Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Life expectancy of a fish...

What is the life expectancy of each species of fish? For example , I know white bass only live to be 4 or 5 yrs. old and die off . How old will a bluegill ,LMB or crappie get before he dies of natural death?

slabman welcome to the PB Forum. Life expectancy is highly variable depending on location (length of growing season). Because fish are cold blooded their metabolism slows when the water cools. The longer the cold water period the longer the slowdown (growth) so the longer that fish can live vs. his cousin in warmer water. This is somewhat offset by the faster growth rate during warm water periods in cooler climates. That is correct guys many northern fish grow at a faster rate than southern fish during the warm water period. The growth period is just much shorter. This assumes all other things (like food and genetics and water quality etc) are equal. For example LMB have been aged to 22 years IIRC up north but 10 is a good LE in the south. BG 12 yrs IIRC up north and a 6 yr old BG is old in the south.

One way to look at the LE/growth question is yearly growth is inversely related to life expectancy. If the yearly growth is fast then LE is shorter and vice versa.

Thanks for the input on that. So what if I take a huge 11 inch bluegill and put it in a newer pond with tremendous feed, will he keep on living and get even larger? I have 3 ponds in a row with different species and growth rates ,structure , age etc...Fred...