SCUBA QUIZ: What Is The Oldest Fish?

The age of fish, especially of those we eat, is important for keeping a population healthy. Do you have any idea how you can guess their age? Try this quiz and discover how old various fish species get.

The age of marine life species, especially of those we eat, is important for keeping a population healthy. There needs to be a balance with young and adult fishes to keep the stock reproductive. Watch the video about Fish Sanctuaries (scroll down) to learn more about this.

To determine the age of marine life species the easiest (but not very accurate) way is to look at the size. Just like humans fish grow older with age, the bigger the older in general. A more accurate way is to look at the inner ear bone of fish (called a otolith), it contains year-rings similar to a tree. Of course this can only be researched when the fish is no longer alive, but it is quite impressive - don't you think?

Can you guess the average maximum age of these species in the wild?

1. 

   Parrotfish 1-10 years 10-20 years 20-30 years 30-40 years 40-50 years 50-60 years 60-70 years 70-80 years 80-90 years 90-100 years

2. 

   Lionfish 1-10 years 10-20 years 20-30 years 30-40 years 40-50 years 50-60 years 60-70 years 70-80 years 80-90 years 90-100 years

3. 

   Clownfish 1-10 years 10-20 years 20-30 years 30-40 years 40-50 years 50-60 years 60-70 years 70-80 years 80-90 years 90-100 years

4. 

   Queen Angelfish 1-10 years 10-20 years 20-30 years 30-40 years 40-50 years 50-60 years 60-70 years 70-80 years 80-90 years 90-100 years

5. 

   Whale shark (yes, it is a fish!) 1-10 years 10-20 years 20-30 years 30-40 years 40-50 years 50-60 years 60-70 years 70-80 years 80-90 years 90-100 years

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