Hardest fish to keep & what is your oldest fish

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Copperband Butterfly for me.

Longest fish I had was a Green Spotted Puffer for almost 9 years. I also had a few Archer fishes for 5 years.

Longest actual saltwater fish would be a Stars and Stripes Puffer for 3 years. Kind of sad that for saltwater fish, the longest is 3 years He is still alive and well though with a friend in Florida. So he is about 6 or 7 years old now.

I would avoid many, many fish personally (mostly the usual suspects for hard to keep fish). Just not worth the effort or risk to keep them alive for. Many are better left in the ocean.

[EmilyB]

Black Blotch Trigger 11 years so far

Black back butterfly 9 years so far

I sold a yellow tang when it was 9, don't know if she is still around.

Lost many along the way unfortunately.

[reefy]

hardiest one for me would be Morish Idol
longest one that I have is my 2 perculas and pyjamas cardinal 3 years sinces I start salwater.

[marie]

my longest lived fish is my clarkii clown, I'll have had her 10 yrs in sept. The rest of my fish (with the exception of a few little guys and the copperband) I have had for at least 3 yrs

[untamed]

Copperband butterfly fish was the one fish that frustrated me because I couldn't keep it alive no matter what I tried. Never again. (unless someone provides me with one they have already kept for a year or more)

My best record is with a yellow-tail damsel - 13 years...and a convict damsel at 12 years. Both have passed away and I really believe they both just died of old age.

My current longest lived is a gold-striped maroon clown at almost 4 years.

[Trigger Man]

Copperband butterfly and Regal Angel fish were the hardest ones for me to try and in the end both slowly died away despite my best efforts.
The Achilles tang was the one that still has me confused, as it was great for over a month never showed ick, ate everything, had great color and then one day just died in a span of 5 hours, breathing heavy and slowly did the sideways thing, but no other fish or coral in the tank looked un normal and the water checked out perfectly when I tested it.
My longest living fish are currently a little over 2 years old (were introduced within 2 months of eachother) and are my Crosshatch trigger, Jumbo Chromis, Purcula Clownfish.

[xenon]

My true percula is 4years old and very easy to care for.

I tried 4 different copperband butterflies of all different sizes that were eating at the LFS before I brougt them home and none survived longer than 3weeks.

[JDigital]

Hardest fish for me to keep alive has been Clownfish... True Perculas, all of them.. I have basically decided that I won't keep clowns anymore, I've lost 5 of them in my time.. I don't know what it is about them or me, but they just do not survive more than a couple weeks.

I can't really comment on my longest lived fish, but all the fish in my current tank have an opportunity to take the title.

[mark]

7+ years with a Purple Tang. Got him as a SW rookie and tank was only up for abut 6 wks when I added him.

[naesco]

I have never been able to keep any of the following alive for any reasonable time. They just peter off and die for no apparent reason.

1. Any angel
2. Powder Blue, and Achilles tangs
3. Copperband Butterflyfish
4. Cleaner and Leopard Wrasse
5. Any anthias

I simply won't try them anymore because so many reefers have the same problem.

Longest Fish I have had

Betty- powder brown tang 11-13 years (died of old age.)