Fish

Fish are gill-breathing aquatic vertebrates and include two very different groups here: cartilaginous sharks and rays, and bony fish. They hold several records, including the longest-lived vertebrate, the Greenland shark, and the largest fish, the whale shark. Swimming speeds are hard to measure in open water and older record claims are often exaggerated, so the speeds given are conservative, well-supported figures.

23 fish, grouped by taxonomic order. Tap an animal for full facts.

Acipenseriformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Beluga Sturgeon Huso huso	50–100 years	19–264 kg (42–582 lb)	—	CR

Anabantiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Betta Fish Betta splendens	2–5 years	about 2–5 g (0.07–0.18 oz)	—	VU

Blenniiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Ocellaris Clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris	6–10 years	about 10–25 g (0.35–0.9 oz)	—	LC

Carcharhiniformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Bull Shark Carcharhinus leucas	12–16 years	90–230 kg (200–500 lb)	about 40 km/h (25 mph)	VU
Great Hammerhead Shark Sphyrna mokarran	20–30 years	230–450 kg (500–1,000 lb)	—	CR
Tiger Shark Galeocerdo cuvier	an estimated 30–50 years	385–635 kg (850–1,400 lb)	about 32 km/h (20 mph)	NT

Centrarchiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides	10–16 years	0.5–4.5 kg (1–10 lb)	—	LC

Characiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Red-Bellied Piranha Pygocentrus nattereri	about 10 years	0.5–3.5 kg (1.1–7.7 lb)	—	NE

Cypriniformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Goldfish Carassius auratus	10–15 years	100–500 g (3.5 oz–1.1 lb)	—	Domestic
Koi Cyprinus rubrofuscus	25–35 years	4–12 kg (9–26 lb)	—	Domestic

Cyprinodontiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Guppy Poecilia reticulata	2–3 years	about 0.1–1 g (under 0.04 oz)	—	LC

Gymnotiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Electric Eel Electrophorus electricus	about 15 years	up to about 20 kg (44 lb)	—	LC

Istiophoriformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Indo-Pacific Sailfish Istiophorus platypterus	typically 4–5 years, up to about 13	30–100 kg (65–220 lb)	about 30–36 km/h (19–22 mph)	VU
Swordfish Xiphias gladius	9–15 years	70–300 kg (150–660 lb)	roughly 36–54 km/h (22–34 mph)	NT

Lamniformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Great White Shark Carcharodon carcharias	an estimated 40–70 years	520–1,100 kg (1,150–2,400 lb)	about 40 km/h (25 mph)	VU

Myliobatiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Giant Manta Ray Mobula birostris	an estimated 40–45 years	about 1,200–2,000 kg (2,650–4,400 lb)	about 14–35 km/h (9–22 mph)	EN

Orectolobiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Whale Shark Rhincodon typus	an estimated 80–130 years	about 9,000–18,000 kg (20,000–40,000 lb)	3–5 km/h (2–3 mph)	EN

Salmoniformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar	5–8 years	3.5–9 kg (8–20 lb)	—	NT
Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss	4–6 years	0.5–3.6 kg (1–8 lb)	—	NE

Scombriformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Thunnus thynnus	20–40 years	225–400 kg (500–880 lb)	roughly 36–54 km/h (22–34 mph)	LC

Squaliformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Greenland Shark Somniosus microcephalus	an estimated 250–500 years	about 300–1,000 kg (660–2,200 lb)	1.2–2.6 km/h (0.8–1.6 mph)	VU

Syngnathiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Lined Seahorse Hippocampus erectus	1–4 years	about 5–20 g (0.2–0.7 oz)	—	VU

Tetraodontiformes

Animal	Lifespan	Weight	Top speed	Status
Ocean Sunfish Mola mola	unknown; estimated at 10–20+ years	247–1,000 kg (545–2,200 lb)	about 3.2 km/h (2 mph)	VU

Rankings

Fastest Animals in the World Fastest Land Animals Fastest Birds Fastest Sea Animals and Fish Longest-Living Animals

Other animal classes

Mammals Birds Reptiles Amphibians Invertebrates