I would probably mark 1-2 years for the fancier breeds from the pet stores. Their genetics just aren't good, unfortunately. Both my Elephant Ear and my Rosetail were about 1 and a half and 2 years old. My Halfmoon is also about 1 and a half and is sadly looking like he's on his way out as well. But I guesstimate that my standard red veiltail over 2 years old and he's healthy as a horse and going strong.

 

That makes sense.

I think being used to dogs, 1-2 is just a 'baby' in my eyes. I guess they are just small fish though, like mice or other tiny animals which have a short life span.

I have a red veil tail, so hopefully he will live a happy and healthy 2+ years!

 

I have two of my boys from petco that are 3 years old. very lucky to still have them too. But they are showing their age as they lay about and having less color.

 

My old betta, Phil, lived for a little over 4 years. ( I got him sometime around 2002 or 2003). And I didn't know all that I know now about bettas - I did care for him regularly, but he lived in an unfiltered, unheated tank (which I would never do now). I imagine if I had given him a larger tank with the proper heater and filter setup, he might have lived longer.

He was a standard teal veiltail from the pet store. I'm not sure which store as he was a gift from my sister when I was in HS.

 

wow very nice age. well you live and learn. ya gotta make mistakes to learn. ^_^

 

My 2+ year old guy (a HMDT from petco) has recently developed a tumor he seems to be doing well though otherwise.

 

Same here. Sardine.. my 3 year old has a tumor I believe inside his swim bladder, that or it's his SBD kicking in more. but he moves just fine...

 

Before I knew how to properly care for a betta, I had one in a tiny, non-heated bowl for almost 4 years.
Once I started caring for them correctly, I've lost a lot of them- a few got dropsy, and others just seemed to die of old age, I guess. There were no other indications of sickness. I had had most of those for less than a year, though (I had a sorority and a few other males (separate tanks, of course) at the same time). I have one female left from the sorority and I've had her for about 2 and a half years.

 

My very first betta lived to be 4. Since then most Bettas I've had have lived about 2 years average. I'm not sure if it's just a coincidence, but my VT's have always seemed more hardy.

 

I agree that VTs seem much more robust than the other tail types. It seems like most of the time, when someone has a particularly long-lived fish it is not a HM. I am always curious as to how long fighter bred plakats live for, as they are purposefully bred to be resilient fish.

Genetics does play a large part in the longevity of these fish. It's like how some humans will live into their nineties, while others pass away before they even reach their twenties.

 

Wow, i always thought they lived to 3yrs average... now it seems like 2yrs is the average. Mine is a CT from a petstore though, I hope he lives long to attend my wedding... which is planned for maybe in 2-3 yrs time

 

Isn't it true that rosetail betta tend to have shorter lifespands due to inbreeding and genetics? Also, how old would you guess a betta purchased from Petco is?

 

I had a VT male from walmart that lived for 4 years in poor conditions My DeT is just about a year now, and seems like he just finished growing up! I can't imagine losing him in a year.

 

Why Is it looking like fish in unheated, unfiltered tanks live longer than those better cared for?

 

@islandgirl, that fish may have lived longer, but his quality of life was poor. He was always lethargic and inactive. I feel terrible looking back at that

 

It could be that we simply hear more about the fish that survive for years in these unheated bowls, than we hear about those that didn't. I mean if a person wants to justify their ignorance and crappy husbandry, of course they are going to talk about their successes and not their failures.

So it's difficult to know without some kind of hard numbers, just how many fish do survive in these unheated, 0.5 gallon bowls.

 

Very good point LittleBettaFish. (For the record, our fish are in a 3.5 and 5.5 heated cycled filtered tanks)
And thanks for clarifying Lilypad.
However, I wonder if there might be some science to the fish living longer ( not necessarily happier) in cooler water-- slower metabolism maybe? Have no intention of trying, just curious.....

 

That point has been brought up before on this forum (cool water slows the metabolism of the fish). I believe the pH can also drop in tanks where the water is not changed frequently. If the pH drops low enough, ammonia becomes much less harmful, which could perhaps explain why some fish are able to survive for such long periods of time being exposed to levels of ammonia that would kill anything else.

 

Really? That might explain a bit how those pet store fish survive so long in such filthy water....
Very interesting....sad....but interesting.
Thanks so much for your input, LittleBettaFish

 

I believe it is the case as I remember reading about it. I think so called 'Old Tank Syndrome' relates to a drop in pH in aquariums where maintenance has not been kept up.

However, I don't want to say with 100% certainty that this is exactly what happens as this isn't really an area of the hobby I have much interest in, and as such I only really know the basics.

 

My brothers red veil tail lived 4-5 years. Longest living betta we ever owned. Most of the other ones passed away around 2 years. The one I currently own (elephant ear half moon) I have had for two years and he seems to be doing well except for one bad eye. He can't see food at the top of the tank but he eats it off the bottom when it drops.

 

Thanks everyone, it has made for some interesting reading.

Someone I knew recently had their 20+ year old goldfish pass away, which is what made me think of the Betta fish life span. Very different fish I know, but the difference between 2 and 20 years is huge. So I was a little shocked!

I do wonder if poor conditions in breeding of pet store Betta plays any part. If they are bred in mass ( I assume it is like fish farming) and left in tiny unfiltered unheated tanks, that over time each generation becomes more hardy. Resulting in some really resilient Bettas. And as mentioned, the old tank syndrome playing it's part...

With that being said though, I am still very much all for quality of years, over quantity! I'm not going to knock of the heater and filter anytime soon, in hope I can get another couple of years out of my duo.
Fingers crossed all our little fishy friends will live as many happy years with us as possible :-D