Tiger Barb Life Span

[tttnjfttt]

Does anyone know how long the average tiger barb lives for? I've searched online and seen some very mixed opinions.

 

[ccg]

I have also read many different things and not sure what it corret. I have had mine for 4 years and they were small when I got them so they are no older then 4-5 years tops. They look very healthy and I expect them to live for another couple of years anyhow.

 

[tttnjfttt]

hmmm, maybe they aren't as healthy as i had thought. The one i lost today was about 3 inches, and was that size when i got him a year ago. So no clue how old he was. hmm.

 

[Sheridanp]

Wikipedia.org says to six years.

Psst: Just picked up 2 of these.

 

[mikev]

About.com also gives 6 years, however, this cannot be fully trusted:

Cherry Barb - 5 to 7 years (also from About.Com)
Rosy Barb - 5 years (also from About.Com)
Odessa/Ticto Barb -- up to 10 years (from a poster here who had them long enuf).
Tinfoild Barb - 10 years (about.com)
Tiger Barb - 6 years (about.com)

Now the basic assumption which is usually true is that when you have closely related species, larger species should have a longer lifespan. This is not exactly what we see here, and makes one wonder if these numbers are correct.

hmmm, maybe they aren't as healthy as i had thought. The one i lost today was about 3 inches, and was that size when i got him a year ago. So no clue how old he was. hmm

To the best of my knowledge, most barbs and all tiger barbs are bred, not caught in the wild. So either yours was young or a return from a customer, and it is likely the first if you got it from a tank full of tigers....

 

[tttnjfttt]

His size was 3", which is full grown.

Unfortunately, i've now got a better idea of how he died. The next week I found some of my fish had gill flukes, so i've been treating the tank for that since, and thankfully have had no more casualties.