Clownfish Lifespan

[Bartman]

Howdy,

My Oscellaris clown stopped eating the other day and has begun hiding/lying in rock cracks in low flow areas. I haven't added anything to the tank in over 6 months, water params are all good, there's not a mark on him and all my other fish, which are older, are fine. What is the life expectancy for a clown? I've had him about 2 1/2 years. It may be my imagination but his eyes look a little bugged out. This has been going on for about 2 days now. Any thoughts?

Thanks for the help,
Scott.

[IslandReefer]

If the clown was wild caught there maybe no way to know how old he (she) is, since he could have been a nonsexed small fish for years. On the good side, I have read that clowns have been kept in aquariums up to 30 years, but my oldest is only about 4yrs old.
I lost a small male exactly they way you discribe it ....he just got bloated, a little, quit eating and died....my guess was some sort of intestinal block...he was a pig and would eat mysis untill he couldn't move .....just my guess ....good luck

[rickjames]

One of my clowns eye bugged out, and then he seemed to loose control of his nervous system. Sat at the top of the water for two weeks swimming on his side until I had to euthanize him. Tried everything, couldn't get him to eat. But i did seem a guy on Reefcentral with a 20+ year old clown.