Life span of Blue Gill and Sunfish

I was wondering how long they usually live in captivity? I've had them for a year and a half and the little ones have grown to a pretty good size. A couple of my Sculpins have gotten quite large.

Water quality seems excellent. I do 50% changes every ten days or so with a good gravel vacuuming in between. I also keep the filter media pretty clean. Aquaclear H.O.B. units.

I feed mainly raw shrimp and blood worms and let them eat until they stop. I'll be getting a load of crickets for them tomorrow.

Anyone know how long these critters can live?

I have aged wild sunfish and found bluegill that were as old as 8 or 9 years old. Many fish can often live longer in captivity because they do not have to deal with predators, hunting for food, or adverse weather conditions. I would not be surprised if some bluegille could live 15 years or more in captivity.

Something I have noticed with bluegill and longear that spawn frequently is that those that do it the most do not seem to live as long. Early on we had some males used as teasers that had the opportunity to spawn almost weekly for almost a solid year. Those same males seldom lived more than a year once spawning commenced. Wild males would require at least 3 natural breeding season to get in the same amount of action the teasers got. Immediate cause of mortality variable but generally speaking fish appeared exhausted and would not recondition even when isolated. Females may also suffer from similar problem. I do not rule possibility that our feeding regimen may also be factor such that better feeding might prolong life. Too much feding may also shorten life. Fish always a little on thin side (not obese as many of mine are) tend to live longer.

i have a female green sunfish i caught in the flint river in west georgia during the spring of 2001.
she's doing just fine.
she's also the meanest fish you ever saw.
tolerates no tank mates in a 30gallon with plenty of cover.
if she can't swallow it whole, she hounds it to death.

Most of what I read states 7-10 years as the average life expectancy of most sunfishes. While I agree that conditions in captivity could prolong life what Centrarchid says makes sense as well. The constant high water temperatures and year round urge to breed keep the fish in high gear so I wouldn't be surprised if that shortens their lifespan.

For fish and other vertebrates elevated levels of androgens and estrogens are poisonous, especially testosterone. It's the punk rock ethos: live fast, die young, leave a good looking body.

For fish and other vertebrates elevated levels of androgens and estrogens are poisonous, especially testosterone. It's the punk rock ethos: live fast, die young, leave a good looking body.

I've seen this in other species I've raised. I'm wondering if triploids would live linger and avoid this trap?

I've seen this in other species I've raised. I'm wondering if triploids would live linger and avoid this trap?

Probably, they wouldn't invest the same energy into reproduction and I would assume would have lower, more stable levels of reproductive steroid hormones.