OK. My goldfish are 16 yrs old. how old can they get?

Answer 1

Usually the average age is about 20+, when they're well taken care of, which you've obviously been doing.. that's an impressive age for goldfish; Most people don't take that well of care of them. :)

Answer 2

Hi April, what wonderful news-you're obviously doing everything right, you have some lucky fish!! As many people have already quoted, one of the oldest recorded Goldfish was Tish who was won at a funfair in Thirsk, UK in 1956 & lived to be 43, passing away peacefully in 1999. His buddy Tosh, also from the same funfair living to be 19 years old which is no mean feat either-maybe it's something in the Yorkshire water!!

There's no reason why a healthy Goldfish, properly housed can't live 30+ years so your fishy friends have a long way to go yet. The very fact that they are such long-lived animals makes it even more of a tragedy that 99.9% of them never make it past a few months.

I'm sure everyone is interested so can you tell us a little about how big your fish are & what sort of set-up you have? Also what their names & are they very tame?

Answer 3

Goldfish can live 20+ years and koi can live 50-75+ years. No fish should die younger than 2-3 years old. If it does it means it was not properly taken care of. Fish are a long term commitment and to those who wow at the fact that a goldfish or betta has lived more than a year need to do your research before owning a pet of any kind!

Answer 4

Goldfish can live up to 20+ years if taken care of properly. The reason they only live a year is because a small bowl isnt the approprate home for a goldfish, They need 50 gallons of water each, So stop everyone saying other things when you dont have a clue what your talking about;

Answer 5

that's an old goldfish but i have heard of goldfish that live to be about 45 or so i guess your could get that old if you take really good CARE of it maybe if you get it really old then you can get into a record book for the worlds oldest goldfish

Answer 6

Good job!!! They can live into thier 40's, but this is rare. No one can predict how long yours will live. Just keep up what your doing and you tell us how long you can keep a goldfish alive! Most of the poor things don't last a month! You are an exceptional fish keeper!

Answer 7

UK

Oldest goldfish has his chips

Tish turned from orange to grey in his twilight years

The world's oldest captive goldfish has died peacefully in his bowl, 43 years after he was won as a prize at a funfair.
Tish the goldfish achieved fame late in life after being recognised by the Guinness Book of Records only last year.

He was found dead at the bottom of his bowl earlier this week after a short illness.

Tish was buried in a yoghurt carton at the bottom of his owner Hilda Hand's garden.

Golden oldie

Mrs Hand, 72, of Thirsk, North Yorkshire, said she had become close to Tish over the years.

"Goldfish are supposed to have a four-second memory, but I'm sure Tish recognised me," she said.

"He always knew when it was feeding time and I used to talk to him."

As word of Tish's longevity spread, he "became something of a celebrity", she said.

"People always used to ask how Tish was doing. I don't think we will be getting another one.

"We couldn't replace Tish, he was part of the family."

Mrs Hand's son, Peter, won Tish, along with another goldfish, Tosh, playing roll-a-penny at a funfair in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in 1956.

His parents took on the fish after Peter married and left home. Tosh died in 1975.

Piscean pensioner

In 1998 the fish took the longevity title from Fred, a Worthing goldfish who died in 1980 aged 41.

Although his age could not be verified by biological tests, the Guinness Book of Records investigators were persuaded there was nothing fishy about the claims and recognised his status.

In later life, Tish faded from bright orange to a distinguished silver, but remained healthy until shortly before his death.

Mr Hand said the secret of his long life was not being overfed, and being put in the sun occasionally.

The 11.5cm fish had a habit in his earlier days of trying to jump out of his bowl, and was kept safe by a net placed over the top.

Answer 8

When my kids were little I bought them a goldfish thinking it would live a few months and then that would be that. 8 years later he is still swimming. good luck with your fish friend. don't change anything your doing as this may cause your fish to go into shock and die. Don't change his location or foods or anything if you want him to keep on keepin' on.

Answer 9

They can live until they are 40. Those people who say they don't live at least a year, just kill babies because they can't even manage to take care of the easiest fish in the world to care for, and probably torture them to death in bowls. If it is a fancy goldie, it can live more likely 20 years but with good care longer. If your fishy has at least 20 gallons to swim in, he has a chance of living much longer. good luck!

Answer 10

The record now is 43: http://www.goldfishinfo.com/goldlife.htm

There's a claim of one that's 44, but the owners won't subject the fish (still alive) to the testing needed to confirm it's age: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_yorkshire/3397899.stm

That's the record fish, though. Just like the record for humans is 114, but most of us won't see that. Still. 20 wouldn't be unreasonable to expect. You must be taking excellent care of yours for them to have made it to 16, so who knows - maybe yours will set a new record.