Hi
When I first started my pool in 82 I stocked with some feeder GF all of which were consumed bt herons within weeks except one .He went on to survive until the flood of 06 I found him 3 houses away all dried up That was a bit over 22 years All his companions in the pool were tropical fish which were wiped out by the cold of 09 I stocked with some more feeder GF and to my knowledge have not lost a single one Guess the herons are dining in better locations.??
, The original 12 are now 102 but have no idea which if any are the originals lol GF can live a long time but IME seldom have a natural death lol
I try to keep records on my stock but always seem to lose them lol gary

I had some that were over ten years old when they were eaten by a heron or other bird. I never saw the culprit that time. He cleaned out my entire pond one winter except for a few babies that were still black/olive.

One reason older fish often die is because they are bigger and have higher oxygen requirements. If ponds are over stocked or pumps go out the bigger fish usually die first.

Check your ammonia and PH.

Mine are going on their 13th year !

I just lost two of beloved fancy buddies in the same week at the 17 Th year in my med. size outdoor waterfall pond. I've heard they can live up to 40 years.

Wish my had lived that long. My 3lb sweetie kept me happy for years.

I so sorry that you lost your fish. He is huge!

Goldfish usually live 5 years in a small aquarium, and can live up to 20 in a small pond. My pond (with a waterfall pouring from the top section to the bottom, is about 1,500 sq feet. Most of my fish are between 10 to 15 years old. I have never given them fish food, they eat whatever falls into the water from trees and vines. I have tubes in the bottom for them to hibernate or hide, and have two small fountains which keep a hole in the water during our occasional winter where the water freezes over. If they can't get nutrients from that hole - they simply hibernate. I live in NC....they are all normal goldfish.

How can u tell their age? I inherited a Pond when we bought this house and we keep losing fish about a month apart. Ive done everything from buying treatment testing water changed feeding times. Can anyone guest what could be the issue? I have no idea how long they been here but their all decent sized. Definitely not babies!

I have a hard time tracking my goldfish's age but I have two Koi that have been with me since 1998.

I live in zone 6 PA. Yesterday my husband saw a bald eagle fly off with a large yellow carp. Did't know that we had eagles in our area.

I just returned home from 4 days away and my beautiful 15 year old, 6-7 linch, ten cent feeder goldfish has died. I'm heartbroken. Every winter the pond has frozen over and he/she has survived. It rode in it's pond in the back of my pick up truck from southern California, to Oregon, 4 years ago. My sister came by and fed it 2 of the days that I was gone. I went out to feed it when I returned home tonight, and to my despair, it is floating. I feel like a bad, bad mom!