Stumbled across this paper and it obviously needed posting. Pretty fascinating info on the life expectancies of tangs:
Recent research uncovered a surprising split-phase or biphasic pattern in life expectancies in Surgeon fish. Instead of having the expected "catch at age" gradual decline in numbers as fish age, they found a faster than expected dieoff initially then a slower than expected dieoff past a certain age. This gave population turnover rates two to four times faster than previously believed. Researchers noted "grow fast - die young" only partially explains the why this is happening.
So it seems, as aquarists some of the unexpected deaths we see as our tangs age might be due to variables out of our control. We may have individuals that can live decades but 10-15 years is a more realistic expectation for most.
Recent research uncovered a surprising split-phase or biphasic pattern in life expectancies in Surgeon fish. Instead of having the expected "catch at age" gradual decline in numbers as fish age, they found a faster than expected dieoff initially then a slower than expected dieoff past a certain age. This gave population turnover rates two to four times faster than previously believed. Researchers noted "grow fast - die young" only partially explains the why this is happening.
So it seems, as aquarists some of the unexpected deaths we see as our tangs age might be due to variables out of our control. We may have individuals that can live decades but 10-15 years is a more realistic expectation for most.
