Which fish are better off left in the ocean and why

[vetteguy53081]

Why?

Seen too many die over last 3 decades and often they start out eating then shut down and simply starve. The cowfish has honeycomb scales and often with infection, they become inflated and eyes get sunken and you can guess the rest.
Rarely will you see a boxfish in a tank LONG term without loss or other health issues
Mainly, both do best on live foods which are not always available and require Very good water quality

 

[LaloJ]

Too hard to keep alive, too mean, too short lived, too long lived, too big.....

My vote would be for the obligate coralivores, especially butterflies that already have a subject of being easily stressed, they arrive practically without eating almost anything, or nothing. And those who have had success with these fish are highly dedicated aquarists, dietary needs are not easy to "supply" here, and as mentioned above, it requires a very high number of fish collected for only a handful of them to be successful. Just try to think of the huge number of novice hobbyists buying these fish for their beauty, only to find the fish sick days later and later dead either from the same issue or from malnutrition and starvation.

 

[Karliefish]

Rarely do you hear about anyone having long term success with Morish Idols. Such incredibly beautiful fish that are best enjoyed viewing in the Ocean. Thr Maldives has such a wonder environment for them.

 

[MaxM]

Are there any long lived fish whose lives are cut way short in our tanks? I know some clams can live very long lived.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I would say it completely depends on the time you have to dedicate to fish with specialized or difficult diets. It's not an issue with the fish, it's an issue with the reefkeepers husbandry and level of experience and dedication. Yes, even corallivore butterflies can be successfully kept if the aquarist has done his research, is experienced, has time to focus on weaning the fish onto an alternate diet, and is dedicated to keeping the fish long term. The reason certain fish have such a low survival rate isn't usually due to their biological needs but instead related to the reefer.

 

[AC1211]

I would say it completely depends on the time you have to dedicate to fish with specialized or difficult diets. It's not an issue with the fish, it's an issue with the reefkeepers husbandry and level of experience and dedication. Yes, even corallivore butterflies can be successfully kept if the aquarist has done his research, is experienced, has time to focus on weaning the fish onto an alternate diet, and is dedicated to keeping the fish long term. The reason certain fish have such a low survival rate isn't usually due to their biological needs but instead related to the reefer.

Yes. I would think the number of those fish imported should be decreased significantly. The issue is if people keep buying it then they will keep selling it even if it isn't good for the species. They need to import less of these more difficult species and be careful who they sell to. Buyers also need to do their research in this hobby. Hard to get both things to happen

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Yes. I would think the number of those fish imported should be decreased significantly. The issue is if people keep buying it then they will keep selling it even if it isn't good for the species. They need to import less of these more difficult species and be careful who they sell to. Buyers also need to do their research in this hobby. Hard to get both things to happen

I agree. The issue is that it's a business and like any other it's meant to generate money so the shops are going to sell whatever fish they can to whoever claims to have at least a semi-suitable tank (some shops could care less). They actually have decreased importation of many corallivore butterflies though. For instance, how often do you see Bennetti Butterflies or Triangulum Butterflies for sale where your located? And as for the people making the purchases it's sad to say but many people impulse buy based on how pretty the fish is without knowing much or anything about it beyond what the LFS tells them. Take starfish for instance. How many Linckias, Fromias, and other species are sold and how long do they usually live? They live until they eventually starve but since this can take months and aren't particularly expensive, people will see no issue in buying another after it dies and actually believe keeping it for months was fine since they are unaware it was slowly starving the whole time. I absolutely agree that it's practically impossible for both of these to be accomplished.

 

[Trent H]

Octopus! Way to beautiful of a creature and to short of life expectancy…

 

[CoralB]

I know many people can do it successfully but for some reason it makes me sad/nervous when I see Moorish idols in reef tanks. Great thread by the way.

It also makes me sad when I see that this is the pic that pops up when you google them lol

Ignorance is more common theses days , the same thing with misspelled words , misdiagnosis , basic communication skills , misinformation , etc. sorry I got carried away but yes when googling things you can end up with all kinds of errors . And as far as moorish idols which I’ve had in the past , it’s a hit or miss but if you get them eating and have a big enough tank your odds of keeping them is half the battle .

 

[CoralB]

Polka dot grouper would be the one I would throw in the mix as they get to about 26-30 inches in length in the wild and imo unless you have a really really large tank I would think they are better off in the ocean but yet you see them for sale just about anywhere .

 

[A Young Reefer]

bumble bee groupers, look at their size and it’s not like it takes forever to get to that size

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Too hard to keep alive, too mean, too short lived, too long lived, too big.....

That's one of my favorite topics! I've worked for many years developing lists. the following is a recently updated version of marine fishes to avoid for being too delicate produced by a group of public aquarists. It doesn't list fish that grow to large (humphead wrasse) or fish that are too aggressive (titan triggers) or fish that are of conservation concern (humphead wrasse again).

Species not reported to survive past the year mark under normal husbandry conditions (an * indicates this may have changed in the past two decades)

* Anampses spp.
Aspidontus spp.
* Centropyge boylei
Chaetodon austriacus
C. baronessa
C. bennetti
C. melapterus
C. meyeri
C. octofasciatus
C. ornatissimus
C. plebius
C. triangulum
C. trifasciatus)
C. zanzibarensis
Exallias brevis
Labroides phthirophagus
* Macropharyngodon spp.
Plagiotremus spp.
Pseudanthias pascalis
Stethojulis spp.


Species rarely surviving beyond the one year mark under normal husbandry conditions: (I removed some species that have become easier to keep in the past 20 years)

Antennarius spp.
Centropyge multifasciatus
Chaetodon citrinellus
C. lavartus
C. reticulatus
C. speculum
C. xanthocephalus
Holocanthus tricolor
Inimicus spp.
Ostracion spp.
Oxymonacanthus longirostris
Paracheilinus spp.
Pseudanthias tuka
Pygoplites diacanthus
Rhinomuraena quaesita
Scarus spp.
Zanclus canescens


Jay

 

[LaloJ]

I would say it completely depends on the time you have to dedicate to fish with specialized or difficult diets. It's not an issue with the fish, it's an issue with the reefkeepers husbandry and level of experience and dedication. Yes, even corallivore butterflies can be successfully kept if the aquarist has done his research, is experienced, has time to focus on weaning the fish onto an alternate diet, and is dedicated to keeping the fish long term. The reason certain fish have such a low survival rate isn't usually due to their biological needs but instead related to the reefer.

Agreed here, but the nature of the fish itself also has a lot to do if you want to be successful, you have to have a lot of patience to feed these fish, try foods that have already been rated as effective for these fish, and If it doesn't work, just keep trying until they can finally take the food, some experts even place corals to feed them, but this is part of the process of adaptation to captivity and, as you well say, it requires time and effort that not all aquarists are willing to do, to perform and also requires knowledge that not everyone has and is not willing to obtain. There are times when they will simply refuse any food offered, and you can tube feed as last card, or offer corals, but the aquarist's attitude and perseverance is very important.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Agreed here, but the nature of the fish itself also has a lot to do if you want to be successful, you have to have a lot of patience to feed these fish, try foods that have already been rated as effective for these fish, and If it doesn't work, just keep trying until they can finally take the food, some experts even place corals to feed them, but this is part of the process of adaptation to captivity and, as you well say, it requires time and effort that not all aquarists are willing to do, to perform and also requires knowledge that not everyone has and is not willing to obtain. There are times when they will simply refuse any food offered, and you can tube feed as last card, or offer corals, but the aquarist's attitude and perseverance is very important.

I fully believe they can be kept if the aquarist really meet the criteria I mentioned. Matthew Pedersen wrote in Coral Magazine all about his attempts at keeping corallivore butterflies. The primary issue he was having if i recall correctly was due to them arriving already emaciated which makes them even more reluctant to eat. Where I am the transport chain is far shorter.

 

[LaloJ]

I fully believe they can be kept if the aquarist really meet the criteria I mentioned. Matthew Pedersen wrote in Coral Magazine all about his attempts at keeping corallivore butterflies. The primary issue he was having if i recall correctly was due to them arriving already emaciated which makes them even more reluctant to eat. Where I am the transport chain is far shorter.

I read those articles and I loved them, you're lucky with that, I'm in Mexico and the quality of the fish is not very good, I haven't seen a butterfly of that type for a long time but they eat poorly, like everyone else since they are fish for sale and that they are just passing through, and it depends on the particular aquarist, however it's complicated for the same reasons that Matt mentioned. Here, four eye butterflies, C.capistratus and juvenile French angels are commonly seen, which in most cases contract velvet within a few days.

 

[Kfactor]

i say all fish but here we are lol

 

[Rmckoy]

One day I’ll change my setup to large butterflyfish only but I’ll wait a few more years

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I read those articles and I loved them, you're lucky with that, I'm in Mexico and the quality of the fish is not very good, I haven't seen a butterfly of that type for a long time but they eat poorly, like everyone else since they are fish for sale and that they are just passing through, and it depends on the particular aquarist, however it's complicated for the same reasons that Matt mentioned. Here, four eye butterflies, C.capistratus and juvenile French angels are commonly seen, which in most cases contract velvet within a few days.

I agree that I'm in a very unique position due to my location and am truly thankful for that. Not only due to the fish were talking about which are in shops regularly and appear perfectly healthy, but for the coral prices and the quality of the live rock is unbeatable. Completely covered in coralline, it's arrives at the shops within a week or less after wild collection from the ocean.

 

[Derrick0580]

Clownfish, they are little undulating terrors that require gauntlets to be worn when reaching into my tank!!

 

[AKL1950]

I would say it depends. By that I mean, if you can’t provide the fish with a habitat that is able to keep the fish safe and happy, you shouldn’t try keeping that one. That could be one that others can keep, but your system is not ideal for that particular fish. I won’t try clownfish again, because I can’t provide them with the environment they need to thrive and be happy.