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#51
05/12/2005, 01:51 AM
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I would disagree with a couple of things on your list, but still think it is a valuable resource and very thought provoking as well.
Bicolour Angels - Can be hard to get feeding but once they do are very hardy - mine was taught to eat prepared foods by a tang added a couple of months after it! Until that time it only ate from the rockwork of my 90g. Sun Corals - Yes they need to be fed, but as long as you are prepared to do so, I don't see why they would be inappropriate for beginners. Goniopora - to write off the whole species is a bit excessive IMO. The golfball types yes, however the encrusting types seem to do well long term in my and my associates experience. The goni debate is one that I find interesting - yes most of the golfball types will not survive past about 18 months, but most beginners will have about the same success. There are far more rare corals that a beginner is likely to kill well short of that mark. What's better for a beginner to purchase, a common coral that will in all likelyhood last a fairly long time, or a rarer coral that they may well cause to die in very short order? There is certainly no black and white there.... and I'm still not sure where I stand on it either. cheers Paul |
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#52
05/12/2005, 04:58 PM
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Well......lets see whats left...........................well apparently...unless your a expert...you can only have Damsels.........no inverts...and..........ummmm......F*ck it...just buy the windows xp screensaver...
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#53
05/31/2005, 07:39 PM
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I was surprised to see blue chromis on the list. Are blue chromis less hardy then the green? That was a fish I was considering....
In all seriousness-- I think there might be some benefit for producing lists of fish that ARE recommended for beginners/ intermediate reefkeepers. I think the list would be a lot smaller. |
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#54
05/31/2005, 10:25 PM
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Not a direct comment on an animal appearing on the list, but I think its important to keep in mind what it means to 'successfully' keep an animal. Im reminded of a particular customer of mine who insists that large angelfish cannot be kept in captivity for long periods of time, and that the longest hes ever owned one was about 2.5 years. He truely thinks that 2 years is a very successful thing. On the other hand, my store has an Annularis/Blue Ring Angelfish that weve had since 1987- and she was a full adult when she came in. I personally consider That to be successful.
Its interesting that so many non-aquatic animals can be kept alive and healthy in captivity much longer than their wild counterparts, but with fish and corals their lifespans seem to be much much shorter than they naturally would be left in the wild. All that aside, Ive been very successful in keeping: Bicolor Angelfish (though this success is recent within the last couple years), Valencianna sp., Genicanthus lamark/melaspinosus/watanabei, Anthis species including squamipinnis, dispar, and bartlett's, trumpetfish, and anglers/sargassums/frogfish. Regal angelfish from the Red Sea, rather than the pacific/indonesia, seem to adapt rather well. Imperator angels have become nearly impossible to keep over the last 2-3 years. Bangaii/Borneo Cardinals seem to be getting more difficult except for the captive bred ones. Ive never had issues with grunts or twinspot gobies. Anywho, this is my personal experience- anyone/everyone elses could be different. |
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#56
06/04/2005, 12:08 AM
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I would agree with your list as a general list for avoidance. An "OK fish list" would come under much more scrutiny.
Kole tang (Ctenochaetus strigosus)- This was probably my fourth fish ever bought, and bought when I had about two months experience. At 3", it survived in my 50 gallon with no specialty feeding or any direct attention for that matter, until it grew nearly an inch, and was given back to a LFS to trade for a juvenille Zebrasoma Desjardinni(spelling) which died after three days. Bottom line, these guys are everywhere and are generally hardy from any accounts I have heard or seen. They are known to nip at coral polyps from time to time.(though mine never did) And the blue chromis, I have not had them for over six months like some say the sex changes and fighting will happen then, but they have perfect tankmates, aside from being stung by the RBTA. So from my limited experience, these two guys are pretty hardy and easy to keep.
__________________
Slave to the Tank |
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#57
06/05/2005, 12:35 PM
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Don't get me wrong--- I appreciate the time spent by Peter Eichler
who put together this list, and others who have weighed in to help refine it. For a lot of beginners, I think, it can be difficult to figure out which fish would be good companions in whatever size tank they have. Almost every fish out there has some caveat or drawback that would keep it from being the 'perfect' tankmate. It seems I read a lot of posts about how a particular fish is troublesome, but don't often read about fish that would be good in a small- medium tank. The list of fish that I feel would work okay in my tank (55 gallon) is really small. |
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#58
06/09/2005, 04:06 PM
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What about the blue or regal tang? IME they are ich prone, but would like to try again.
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Kay |
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#59
07/06/2007, 09:48 AM
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Made some quick changes and I'm going to try to make some more changes and spruce it up a little this weekend
 I think I've only been working on this for the last 12 years. Sadly it hasn't changed a whole lot from the original list... I know, I'm a slacker  Fish To Be Avoided: (fish with incredibly low survivability in aquaria) Moorish idol Regal angelfish (Red Sea Specimens tend to be hardier and more willing to accept prepared foods) Rock beauty Bicolor angelfish (Often caught with drugs and generally a poor feeder) Centropyge multifasciatus Holacanthus venusta Most Anthias Clown tang (VERY ich prone and a finicky eater, horrible survival rates, when they do live they can be quite mean) Clown sweetlips Pinatus and tiger teira batfish (batavianus) Orange spotted filefish (specialized coral polyp feeder) Most butterlyfish (except those listed below) Ribbon eels (rarely eat in captivity) Cleaner wrasses (specialized aparsite feeder, leave them in the ocean where they can do their job) Twinspot goby Sleeper gobies (Valenciennea sp.) (Often starve to death even when accepting prepared foods) Tilefish (VERY timid and difficult to get to eat, also excellent carpet surfing) Rays Parrotfish (too large for most tanks and certainly not reef safe) Grunts Anampses spp. wrasses Leopard wrasses (Macropharyngodon spp.) Pseodojuloides wrasses (very dificult to keep alive, they almost always die in transit so you don't see them very often if ever) Tassled filefish Jacks Drums Trumpetfish Remoras Chambered nautilus Fish Best Left For Experienced Hobbyists: (finicky nature, parasite prone, specialty feeders, require specialty tanks or threatened species) Genicanthus sp. angelfish (hardy once acclimated, but lots of problem specimens due to the depths they are usually caught at) Catalina gobies (coldwater species) Garibaldi (coldwater species and protected) Trunkfish (box and cowfish) (most are rather sensitive and can release tocins when stresed or dying) Clown and Gumdrop gobies (once established a good surviver with less boisterous fish) Radiata lionfish Fu manchu lion Dwarf zebra lion Anglerfish Mandarin dragonet (requires large amounts of live food typically which can be provided naturally in 50+ gal. tanks with a good amount of live rock) Most large angels (require large aquariums and often specialized feeders) Acanthurus sp. tangs (ich prone) Ctenochaetus tangs (ich prone, some of the hardier tangs once established) All butterflyfish (except vagabond, longnose, Heniochus, golden, pebbled, Klein's, Lemon, Auriga and Racoon, which need large tanks) Sea horses Seadragons Pipefish Anthias (require a good amount of swimming room, peaceful tankmates, and frequent feedings, often unhealthy and starving by the time they make it to dealers tanks) Blue chromis (someone want to remind me why this is here? )Longnose hawkfish (jumper) Octopus Cuttlefish Porcupine pufferfish (very disease prone) Fairy wrasses (Paracheilinus and Cirrilabrus spp.) Dragon wrasse Red coris wrasse Red sailfin blenny Striped blenny Scooter blenny Sandhopper Jawfish (require tanks set up with their needs in mind) Undulated triggerfish (unless housed by themselves) Convict tang (very aggressive) Fish That Require Huge Aquariums (200 gallons or more): Sharks (require much larger than 200 gal., Nurse sharks can grow to 14ft. long!) Most groupers (especially panther groupers) Parrotfish Snappers Naso spp. tangs (however, they can be slow growers) Moray eels (large species) Garden eels Soldierfish Orbi and spade batfish Twinspot wrasse (Coris aygula) (beginners take special note of this one) Flounder Venomous Species: Stonefish (can be deadly) Lionfish Rabbitfish Scorpionfish Coral cats Bluering Octopus (can be deadly) Toadfish Inverts To Be Avoided Or Better Left To Experts: Non-photosynyhetic corals and Gorgonids (sun polyps, carnation, devils hand, etc.) Christmas tree worms Goniopora sp. Feather stars Basket stars Crown of thorns (duh )Linkia stars Many wild small-polyped scleractinian corals that are not frags Sea apples Sea pens Giant Xenia Sea slugs and Nudibranchs (very few exceptions) Flame scallop Anemones (see below) Bright yellow anemones {dyed; most anemones have no business being in reef aquariums and usually should be placed in specialty tanks) Harlequin, clown shrimp (specialty diets) Camel, mechanical shrimp (Not reef safe but often sold as as such) Elegance coral (recent poor survival) Red serpent starfish Tubipora musica (organ pipe, usually hacked off from a larger colony) |
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#61
07/06/2007, 11:59 AM
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Quote:
By the way, I took Bangaii Cardinals off the list. Does anyone know if they're still protected ( I highly doubt it) and if they still have mass mysterious die offs when acclimated to new surroundings? I'm thinking maybe I was a little hasty with that one... |
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#62
07/07/2007, 02:46 AM
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Fish To Be Avoided: (fish with incredibly low survivability in aquaria)
Moorish Idol (a few success stories but miniscule amounts live long, difficult feeder, mystery deaths, and even when feeding often slowly starves) Holacanthus tricolor [Rock Beauty] (nearly impossible to meet the dietary needs in home aquaria) Centropyge heraldi (almost always caught using drugs) Centropyge multifasciatus Centropyge venusta Clown tang (VERY ich prone and a finicky eater, horrible survival rates, when they do live they can be quite mean) Clown Sweetlips Oriental Sweetlips Platax pinnatus [Pinnatus Batfish] (gorgeous fish when young, very very few success stories) Platax batavianus [Tiger Tiera Batfish] Orange Spotted Filefish (specialized coral polyp feeder) Most Butterlyfish (except those listed below) Ribbon Eels (rarely eat in captivity) Snake Eels Garden Eels Cleaner Wrasses (specialized parasite feeder, leave them in the ocean where they can do their job) Anampses sp. Wrasses (VERY poor shippers and need tanks with their special needs in mind, even then they often perish) Leopard (Macropharyngodon) Wrasses (see above but there are more success stories, must be kept in reef aquariums) Pseodojuloides Wrasses (very dificult to keep alive, they almost always die in transit so you don't see them very often if ever) Parrotfish Tilefish (VERY timid and difficult to get to eat, also excellent at carpet surfing) Rays Grunts Jacks Drums Trumpetfish Remoras Chambered Nautilus ( a plethora of reasons to leave them in the ocean, not a single good reason to add one to an aquarium) Fish Best Left For Experienced Hobbyists: (finicky nature, parasite prone, specialty feeders, require specialty tanks or threatened species) Anthias (some can do fairly well when kept with less aggressive fish, others require special tanks with their needs in mind) Twinspot Anthias (the anthias here are borderline, but I feel the overly finicky and difficult nature of these two deserve special notice) Square Anthias (collection methods and stress after collection seem to be especially problematic) Platax tiera (can ve hardy once acclimated but can be problems feeds, stress easily, and are disease prone) Regal Angelfish (Red Sea Specimens tend to be hardier and more willing to accept prepared foods and the more recent trend to keep this fish in reef aquariums helps with survivability) Bicolor Angelfish (concerns with drugs used in collection and unwillingness to accept prepared foods) Genicanthus sp. angelfish (hardy once acclimated, but lots of problem specimens due to the depths they are usually caught at) Garibaldi (coldwater species and protected) Trunkfish [Box and Cowfish] (most are rather sensitive and can release toxins when stresed or dying) Clown and Gumdrop gobies (poor shipper, once established a good surviver with less boisterous fish) Catalina gobies (coldwater species that will not do well longterm in tropical temps) Mandarin dragonettte (requires large amounts of live food typically which can be provided naturally in 50+ gal. tanks with a good amount of live rock) Radiata Lionfish Fu manchu Lionfish (All the dwarf Lions require something bordering a species tank, the later two are also very sensitive) Dwarf Zebra Lionfish Anglerfish (many get very large and can consume fish enarly their own size) Acanthurus sp. tangs (ich prone, Achilles, Powder Blue, Powder Brown, and Goldrim are rather finicky and beginners should be especially leary) Ctenochaetus tangs (ich prone, some of the hardier tangs once established, the Chevrom being the least hardy) All Butterflyfish (except vagabond, longnose, Heniochus, golden, pebbled, Klein's, Lemon, Auriga and Racoon, which need large tanks) Seahorses (need species tanks and special diets) Seadragons (very rare and I'm unaware of and longtern success) Pipefish (see Seahorses) Anthias (require a good amount of swimming room, peaceful tankmates, and frequent feedings, often unhealthy and starving by the time they make it to dealers tanks) Longnose hawkfish (jumper and be careful with ornamental shrimp) Octopus (must have species tanks, lots of swimming room, and should probably be on the above list) Cuttlefish (similar to Octopus, but slightly higher success rates) Squid Porcupine pufferfish (very disease prone) Fairy wrasses [Paracheilinus and Cirrilabrus sp.] (require peaceful tanks and do best in reef aquariums, they stress and the first few weeks in captivity will often make or break their longevity) Leopard Blenny [Exallias brevis] (specialized coral feeders) Scooter Blenny (see Mandarin Dragonettes) Lawnmower Blenny (will sometimes not accept prepared foods and will starve to death in tanks without a natural algae food source) Sandhopper Sleeper gobies (Valenciennea sp.) (Often starve to death even when accepting prepared foods, tanks with large sandbeds containing lots of food will help as will frequent feedings when they will eat, mated pairs may help) Rainford's Goby (often will not accept prepared foods, need established tanks with a sandbed full of life) Twinspot Goby (mated pairs in large tanks with established sandbeds will help) Bangaii/Borneo Cardinals [Pterapogon kauderni] Fish That Require Huge Aquariums (200 gallons or more) Sharks (require much larger than 200 gal. and should just be left out of home aquaria, Nurse sharks can grow to 14ft. long!) Most Groupers (especially take note of the cute little Panther Groupers) Snappers (those cute little Red Emperor Snappers get big) Naso sp. Tangs (Many will even outgrow common sizes like 125 gal. aquariums) Moray Eels (large species) Soldierfish Orbi and Spade Batfish Twinspot wrasse (Coris aygula) (beginners take special note of these three as they're often offered as cute juveniles, they get very large and very mean) Red coris wrasse Dragon wrasse Flounder Tassled filefish (often offerer when cute and tiny) Many Large Angels (when purchasing any angelfish that isn't Centropyge be sure to check their ultimate size: take special note of the FRench, Gray, Blue, and Queen whcih are often offered as cute little juvenilles) Venomous Species Stonefish (can be deadly) Lionfish Rabbitfish Scorpionfish Coral Catfish (these also get up to a foot long and no longer school once larger) Bluering Octopus (can be deadly) Toadfish Extremely Aggressive Species Undulated Trigger (the meanest auqarium fish available in all likelyhood) Queen Triggerfish (not quite as bad as the Undulated, but pretty close and they get very large) Clown Triggerfish (pretty similar in demeanor to the above two) Blueline Trigger (not so bad when young but a beast once it grows, perhaps the least aggressive of the four) Passer Angelfish (probably the meanest of all Angelfish, I've seen them takeover tanks) Damselfish (they're not all bad, but once for once some of them are the meanest fish around, think twice about adding them as some of your first specimens) Maroon Clownfish (females get quite large and they can get quite mean and bully any tankmates that dare come close, they're also probably the least tolerant of other clown species) Sohal Tang (hardier than the Clown Tang but just about as mean, probably best to keep them as the lone Tang and if you must keep one in a community reef tank make it your last fish addition) Inverts To Be Avoided Or Better Left To Experts: Non-photosynyhetic corals and Gorgonids [Sun polyps, Carnation, Devils Hand, Chili Coral, etc.] (if it's a soft coral and not green or brown in part and is very vividly colored odds are it's non-photosynthetic and requires more small particles of food than most aquarists are willing to provide. The only non photosynthetic stoney corals frequently seen are Tubastrea sp., frequent feedings of meatier foots can lead to success) Christmas Tree Worms (filters feeders that rarely live long in home aquaria) Goniopora sp. (some strides have been made but still miserably low survival rates) Feather stars (require huge amounts of flow and large amounts of tiny planktonic organisms) Basket stars Crown of thorns (duh )Linkia stars (disease issues and poor acclimation to aquarium life, problem feeders as well) Wild small-polyped scleractinian (SPS) corals that are not frags (wild colonies can be particularly adapted to flow and light from their natural environment and often do poorly once in aquaria) Sea Apples (often slowly waste away in starve to death if not offered large amounts of food appropriate for filter feeders, also chances of toxins being released and possibly killing other organisms) Sea Pens (still offered in the aquarium trade and very poor survival for this filter feeder) Giant Xenia (this one rarely does well once established and like most other xenia does not ship well) Sea Slugs and Nudibranchs (very few exceptions) Flame Scallop (filter feeders that usually waste away in home aquaria) Anemones (most anemones should be placed in specialty tanks and also have very poor survival rates) Bright yellow anemones (dyed; and done most commonly with Sebae, but also seen with Long Tentacle and Carpet anemones far less frequently ) Harlequin/Clown Shrimp (must have live feeder starfish to survive) Camel/Mechanical shrimp (Not reef safe but often sold as as such) Elegance Coral (recent poor survival possibly due to a disease, other factors might relate to them coming from higher nutrient environments) Red Serpent Starfish Organ Pipe Coral [Tubipora Musica] (often hacked off from a larger colony, recent survival seems better than in the past) Large Sponges (often hacked off from large colonies of their rock base, also exposed to air for too long which leads to their demose, bright orange and yellow colors are common) Special Notes Clownfish [Amphiprion sp.] (various species often acclimate poorly to aquarium life and sugger greatly from collection stress, I've seen estimates that as little as five percent of those collected live to be in home aquaria, when possible buy tank raised specimens) Bangaii/Borneo Cardinals [Pterapogon kauderrni] (rather limited in range and rumors of an unsustainable population if the current rate of collection continues, there are also stories of poor survival after collection) Tangs (should have larger aquarium to provide them plenty of swimming room, no you a tang is not suitable for your nano cube or 29 gallon tank, when small 3'-4' aquariums can be suitable though not recommended by many, just be sure you're planning an upgrade in the near future as they can grow fast) Zoanthids (some of these can contain Palytoxin which can be quite dangerous and make you very sick, it's not always the case but if you want to err on the side of caution rubber gloves are a good idea when handling them as are goggles when fragging them) |
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#64
07/07/2007, 03:00 PM
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Edits
Fish To Be Avoided: (fish that have incredibly low survivability in aquaria or are totally unsuitable for home aquaria) Moorish Idol (a few success stories but miniscule amounts live long, difficult feeder, mystery deaths, and even when accepting prepared foods often slowly starves) Holacanthus tricolor [Rock Beauty] (nearly impossible to meet the dietary needs in home aquaria) Centropyge heraldi (almost always caught using drugs) Centropyge multifasciatus (this and the venusta are very similar, they don't adapt to aquarium life well, and both seem particularly prone to Lymphocystis) Centropyge venusta Clown tang (VERY ich prone and a finicky eater, horrible survival rates, when they do live they can be quite mean) Clown Sweetlips(difficult feeders and get quite large) Oriental Sweetlips Platax pinnatus [Pinnatus Batfish] (gorgeous fish when young, very very few success stories, diet and disease are big issues) Platax batavianus [Tiger Tiera Batfish] (see above) Orange Spotted Filefish (specialized coral polyp feeder) Most Butterlyfish (except those listed below) Ribbon Eels (rarely eat in captivity) Snake Eels Garden Eels Cleaner Wrasses (specialized parasite feeders, leave them in the ocean where they can do their job) Anampses sp. Wrasses (VERY poor shippers and need tanks with their special needs in mind, even then they often perish) Leopard (Macropharyngodon) Wrasses (see above but there are more success stories, must be kept in reef aquariums) Pseodojuloides Wrasses (very sensitive, they almost always die in transit so you don't see them very often if ever) Parrotfish Tilefish (VERY timid and difficult to get to eat, also excellent at carpet surfing) Sharks Rays Skates Grunts Jacks Drums Trumpetfish Remoras (unless you have a large Shark or Whale in your backyard oceanarium probably not a good idea) Chambered Nautilus ( a plethora of reasons to leave them in the ocean, not a single good reason to add one to an aquarium) Fish Best Left For Experienced Or Knowledgable Hobbyists: (finicky nature, parasite prone, specialty feeders, require specialty tanks, or threatened species) Anthias (require a good amount of swimming room, peaceful tankmates, and frequent feedings, often unhealthy and starving by the time they make it to dealers tanks, some almost require special tanks with their needs in mind) Twinspot Anthias (one of the more difficult standouts of the Anthias) Square Anthias (collection methods, stress, and starvation after collection seem to be especially problematic here) Platax tiera (can very hardy once acclimated but there can be problems feeding, they stress easily, and are disease prone) Regal Angelfish (Red Sea Specimens tend to be hardier and more willing to accept prepared foods and the more recent trend to keep this fish in reef aquariums helps with survivability) Bicolor Angelfish (concerns with drugs used in collection and frequent unwillingness to accept prepared foods) Genicanthus sp. angelfish (hardy once acclimated, but lots of problem specimens due to the depths they are collected at, take extra special care in examining and observing them before purchase) Garibaldi (cold water species and protected) Trunkfish [Boxfish and Cowfish] (most are rather sensitive and can release toxins when stresed or dying) Clown and Gumdrop gobies (poor shipper, once established a good surviver with less boisterous fish) Catalina gobies (coldwater species that will not do well longterm in tropical temps) Mandarin Dragonettte (requires large amounts of live food typically which can be provided naturally in 50+ gal. tanks with a good amount of live rock, will only rarely accept prepared foods) Radiata Lionfish Fu manchu Lionfish (All the dwarf Lions require tanks with their needs in mind, the later two are also very sensitive, very shy, and poor shippers) Dwarf Zebra Lionfish Anglerfish (most get very large and can consume fish nearly their own size) Acanthurus sp. tangs (ich prone and fairly sensitive to water conditions, Achilles, Powder Blue, Powder Brown, and Goldrim can be rather difficult and beginners should be especially leary) Ctenochaetus tangs (ich prone, some of the hardier tangs once established, the Chevron is probably the least hardy of the genus) All Butterflyfish (except Vagabond, Longnose, Heniochus, Golden, Pebbled, Klein's, Lemon, Auriga, and Racoon, which need large tanks) Seahorses (need quiet species tanks and large quantities of nutritious live food) Seadragons (very rare and I'm unaware of any longterm success) Pipefish (see Seahorses) Longnose Hawkfish (hardy fish but they are notorious jumpers and be careful with ornamental shrimp with all Hawkfish) Porcupine Pufferfish (can be hardy but also seem very disease prone) Fairy wrasses [Paracheilinus and Cirrilabrus sp.] (require peaceful tanks and do best in reef aquariums, they stress easily and the first few weeks in captivity will often make or break their longevity) Leopard Blenny [Exallias brevis] (specialized coral feeders) Scooter Blenny (see Mandarin Dragonettes) Lawnmower Blenny (will sometimes not accept prepared foods and will starve to death in tanks without a natural algae food source) Sandhopper Sleeper Gobys (Valenciennea sp.) (sometimes starve to death even when accepting prepared foods, tanks with large sandbeds containing lots of food will help as will frequent feedings when they will eat, mated pairs may help as well) Rainford's Goby (often will not accept prepared foods, need established tanks with peaceful fish a sandbed full of life) Twinspot Goby (combine the suggestions above for this one) Cephalopods (not fish, but including them here because of their intelligence compared to the dumb lumps of goo that are most invertebrates, the Nautilus from above is in this group as well) Octopi (must have species tanks, lots of swimming room, and should probably be on the above list) Cuttlefish (similar care to Octopi, but slightly higher success rates) Squid Fish That Require Huge Aquariums (200 gallons or more): Sharks/Rays/Skates (require much larger than 200 gal. and should just be left out of home aquaria, Nurse sharks can grow to 14ft. long!, repeating this one so it sinks in) Most Groupers (especially take note of the cute little Panther Groupers) Snappers (those cute little Red Emperor Snappers get big) Naso sp. Tangs (Many will even outgrow common sizes like 125 gal. aquariums) Moray Eels (large species) Soldierfish Orbi and Spade Batfish Twinspot wrasse (Coris aygula) (beginners take special note of these three as they're often offered as cute juveniles, they get very large and very mean) Red coris wrasse Dragon wrasse Flounder Tassled filefish (often offerer when cute and tiny but grow large) Many Large Angels (when purchasing any angelfish that isn't Centropyge be sure to check their ultimate size: take special note of the French, Gray, Blue, and Queen whcih are often offered as cute little juvenilles) Venomous and/or Toxic Species: Stonefish (can be deadly) Lionfish Rabbitfish/Foxfaces Scorpionfish Coral Catfish (these also get up to a foot long and no longer school once larger) Bluering Octopus (can be deadly) Toadfish Canary Blenny (venomous bites that can be painful but little else) Flower Urchins (can be deadly but rarely encountered in the aquarium trade) Black Longspine Sea Urchin (can inflict painful wounds, some debate exists whether or not they are really venomous) Cone Shells (rarely encountered in the aquarium trade, can be deadly) Stingrays (many have venom associated with the spike on the tail which they use in self defense, don't get stung in the chest and you should live to tell about it) Sea Snakes (I know of no one attempting to keep them in captivity, but included for good measure) Box Jellyfish (quite deadly but of no concern to aquarists) Hell's Fire Anemonen (while all anemones are capable of stinging, this is the one of the few to be concerned about, very painful stings) Hydroids (usually just cause skin irritation if anything) Fire Coral (see above) Zoanthids (some of these can contain Palytoxin which can be quite dangerous and make you very ill, they're quite frequently harmless but if you want to err on the side of caution rubber gloves are a good idea when handling them, as are goggles when fragging them) Extremely Aggressive Species: Undulated Triggerfish (the meanest auqarium fish available in all likelyhood) Queen Triggerfish (not quite as bad as the Undulated, but pretty close and they get very large) Clown Triggerfish (pretty similar in demeanor to the above two) Blueline Trigger (not so bad when young but a beast once it grows, perhaps the least aggressive of the four) Passer Angelfish (probably the meanest of all Angelfish, I've seen them take over tanks) Damselfish (they're not all bad, but ounce for ounce some of them are the meanest fish around, think twice about adding them as some of your first specimens) Maroon Clownfish (females get quite large and they can get quite mean and bully any tankmates that dare come close, they're also probably the least tolerant of other clown species) Sohal Tang (hardier than the Clown Tang but just about as mean, probably best to keep them as the lone Tang and if you must keep one in a community reef tank make it your last fish addition) Inverts To Be Avoided Or Better Left To Experts: Non-photosynyhetic corals and Gorgonids [Sun polyps, Carnation, Devils Hand, Chili Coral, etc.] (if it's a soft coral and not green or brown in part and is very vividly colored odds are it's non-photosynthetic and requires more small particles of food than most aquarists are willing to provide, the only non photosynthetic stoney corals frequently seen are Tubastrea sp., regular feedings of meatier foots can lead to success with these) Christmas Tree Worms (filters feeders that rarely live long in home aquaria) Coco Worms (see above) Goniopora sp. (some strides have been made but still miserably low survival rates, stokesi is the most common and seems to be the least hardy in the genus) Feather Starfish (require huge amounts of flow and large amounts of tiny planktonic organisms) Basket Starfish Crown of Thorns Starfish (duh!) Linkia Starfish (disease issues and poor acclimation to aquarium life, problem feeders as well) Wild small-polyped scleractinian (SPS) corals that are not frags (wild colonies can be particularly adapted to flow and light from their natural environment and often do poorly once in aquaria, see out hardy aquacultered specimens) Sea Apples (often slowly waste away in starve to death if not offered large amounts of food appropriate for filter feeders, also chances of toxins being released and possibly killing other organisms) Sea Pens (still offered in the aquarium trade but chances of survival are very poor with this filter feeder) Giant Xenia (this one rarely does well once established and like most other xenia does not ship well) Sea Slugs and Nudibranchs (very specialized feeders, a couple can be useful to elimate pests but it is very difficult to sustain a food source for even those, they're also very prone to damage by overflows and pumps) Flame Scallop (filter feeders that usually waste away in home aquaria, the same goes for other Scallops which are les frequently encountered in the trade) Anemones (most anemones should be placed in specialty tanks and also have very poor survival rates, beginners should not attempt Anemones without extensive research) Bright Yellow Anemones (dyed; and done most commonly with Sebae, but also seen less frequently with Long Tentacle and Carpet anemones) Harlequin/Clown Shrimp (must have live feeder starfish to survive) Camel/Mechanical shrimp (Not reef safe but often sold as as such) Elegance Coral (recent poor survival possibly due to a disease, other factors might relate to them coming from higher nutrient environments) Red Serpent Starfish (often disolve and waste away and can be very fragile) Pipe Organ Coral [Tubipora Musica] (often hacked off from a larger colony, recent survival seems better than in the past) Large Sponges (often hacked off from large colonies of their rock base, also exposed to air for too long which leads to their demose, bright orange and yellow colors are common) Special Notes: Clownfish [Amphiprion sp.] (various species often acclimate poorly to aquarium life and suffer greatly from collection stress, I've seen estimates that as little as five percent of those collected live to be in home aquaria, when possible buy tank raised specimens) Bangaii/Borneo Cardinals [Pterapogon kauderrni] (rather limited in range and rumors of an unsustainable population if the current rate of collection continues, there are also stories of poor survival after collection, buy tank raised when possible) Tangs (should have larger aquarium to provide them plenty of swimming room, no a tang is not suitable for your nano cube or 29 gallon tank, when small 3'-4' aquariums can be suitable for short periods of time, though bigger is recommended by many, just be sure you're planning an upgrade in the near future as they can grow fast) Angelfish (their compatibility with corals and clams is often brought up and debated, outside of Geniacanthus there really is no such thing as a "reef safe" Angelfish, consider how difficult one would be to catch out of your display tank after it decides your corals and favorite clam are delicious, they can be model citizens but it's always a risk when adding one) |
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#65
07/09/2007, 05:58 AM
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For right now, I agree with Elegance corals being on the list. As word spreads about their proper care and handling, hopefully it can soon be removed from your list. At least for poor survival reasons. If its on the list due to over fishing and greatly reduced numbers in the wild, then it should stay for a long time to come.
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