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I don't totally disagree with what you guys are saying. A lot of what you're saying sums up why this hobby often disappoints me and makes me feel guilty. That was a large part of the initial motivation for this list.
Do multiples of Blue tangs die an early death in the hands of aquarists, retailers, and wholesalers, absolutely. But give them a decent environment and they can thrive, at the same time do the same for a Moorish Idol and they more often than not die from slow starvation and/or other mysterious factors.
Keep in mind this was supposed to be a list for beginner to intermediate aquarists. It would be better if it listed the specifics of each species mentioned, however I wanted something that could be used as a quick reference and thrown in a purse or wallet. I was often frustrated when I went to the LFS and some guy was selling a Manadrin to a customer for their 30 gallon tank full of dead coral skeletons and damsels, or I'd see beautiful nonphotosynthetic corals lined up one after another knowing full well they were going to someone that hadn't the slightest clue what they were getting themselves in to. That was another part of my motivation.
The list I admit is in need of some organization and is a bit dated, I started it on aqualink some years ago, then it was published in a couple newsletters and some aquarists and even fish stores were using it. It's certainly not perfect, but my hope was that it might keep someone from buying that fish they were getting bad advice on from their LFS, or maybe the LFS would get some pressure from their customers if they were being irresponsible with their buying. It ended yp here because I wanted to be able to finish it off and get some more input on it. While I may have disagreed with some of the advice I've received, that by no means makes it unappreciated.
Perhaps you think this is a pointless thread, but my feeling is that if it keeps just one or two inexperienced hobbyists from buying a fish they are probably incapable of keeping alive then I think it has more of a purpose than many of the threads on these forums.
I know for fact that it's done that from responses I've gotten in the past and I hope it continues to do that.
The sad thing to me is that even on this site which is filled with a plethora of information and advanced aqaurists threads like "I just bought this, what is it and how do I care for it?" type of threads are still very common. It's also sad that this section of the forums isn't very popular, it seems many people could care less about the ethics of the hobby and simply look at their aquariums as a neat decoration. Then on top of that you've got some more advanced aquarists that insist on buying difficult species to challenge themselves, sometimes it's a good thing but often I just want to scream just leave it in the freaking ocean. I know I did it years back, I bought Goniopora, various nonphotosynthetic soft corals, difficult fish, etc; It was stupid and egotistical of me.
Since you brought up diving... I have been diving but have a friend that makes several trips around the world to go diving and makes it to Hawaii at least once a year. He also keep aquariums and has commented to me how sparse many of the fish around Hawaii and other places are getting compared to years ago. We have a very destructive hobby here, if you've ever been to the Phillipines you can see one of the worst examples of how destructive it can be. In recent years we've made some nice strides to be more responsible but this hobby still has a long long way to go before it's no longer considered destructive to the natural environment. I'm just trying to do something to help, even if it is considered "pointless" by some.
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