Fish that should NOT be kept in your aquarium.
- Thread starter Cartman89
- Start date
dragonladylea
Active Member
Not a fish but Feather Starfish from all I have read are impossible to keep alive in a reef tank.
i was thinking of keeping boxfish n also dragonets. is there any boxfish species that may be safe?
jkhalliday76
Member
I'm a beginner and I've had my dragonette for quite some time now, he's fat and healthy as ever and I've only got a 20 gallon tank. He eats mysis and brine shrimp. I think there is a lot of misconception about them. He's not a mandarin, but he's a scooter blenny.
lcstorc
Well-Known Member
Scooter Blenneys seem to be a bit easier than most dragonets. I also have had one since the beginning of my reef and he is doing fabulous. From what I understand they are somewhat different or in a slightly different class. They can still be a challenge, but mine also eats prepared foods just fine and has grown and thrived in my system. Many people do however still consider them a difficult fish and there has to be a reason for that. I am guessing it is probably the difference between captive bred and wild caught, but that is just a guess.
Mandarins however, I have had a lot of trouble. I doubt I will ever try one again. I certainly will not until I have a well established fuge and probably not even then.
Mandarins however, I have had a lot of trouble. I doubt I will ever try one again. I certainly will not until I have a well established fuge and probably not even then.
Cougra
Well-Known Member
Synchiropus ocellatus (Scooter Blenny)
Synchiropus stellatus (Red Scooter Blenny)
Synchiropus splendidus (Mandarin Goby)
Synchiropus picturatus (Spotted Mandarin Goby)
They are all members of the same genus and all of them need to be kept in a large mature tank. I know that you hear of exceptions where people are able to keep them in smaller tanks, or have the occassional individual eat prepared foods. While this is good, it doesn't change the fact that the vast majority of these fish slowly starve to death in captivity. While it's nice to hear reports of people who have kept them for more then a few months, it is really decieving for people who wish to go out and purchase one only to have it to starve to death. I admit that I have tried to keep both the Mandarin Goby and the Red Scooter Blenny, both specimens have starved to death in my tank. Neither one ever even tried to take prepared foods. Unfortunately this is true more often then not, this is why people should discourage their purchase unless someone has a large mature system with a refugium added and who are willing and able to purchase copepods should their system somehow be depleted of them.
Synchiropus stellatus (Red Scooter Blenny)
Synchiropus splendidus (Mandarin Goby)
Synchiropus picturatus (Spotted Mandarin Goby)
They are all members of the same genus and all of them need to be kept in a large mature tank. I know that you hear of exceptions where people are able to keep them in smaller tanks, or have the occassional individual eat prepared foods. While this is good, it doesn't change the fact that the vast majority of these fish slowly starve to death in captivity. While it's nice to hear reports of people who have kept them for more then a few months, it is really decieving for people who wish to go out and purchase one only to have it to starve to death. I admit that I have tried to keep both the Mandarin Goby and the Red Scooter Blenny, both specimens have starved to death in my tank. Neither one ever even tried to take prepared foods. Unfortunately this is true more often then not, this is why people should discourage their purchase unless someone has a large mature system with a refugium added and who are willing and able to purchase copepods should their system somehow be depleted of them.
I cant agree wih the triggers being in this topic. triggers are aquarium and reef safe and have proven time and again that they can be trusted. I know a few people with them in there reef tanks with no trouble at all. I think the trouble people have with most fish is the size tank they keep these fish in. Everyone needs to think and plan on the tank size for the fish they want before buying. Anyone with 2 cents? I'd really like to get this topic going in the right direction..........................
lcstorc
Well-Known Member
Well I had one for a couple of months and had to turn him in due to agression against his tank mates. In the beginning he was shy and hid almost all the time, but once he was comfortable he started harrassing everyone so he had to go. It was a realatively small niger trigger in a 125 so I don't think that was the issue, but you never know I guess. At the time I only had softies, but I never saw him bother my corals just the fish. Hated to let him go since he was so cool looking, but he went to a new home so hopefully he is happy there.
Charlie97L
Well-Known Member
FFrankie said:
they need to CARE too. "oh, i'll get a bigger tank soon, upgrade that 24 to a 180 so my tang will have room when he gets bigger."
i'm not being tang police, but yeah.
lcstorc said:
isn't this a possibility with many fish, not just triggers? tangs, wrasses (even fairies), pygmy angels, can all show this behavior... but that doesn't eliminate them from the "usually ok" list.
i like this thread, but i'm confused... are we talking about fish that just aren't possible to keep, or ones that should be avoided by beginners?
i know many people who have dragonets with great success, (not the 6-12 month success, but years). i mean, it seems your list goes between fish, like the moorish idol, that need to be taken out of regular circulation, and fish that just aren't suitable for the wrong setups.
also, i think a lot of this is really a fuction of the pricing system. not many people get into idols because they're expensive. dragonets usually go for 10-12 bucks. if that fish was 75.00 it might make people think twice about buying it.
i know i love my scooter, and getting him on frozen was tough, but worth the effort. i knew what i was getting into though... and i looked at all the dragonets and found that this one (as opposed to the mandarins) are the easiest to convert to frozen. i knew about this fish, and i wasn't planning on it, but I figured, better with me and at least given a chance, than dead in the store after a week of no food. i've also got a large fuge, cheato in my sump, and have and will add pods to my tank to help out.
i'm just not clear on what we're looking at here... it would seem, that we're looking at size (sharks, rays, 2'+ fish) and difficulty (CBB, Idol, Mandarin)
also, are we talking reef aquarium? or just kept, period. because triggers are perfectly fine in a FO tank.
MarbleShark
Active Member
Cartman89 said:
I would have to greatly agree with you on this one. I put a refugium in my sump and thought that would make it ok to get one of these guys and thought he was ok until one day he was laying against the glass hardly breathing. It was not until then that I noticed that his stomach was shrunken. Please avoid them unless you know for sure that you have a rather healthy pod population.