What fish are Super Hard / Impossible to keep? (2021)

[Northwest_Scapes_]

I thought this would be an interesting idea for a thread since we've come a long way since 2015/16 when Mandarins were really hard to keep. What fish in modern day are considered super hard / impossible to keep and should be left up to Public Aquariums/just left in the wild?
One i found out about is the Bluestripe Fang Blenny where it mimics juvenile cleaner wrasses so it can eat bits of scales and fins from larger fish in disguise which makes up its entire diet. I would say they would probably be extremely difficult to keep

 

[Spare time]

Basically any butterfly or fish that only eats acropora. Those butterfly fish just end up starving to death. Its cruel to order something with the goal of saying welp hopefully it eats when they almost never do eat frozen. I also think fish that get exceptionally huge should never be brought. Not a fish, but many of the nudibranchs are literally impossible for us to keep but places sell them as they will live to the point where they can sell them and not get blamed for it dying. There are a variety of these single food eating things that should just be left in the ocean.

 

[SakuraSky]

I believe ribbon eels are still extremely difficult to keep, I don't see many people who have them.

 

[a hill]

Moorish Idols should not be sold as cheaply and commonly as they are. not impossible, but most never have a chance at life once captured and sent the the hobbyist.

Add to that any other specialized diet that the hobbyist do not have a chance to fulfill.

Ribbon eels seem to have a bad rep on the forums. People successfully keep them with large specialized aquariums. Definitely expert only.

-Andrew

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

Basically any butterfly or fish that only eats acropora. Those butterfly fish just end up starving to death. Its cruel to order something with the goal of saying welp hopefully it eats when they almost never do eat frozen. I also think fish that get exceptionally huge should never be brought. Not a fish, but many of the nudibranchs are literally impossible for us to keep but places sell them as they will live to the point where they can sell them and not get blamed for it dying. There are a variety of these single food eating things that should just be left in the ocean.

Oh yeah, I forgot about those butterflys. Maybe one day we'll be able to train them to eat prepared like the OSFFs. Also nudis is true, I saw some at a lfs that only eat sponges, thankfully they had it in a display but idk how well it's going to do

 

[Northwest_Scapes_]

I believe ribbon eels are still extremely difficult to keep, I don't see many people who have them.

Yeah Ribbon Eels are really pretty but I've heard they won't take prepared foods well. Definitely something I want to get when they're easier to keep

 

[KenRexford]

Great white sharks are tough, especially those from the South Atlantic. Try getting a good supplier of live seals! Plus, the tank size needed is not exactly Aqueon standard.

 

[X-37B]

Great white sharks are tough, especially those from the South Atlantic. Try getting a good supplier of live seals! Plus, the tank size needed is not exactly Aqueon standard.

Yep this ones tough to feed! And working in the tank is another issue, lol.

 

[Topekoms]

Leopard wrasse I know they can do well if they survive shipping and you get them eating but I have yet to keep one long term

 

[X-37B]

I was told my convict tang would not last a month. They always die is what the lfs told me. Mine is fat, happy, and over a year old now.
I have been told they all come in very skinny and mine was for sure.

 

[ca1ore]

I was told my convict tang would not last a month. They always die is what the lfs told me. Mine is fat, happy, and over a year old now.
I have been told they all come in very skinny and mine was for sure.

Not ‘always’ LOL ..... but often.

 

[ca1ore]

Obligate coralivores are hard to keep, because most people aren’t keen on feeding them their corals. I don’t see them for sale all that often so hopefully folks that buy them understand the feeding constraints.

Purple queen pseudoanthias are essentially impossible to keep because they require an almost constant supply of small particulate foods. Occasionally one breaks the mold, but the vast majority starve. It’s not they cannot be kept, but that the feeding requires such Herculean efforts that most people cannot do it.