Oldest Dwelling Aquarium Fish Resides at San Francisco’s California Academy of Sciences – CBS San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Just beyond the jellyfish at the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park sits — or rather swims — Methuselah.

In the Bible, Noah’s grandfather Methuselah lived to be 969 years old. Methuselah the fish isn’t quite that old, but biologists from the California Academy of Sciences believe it’s about 90 years old and has no known living counterparts.

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Methuselah is a 4 foot long, 40 pound Australian lungfish.

Senior biologist Allan Jan feeds Methuselah, a 4-foot-long, 40-pound Australian lungfish brought to the California Academy of Sciences from Australia in 1938, in his tank in San Francisco, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff chiu)

You – possibly him; Biologists aren’t entirely sure – it’s thought to be the oldest captive Australian lungfish.

Methuselah arrived in San Francisco in 1938, when she was believed to be five years old. She lives a very gentle life in slow flowing 70 degree water; a bit like a lazy river.

“She needs a bit of space, calm water and a good diet,” said curator Charles Delbeek.

As for their diet, a fish of their advanced age has distinct preferences.

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“Earthworms, romaine lettuce and figs. She really likes sweet figs when they are in season. She doesn’t eat canned or frozen ones,” Delbeek told KPIX.

For the record, she also likes tummy rubs.

If you think her tank looks small, rest assured she likes it just the way it is. A few years ago biologists tried to put them in a larger tank with two other Australian lungfish – named Small and Medium – and Methuselah wasn’t a fan.

“When she was drafted there, she didn’t show good behavior. We decided at her age that it was better not to move her,” said Delbeek.

Researchers in Australia are trying to guess Methuselah’s exact age through DNA testing.

“We actually take a very small section, maybe less than a square millimeter of the actual fin. It’s a painless procedure – keep that in alcohol and then it’s shipped to Australia for testing,” explained Delbeek.

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But at her age a lady or a gentleman never says anything.