Worm Line Pleco Life span

Hi there

I know that this is an open question depending on a lot of factors but can any one give me a rougth idea of the expected life span of a worm line pleco?

We got him about 3 years ago, full grown. At late he has been a bit sluggish.
No problems breathing, just seems a bit to relaxed!

All water paramitors are normal for the tank. No changes to cause stress is what i'm getting at.

Any help would be greatful. I'll put some fix it twins in and see if that gives him a lift.

Thanks for any time and help

c

Hope he gets well. I would guess at between 7-8years. just my rough gut feelings. cheers jk :thumbup:

no expert in defining whats a normal life expectancy... if we look at humans i think its about 75 years old... but a lot of us dont make it to that figure and some surpass it and make it beyond a 100....

so with plecos and the unknown its best to quote some known ages of comparable fish and come up with something based on fact....

i can tell you i have a colony of 397s close on 9 years maybe 10 years old now and they are still breeding - prob not as much as 5 years ago but still doing well...

heard of zebra plecs living to 20 years of age and also still breeding...

common plecos and gibbies have been known to live beyond 30 years....

i would put the wormline between zebs and common plecs/gibbiies as it seems the bigger the pleco the longer lived it can be....

so it doesnt really give you a definite answer but maybe an idea :thumbup:

growth rate?

hi there,

thank you so much to both of you.

The answers were exactly what i was hoping for and the logic is sound.

It got me thinking - which is always strange

What is the average growth rate in good water conditions for this size pleco? Im just trying to figure out his approx age, which i know is part guess!

he is actually looking a bit better! fingers crossed. His name is reid and he really is part of the family!

thanks again

No offense to anyone but this is all so much speculation that all of it should be taken with a grain of salt. You can't put an average on these types of things as there is simply too little research. You could easily tell by disecting specimens of the fish but then there hasn't been enough to say anything meaningful.

In some circumstances populations of animals can obtain better growth in the wild then they can in captivity because they may have specilized needs that are difficult to duplicate in captivity. In other instances, captive populations can get better growth because they simply have an easier life. This could also lead to a shorten life in some instances though. Overfed, under excersized fish, much like humans, can become obese and have health complications associated with obesity. This can lead to an overall shorter than average life expectancy. You can gain rapid growth in animals by feeding them high levels of protiens, steroids or growth hormones but these wouldn't be expected to be the longest lived or healthiest specimens. Finally, without doing necropsies on dead individuals you can't truely say whether captive fish have reached their age-limits or simply perished from some other factor. So while possibly interesting conversation its truely meaningless speculation at best.

I have a female worm line plec (Peckoltia braueri) which was shown as a full size fish 11 years ago. It was probably at least 3 or 4 years old then,so could be 15 years old now. It's still a stunning fish in perfect condition. I just need a male!