how long do they live?

[MFdiscus]

what is normal life expectiency of a discus' ? given daily water changes and feed several times a day, (homemade beefheart, bloodworms, colorbits and flake)

[bs6749]

With great care like that I'd expect 8-9 years would be a decent average. However, like anything there can be a wide range of life expectancy and you might see some "healthy" discus die at 4-5 years and you might see some live 12 years, but overall I'd expect in the ballpark of 8 years or so out of them.

[FastieFishRB03]

8-9, 10 at most.

[erikc]

From experience I will have to differenciate Wilds from Domestic strains.

I find that Wilds are longer lived than the domestic strains (I have a couple that are 8 years old and still going strong). I have heard of Wilds that will live up to eleven years (a Heckel).

As for domestics, well I've kept some for 6 years but otherwise I have no longer experience than that. However I have heard about a couple of Wayne's fish ( almost totally black from age, still spawning) that are about 9 years old. Wether it's true or not I can't tell.

Let's see what other people have to say .....