Has anyone ever had a pet Cichlid before? I've had one for almost 4 years now, the longest I've ever managed to keep a fish alive. And this fish seems almost incapable of dying! I've gone almost an entire week before without feeding the poor thing and my son once tried to "pet" the fish and the fish ended up flopping out of his hands and was lost behind a paint can on the floor for at least an hour. When I finally found it, it was covered in dust and not moving and I thought for sure it was dead but I threw it back in its tank and it instantly started swimming around again! I couldn't believe it! Do I just have the world's most hardy fish or does anyone else have a similarly tough pet cichlid?
Depend on the actual species, some Cichlids can live up to 15 years or more.
Most fish can go without food for 3 weeks or more, thus one week without food is easy. It is nothing special. Even we humans can live for more than 3 weeks without food, and fish use even less energy to maintenance themselves because they do not have body heat.
Yes, some fish can live for a long time out of the water. The number one cause for fish dying out of the water was their own panicking. They often try to desperately flip around on the ground and injury themselves in process. If they just stay still, they can live for much longer without water.
Interesting! Thank you for the information. I can't imagine owning a fish for 15 years, although I suppose it is a relatively low maintenance pet. Although I'm not entirely sure how accurate your statement is that the number one reason fish die out of water is because they injure themselves, I believe it's more likely that it's because they can't breathe. As someone that is an avid fisherman, even fish that are safely nestled in my fishing bag die rather quickly once they're out of the water. In any case, I'm glad my fish seems to be somewhat hardy!
That's incredible! I can't imagine having a fish for 25 years, nevermind the one that the article claimed was over 200 years old and passed from generation to generation!
Generally speaking, the bigger fish, the longer they can live. I have heard people say koi fish can live up to 200 years. Not sure if it is true, but surely it takes a long time for them to reach adulthood. Goldfish can typically live for decades under good care. These above fish are large. Some smaller fish can also live for quite a while, corydoras catfish is what coming up in my mind. They are said to be able to stay with you for two to three decades if you do everything right, not bad for something 2.5~3 inch long.
It all comes down to how you care for your fish. Well maintained aquarium (lightly stocked tank with clean water, good biological filtration, regular partial water change, etc.) plus high quality and balanced diet, you can expect your fish live longer than what the book say.
My! Your fish certainly seems a resilient one - I'd hold onto that one Honestly, the longest I've had a fish live is about a year. Then, we found that somehow the bowl in which the fish was kept had received a crack, and the water was leaking out. We made an emergency transfer into an old fish tank in which my younger sister had once kept her betas. Leaving the fish safe in it's temporary tank, we hurried to town to get a new fish tank to put him in that was more suited to his needs. By the time we got home, however, he was floating belly up Apparently the tank had something in it that was toxic to my fish, and so he died.
That was a couple years ago, and I'm looking to start over with a new fish soon - hopefully this one will break my old record I'm hoping that my fish will be as tough as yours, and live to a ripe old age!
Honestly, the longest I've had a fish live is about a year. Then, we found that somehow the bowl in which the fish was kept had received a crack, and the water was leaking out. We made an emergency transfer into an old fish tank in which my younger sister had once kept her betas. Leaving the fish safe in it's temporary tank, we hurried to town to get a new fish tank to put him in that was more suited to his needs. By the time we got home, however, he was floating belly up 
Apparently the tank had something in it that was toxic to my fish, and so he died. 
I'm hoping that my fish will be as tough as yours, and live to a ripe old age!