My Biggest Disappointment in this Hobby...

[Rick.45cal]

I’ve always wanted a wart skinned angler, they at least stay smaller, however they get big enough to easily eat all the species in my tank.

Here, I know this doesn’t help!...

 

[cmcoker]

Reminds me when I was at fish store a few months ago... "excuse me, are those midnight clowns supposed to be in the angler tank?"
LFS employee"What?! Where?!"
They were promptly removed, lol

 

[cracker]

I must say my biggest disappointment over so many years is my inability to keep "excess" algae from plaguing my tanks. All was/is good in my fish only tanks . However every time I turn up the lighting for corals,the algae is sure to follow. I've never used any treatment in a bottle.... Yet !

 

[LilElroyJetson]

I’ve always wanted a wart skinned angler, they at least stay smaller, however they get big enough to easily eat all the species in my tank.

Here, I know this doesn’t help!...

That video made me want to put my clowns up for sale haha. An old LFS I used to go to when I lived in California used to have wart skinned anglers all the time. They were either light pink or yellow with brown spotting and always looked so cool. They also kept red/orange and black anglers. They may be to blame for my obsession. I think even in their juvenile state if something swims by them enough times...they’ll go for it!

 

[LilElroyJetson]

Reminds me when I was at fish store a few months ago... "excuse me, are those midnight clowns supposed to be in the angler tank?"
LFS employee"What?! Where?!"
They were promptly removed, lol

Yikes...talk about a BAD oversight.

 

[LilElroyJetson]

I must say my biggest disappointment over so many years is my inability to keep "excess" algae from plaguing my tanks. All was/is good in my fish only tanks . However every time I turn up the lighting for corals,the algae is sure to follow. I've never used any treatment in a bottle.... Yet !

Has it mainly been an issue of not being able to get the nutrients down low enough to starve it out or do you believe other things have been to blame?

 

[cracker]

Surely it's a nutrient issue. All test for weeks involving nutrients are zero.
by the way the frog fish you pictured was stunning .Very cool especially with the shrimp sticking out of it's mouth !

 

[MrObscura]

At first every little thing that went wrong depressed me and I was always anxious and disappointed. Which defeats the whole point. But then I accepted that no great tank got there over night and decided to view it as a journey and a challenge that Will make it more rewarding in the end.

Now my biggest disappointment is seeing the price every time I see a coral I want.

 

[HB AL]

The prettiest fish seems to be the most aggressive. I know people who got into the hobby because of a clown trigger and quickly learned it is one fish that many cannot keep.

I’ve kept all types of triggers clown triggers aren’t as bad as the rap they get, you just gotta know the size and when to introduce them,there needs etc... mine actually likes to hang out with my blenny and pose for pics with some of my other 13 fish.

 

[HB AL]

This already sounds petty as I’m typing it but my biggest disappointment in this hobby is fish incompatibility. Specifically, I’m disappointed I can’t keep an Orange Angler with any fish not significantly larger than it because it’ll try to eat it. It’s one of my favorite fish, but my small clowns and possible future juvenile additions will certainly be gonners.

What’s your biggest disappointment in this hobby?

I’ll post a photo of this guy just so we can admire his beauty...

Just get fish bigger than he can eat.

 

[LilElroyJetson]

Surely it's a nutrient issue. All test for weeks involving nutrients are zero.
by the way the frog fish you pictured was stunning .Very cool especially with the shrimp sticking out of it's mouth !

Hope it gets figured out soon. Glad you could appreciate it too. Magnificent creature.

 

[LilElroyJetson]

At first every little thing that went wrong depressed me and I was always anxious and disappointed. Which defeats the whole point. But then I accepted that no great tank got there over night and decided to view it as a journey and a challenge that Will make it more rewarding in the end.

Now my biggest disappointment is seeing the price every time I see a coral I want.

Agreed. If you just keep at it through the hiccups things tend to come around.

The price tag on some of this stuff is pretty high on my disappointment list too haha.

 

[LilElroyJetson]

Just get fish bigger than he can eat.

I may in the future when I move to a larger tank but I plan on keeping a blue spotted jawfish in this tank and I’m thinking there’s no way the angler doesn’t go for him.

 

[1stNoel]

My fish disappointments:

1. Not being able to stock a reef tank full of angels and butterflies. Swallowtail Angel and Copperband Butterfly were the only successes.
2. Not being able to keep a school of yellow tangs. It was a constant frustration of "Can't we all just get along?!", and I had to split them.
3. A lot of cool wrasses that can't go in a barebottom set-up. I'm not going with the Tupperware of sand solution, as I fear it wouldn't work in a large tank and I don't want to kill them.

 

[Sassifrass7]

I have always wanted an Australian Harlequin Tusk fish,.....but the one time I paid my $300 for him, he only lasted a few weeks, he just never ate a thing. He didn't look skinny or anything, but maybe he'd just been captured. I don't know,....but I cried watching him go down. They are such beautiful fish! I so wish they could breed them in captivity!

 

[jtl]

I’ve kept all types of triggers clown triggers aren’t as bad as the rap they get, you just gotta know the size and when to introduce them,there needs etc... mine actually likes to hang out with my blenny and pose for pics with some of my other 13 fish.

I have had a couple of triggers when I had a fish only tank. They may not have a large mouth but I have seen them shred a fish like a wood chipper eating a log.

 

[HB AL]

I have had a couple of triggers when I had a fish only tank. They may not have a large mouth but I have seen them shred a fish like a wood chipper eating a log.

Probably hungry, my fish get 8 to 10 cubes a day. Now a queen trigger is a whole different animal, learned that a long, long time ago, never again. Also if people feed them live feeders that makes them a lot more aggressive.

 

[jtl]

Probably hungry, my fish get 8 to 10 cubes a day. Now a queen trigger is a whole different animal, learned that a long, long time ago, never again. Also if people feed them live feeders that makes them a lot more aggressive.

It was a queen and she went after a feeder gold fish that was for my lion fish. She bit me once and drew blood.

 

[Peter Clark]

For me it is butterflyfish. I would LOVE several of those, especially a saddleback butterflyfish, but they just aren't compatible with corals. Maybe one day I will end up with two tanks, one being FOWLR. I had that setup a decade ago (moved 4 times since then). Never had a butterfly though. I was less familiar with the pacific species at that point. So sad.

So, how does one win the lottery without buying a ticket? I feel like I need that to get all the tanks I want!