are taken as average. Exceptions are always there but Aqualifeexpert has taken researched and created this content based on primary and secondary data source

Small-sized fishes lifespan 

How long do platy fish live in an aquarium?

Platy fishes are small but popular fish in freshwater aquariums. Lots of people keep platy fishes as a pet. This is beginner friendly fish and the average lifespan of platy fish is 3-4  years in an aquarium.

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual platy species

1.Variable platy fish 2-3 years

2.Southern platy fish 3-5 year 

 How long do danio fish live in an aquarium?

Another smaller sized popular fish species is danio fish. Aquarists know about this fish. Among all the danios, zebra danio is the most popular. But aquarists love to keep other fish species too. The average lifespan of danio fish is 3-4 years in a freshwater aquarium. 

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual platy species

1.Zebra danios – 3-5 years avg-4

2.Celestial pearl danios – 3 -5 years

3.Rose danio – 5 years

4.Glowlight danio – 1-3 years

5.Emerald dwarf danio – 3 -5 years

5.Danio kyathit – 2-3 years 

How long do guppy fish live in an aquarium?

Guppy fish is the most popular fish for the new aquarists. A newbie starts his/her hobby with guppies definitely. These fish species are the most colourful small freshwater fish species. People love to keep these fishes just because of their activity in the aquarium. This fish keeps the aquarium active. If you want to start a freshwater aquarium then you must consider this fish at least once. The average lifespan of guppy fish is 3-3.5 years in a freshwater aquarium. 

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual guppy species

1.Fancy Guppy 2-3 years

2.Endler Guppy 2-3 years

3.Swamp guppy – 3-5 years    

Read More:- 10 Best Tank Mates Of Guppy: Choose According To Tank Size

How long do rasbora fish live in an aquarium?

Rasbora fish species is another popular freshwater fish among aquarists. If you start today then you can choose these species to make a beautiful community fish tank. Your aquarium will be active all the time. These fish species are the most recommended because they are hardy fish. You can keep 5-10 rasboras together. The average lifespan of rasbora fish is 5 years in a freshwater aquarium.

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual rasbora fish species

1.Mosquito rasbora/chilli rasbora 6-8 years

2.Harley Quinn rasbora 5 years

3.Clown rasbora 3-5 years

4.Dwarf rasbora 3-5 years

How long do tetra fish live in an aquarium?

There is no such aquarist in the world, who has not kept the tetra fish at least once in his/her life. Even a new aquarist knows this fish too. If you are just listening here then you may be missing a great freshwater fish to keep in your aquarium. This fish species is famous for its colour variants. The neon tetra is famous for its colour among all tetras. The average lifespan of tetra fish is 5-6 years in a freshwater aquarium.

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual tetra fish species

1. black tetra 3-5 years

2.cardinal tetra 5 years

3.neon tetra 10 years

4.green neon 2-3 years

5.flame tetra 3-5 years

6.blue tetra 5-10 years

7.ruby tetra 5-10 years

8.rainbow tetra 3-5 years

9.ember tetra 10 years

10.lemon tetra 6-8 years

11.diamond tetra 3-5 years

12.emperor tetra 6 years

13.congo tetra 3-5 years

14.rummy nose tetra 5-6 years

15.Diamond tetra 3-6 years

16.White Skirt tetra 7 years

17.Bloodfin tetra 5-7 years

18.Red Eye tetra 5 years

Read more:- 5 most active fish aquarium fish. Highly recommended for beginners

How long do pencil fish live in an aquarium?

This fish is not so much popular among aquarists but its colour variant attracts aquarists to keep in an aquarium. These fishes are better for any planted aquarium. So if you are planning to keep some aquatic plants in your tank then pencil fish can be a great addition to your tank. But you have to provide it more space than a common small-sized fish. The tank size should be a minimum of 20 gallon for 5 pencil fishes. This factor helps fish to increase colour variants. The average lifespan of pencil fish is 4-4.5 years in a freshwater aquarium. 

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual pencil fish species

1.Dwarf pencilfish 2-5 years

2.Golden pencilfish 3-5 years

3.Red pencilfish 5 years

How long do rainbow fish live in an aquarium?

If you want your aquarium to look colourful then you should definitely keep rainbow fish. This will add extra colour to your aquarium when it thrives. These are active fishes too and aquarists love this fish to keep. The average lifespan of rainbow fish is 5-5.5 years in a freshwater aquarium. 

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual rainbowfish species

1.Australian Rainbowfish 5 years

2.Boesemani Rainbowfish 5-8 years

3.Celebes Rainbowfish 4 years

4.Eastern Rainbowfish 5 years

5.Dwarf neon rainbow fish 3-5 years

6.Spotted blue eye rainbowfish 3-5 years

7.Red Irian Rainbowfish 6-8 years

8.Threadfin Rainbowfish 3-5 years

9.Turquoise Rainbowfish 5-8 years

How long do killfish fish live in an aquarium?

Killfish is not so popular among aquarists. But this fish can be a good contribution in your freshwater tank. These fish are slender in shape and these fishes are very good swimmers. If you want your fish tank to be active then this fish should be on your wishlist. Almost all types of this fish species are small in size but some types grow up to 6 inches. The average lifespan of killfish is 5.5-6 years in a freshwater aquarium.

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual killfish fish species

1.Argentine pearlfish 8 months

2.Rachovi Killifish 1 year

3.Redtail notho 1 year

4.blackfin pearlfish 8 months

5.Blue lyretail 2-3 years

6.Large-finned lampeye 2 years

7.American flagfish 2-3 years

8.Red lyretail 2-3 years

9.cCown killifish 3-5 years

10.Werner’s killifish 4 years

11.Blue Gularis 3-4 years

12.Red-striped killifish 3-5 years

13.Daisy’s ricefish 3-4 years

14.Cape Lopez lyretail 3 years

15.Magnificus killifish 2 years

Generally, all of these fish species we’ve discussed are small in size. Some types of those species grow more than 3 inches but if we take average then all of these will be in the small-sized fish species category. Now let’s start discussing medium-sized fish.

Medium-sized fishes lifespan 

How long do barb fish live in an aquarium?

Some aquarists may say that barb is a small type of fish species but here we have categories this fish species as small medium-sized fish of freshwater tank. This is a mid-dweller fish. Generally, this has a silvery colour but different types of fishes have different colours. This is an aggressive species and they spend time chasing each other. This keeps an aquarium active. The average lifespan of barb fish is 5-5.5 years in a freshwater aquarium.

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual Barb fish species

1. Denison barb – 5 years

2.Ruby barb – 3-5 years

3.Golden barb – 4 – 6 years

4.Tiger barb – 5 -7 years 

5.Zebra barb – 5 – 6 years

6.Cherry barb – 4 years

How long does molly fish live in an aquarium?

Molly fishes are one of the most popular fishes among all freshwater fishes. This fish is a livebearer and that is one of the main special characteristics of this fish. These fishes are medium-sized fish and they are aggressive too. This becomes territorial during breeding time. Female Molly fish becomes weak and peaceful at this time and male Molly tries to protect her. The average lifespan of molly fish is 4.5-5 years in a freshwater aquarium.

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual Molly fish species

1.Dalmatian Lyretail Molly – 3-5 years

2.Common Black Molly – 5 years

3.Black Sailfin Molly – 5 years

4.Gold Dust Molly – 5 years

5.Balloon Belly Molly Fish – 3-4 years

6.Gold Doubloon Molly – 5 years

7.Harlequin Sailfin Molly – 5 years

8.Golden Sailfin Molly – 3-5 years

Read more:- How to know mollies are pregnant or not

How long do loach fish live in an aquarium?

Loach is also a fish that has a slender body type. This is not so aggressive and lost their territory against super aggressive fishes like cichlids. This is a bottom dweller and cleans out the detritus from the aquarium. But you can’t rely on this fish only. You must add a filter. For extra filtration, you can keep this fish in your aquarium. Clown Loach is the most popular among all loach species. This is colourful too. The average lifespan of loach fish is 10.5-11.5 years in a freshwater aquarium. 

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual loach fish species

1. Clown Loach 10-12 years

2.Kuhli Loach 14 years

3.Horsehead Loach 10-12 years

4.Weather Loach 10 years

5.Yo Yo Loach 5-8 years

6.Zebra Loach 10-15 years 

Note- Over 10 years lifespan doesn’t mean that fish will live till that time duration. Fishes can die within 2 days or 2 months. The lifespan of fishes depends on the care level and water parameters. Here this lifespan helps aquarist to know about the maximum potential of a fish species to live comfortably

How long do gourami fish live in an aquarium?

Gouramis are too active fish species and aquarists want to keep this species in their aquarium. This becomes territorial during the breeding period. Generally, males fight with each other and females stay calm and peaceful. Kissing gourami is one of the most popular fish among all gouramis. The average lifespan of gourami fish is 5.5-6 years in a freshwater aquarium. 

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual gourami fish species

1.Blue Gourami 5 years

2.Chocolate Gourami 5-8 years

3.Dwarf Gourami 4-6 years

4.Kissing Gourami 5-7 years

5.Moonlight Gourami 5 years

6.Pearl Gourami 5 years

How long do goldfish fish live in an aquarium?

A person hasn’t heard about goldfish, this can’t happen anyhow. This is the most common and popular fish species of this hobby. People generally start with goldfish because this is so much hardy species and beginner-friendly. This orange-coloured fish can become your friend too. Goldfish generally are big fish species and if you keep them in a pond then they will grow up to 18 inches and live more than 20 years. But in aquariums, this grows within a range between 4-7 inches.

Lots of newbies want to keep goldfish in a bowl but that is not good for a goldfish. I’ve discussed this comprehensively. Here is why

The average lifespan of goldfish is 11.5-12 years in a freshwater aquarium

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual goldfish fish species

1.Ryukin goldfish 10-12 years

2.Black moor goldfish 10-15 years 

3.Bubble eye goldfish 10-15 years

4.Celestial eye goldfish 10-20 years

5.Comet goldfish 5-14 years

5.Fantail goldfish 5-10 years

6.Lionhead goldfish 10-15 years

7.Oranda goldfish 15 years

8.Shubunkin goldfish 15 years

9.Telescope eye goldfish 6-20 years 

10.Veiltail goldfish 10-15 years 

Read more:- How many goldfish can you put in a tank?

Now we will discuss the big sized freshwater fish species.

Big-sized fishes lifespan

How long do pleco fish live in an aquarium?  

Pleco fish is one of the common big sized fish species in freshwater aquariums. This is a peaceful community fish. Lots of people like this fish just because of its tank cleaning ability. This is an algae eater fish. If you keep this fish then your aquarium will get extra filtration. But the main drawback of this fish is it is not an active fish species. So don’t make mistakes by keeping only pleco fish in a fish tank. The average lifespan of pleco fish is 11.5-12 years in a freshwater aquarium. 

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual pleco fish species

1.Bristlenose pleco 10-15 years

2.Gold nugget pleco 4-5 years

3.Zebra Plecostomus 10 -15 years

4.Clown pleco 10-12 years

5.Sailfin Plecostomus 15 -20 years

6.Snowball pleco  8 -10 years

7.Royal Plecostomus 10 years

8.Rubber lip plecostomus 10-12 years

9.Leopard Frog Pleco 8 -10 years

10.Peppermint Pleco – 10 -12 years

How long do catfish live in an aquarium? 

Catfish are one of the common types of aquarium fish species. These are called catfish because this fish species has whisker-like barbels on both sides of the outside of its mouth. These fish species love to stay bottom of the tank. These are not so peaceful like pleco fish (A catfish too). To keep this fish species you have to provide a comparatively bigger tank. So beware of it.

If you know the growth rate of these fishes then you can get an idea about what tank size will be suitable for catfish. The growth rate of this fish is similar to pleco fish’s growth rate. So go and check pleco’s growth rate

The average lifespan of catfish is 8-9 years in a freshwater aquarium 

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual pleco fish species

1.Cory Catfish 5-7 years

2.Glass Catfish 5-8 years

3.Pictus Catfish 8-10 years

4.Upside Down Catfish 15 years

5.Otocinclus Catfish 3-5 years

6.Chinese Algae Eater 10 years

How long do sharks live in an aquarium? 

Sharks are very active fish species of an aquarium. This is territorial in nature. So you should not keep other fish with sharks. These are omnivore fish species. You have to be careful if you want to keep this fish. The average lifespan of sharks is 9-10 years in a freshwater aquarium. 

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual pleco fish species

1.Red Tail Black Shark 5-6 years

2.Rainbow Shark 5-8 years

3.Black Shark Minnow 6 – 10 years

4.Bala Shark 10 years

5.Iridescent Shark 15 -20 years

6.Chinese High-Fin Banded Shark 10-15 years

7.Columbian Shark 10-15 years

8.Roseline Torpedo Shark 5 years

9.Harlequin Shark 5 years

How long do cichlids live in an aquarium? 

Cichlids are another popular type of freshwater fishes. These types of fish like brackish water. As these fishes are so aggressive so you should not keep other fish species with them. This is better if you make a separate cichlid tank. Cichlids are very much territorial in nature. But these fishes are very colourful and active. So this can be a great addition to your fish tank. The average lifespan of cichlids is 10-11 years in a freshwater aquarium.

Now let’s take a look at the lifespan of individual cichlid fish species

1.Angelfish -10 years

2.Blood parrot 10-15years

3.Convict Cichlid – 8-10 years

4.Oscar Fish – 10 -20 years

5.Discus Fish – 10 -15 years

6.Green Terror – 7 -10 years

7.Peacock Cichlid – 8 years

8.Firemouth Cichlid – 15 years

9.Jaguar Cichlid 15 years

10.Texas Cichlid 13 years

11.German blue ram 2-4 years

12.Cockatoo Cichlid 3-5 years

13.Jack Dempsey 8 -10 years      

Note- cichlids are not big-sized fishes. Different cichlids have different size but here we’ve put all common cichlids together

Read more:- The growth rate of cichlid fishes. Exclusive researched data

How long do betta and other fishes live in an aquarium? 

There are some other common fishes. Among them betta, the silver dollar are famous. Betta fish is a very sophisticated type of fish species and very much colourful. Blue Betta fish is so popular among all aquarists. Now here we’ve put fish species together which do not have other varieties. Let’s know the lifespan of those fishes.

1.Betta 2-3 years

2.Silver dollar fish 10-12 years

3.Swordtail 5 years

4.Hatchfish 5 years

5.White cloud minnow 5 years

6.Bichir 15-20 years

7.Arowana 10-15 years

Conclusion

To know about the lifespan of different fish species is important for an aquarist. This will give a brief idea about how many days a pet fish lives healthy. If a fish dies soon in your aquarium then data can help you to know the real cause of death of that fish. So here we’ve put all researched actual data only for you to help. This article has covered the lifespan of almost all popular aquarium fish species.

So best of luck & happy fishkeeping🐟