Marine Species NOT for the Beginner

clka

clka

Active Member
Good article...many online stores share similar info, but too often some LFS employees either don't know or don't make the effort to educate the consumer. Not fair to the animal, or the purchaser. But then the final responsibility is the hobbyist's.:read: :read: :read:

Cheryl
 
Dweezil

Dweezil

Well-Known Member
I remember many years ago when I got my first saltwater tank it was a fish only tank and back then (I'm giving my age away) they did not have the internet or much information available. Back then we cycled with Damsels and thought that was perfectly "normal" and I bought fish simply because they were pretty. Tangs, Butterflies, Lionfish, Angels. Nobody told me I couldn't or shouldn't. I made many mistakes at the cost of the poor fish :( Now there is so much information available to us it's our moral and ethical duty to try and be as resposible as we can. This was not aimed or directed at anyone. Just hoping it will help with some of those " Which fish?" questions and avoid the mistakes I made back in the day. :)
 
M

Max250

Member
Ouch! Anyone feeling guilty? In my defence 80% of my livestock is aquacultured here in the UK.

I really wanted a sea apple though :(

They need to tighten the CITES rules and make it compulsory.

I think Max tanks are marketed to the inexperienced, making the complete novice think he can keep a part of the reef in his home. Without even buying a book. Crazy. It's sad. We are all responsible for our own actions. I'm as guilty as the next man.
 
Dweezil

Dweezil

Well-Known Member
Oh now this was not made to make anyone feel guilty ;) Just more info for people to have to make informed decisions. What you choose to do with that info is up to you. I am also as guilty as the next person but I do really try to learn and that's all we can do. :)
 
Dweezil

Dweezil

Well-Known Member
You're not a beginner. I think most of the article was directed toward beginners even though some does apply to others as well.
 
reeferman

reeferman

Well-Known Member
i actually broke down my sons fish only and traded puffer and trigger to lfs.after a year,my son and i got tired of the maintenance so the best thing for the fish was to trade them in.imo,its easier to keep a clean reef tank than a carnivore fish only.they just eat too much!i still own my fuzzy dwarf lionfish though!:D :poke:
 
Dweezil

Dweezil

Well-Known Member
There are soooo many fish I would love to have but will not buy due to the mortality rate. The Moorish Idol is one that comes to mind for me. They are so beautiful but that's one I feel should stay in the ocean.

A dwarf lion is one of the ones I killed back in the day due to my ignorance. I didn't know and they sure as heck didn't tell me that it only ate live food. But as I said, we have much more info available to us these days which helps alot and places like RS to come to for help.
 
M

Max250

Member
On the plus side, there are more and more species of fish and inverts being captive bred (some on that list). They're a lot hardier and live longer. We should support those types of businesses.
 
NewEnglandReef

NewEnglandReef

Member
Great Read...I'm not sure if you could before but I buy Live Copepods @ my LFS $10 for 2500 of the red Tiger Pods and they also have a smaller species cheaper(more like the ones I had before stocking)The red ones are fun to watch they are alot bigger and the Mandarin loves them. I put 2 bottles in a week. I also have a fish breeder with Chaeto in in for a little fuge, I dump them in there at night.
 
Reefmack

Reefmack

NaClH2O Addicted
PREMIUM
Nice article Tammy. I'm guilty of a few too, and what the article says is really true. I see a lot of those listed for sale by all of the major sellers. Even rating them "difficult" or 'expert only" is still no excuse for selling a lot of these fish and inverts.
 
Dweezil

Dweezil

Well-Known Member
Thanks Terry. The reason I even found this was because I was informed on Facebook LiveAquaria.com Very cool Orange Spot Filefish pair coming in tonight's Diver's Den! I thought "That's a cool looking fish let's look it up." That is what I found as that fish was on the list.
 
clka

clka

Active Member
I guess for me the bottom line is that we need to use our resources, do our best with what we learn and recognize our limitations. I've gotten my feet wet (pun intended) with my BC8, made mistakes, and hope not to repeat them with the RSM -I'm sure I'll make new ones :smack: . I consider myself maybe not a beginning beginner, but still a beginner in this hobby. The RSM starts a whole new learning curve for me.

I can't tell you how many times early on with my BC that I went to an LFS with say, a hair algae issue, and was told I needed this or that in my tank! I probably have to credit my indecisiveness more than research to saving myself and the animal a lot of grief. But I did read about nano reefs before I decided to start my tank so knew a little about what I was getting myself into.

I will never forget a young lady in a store who obviously had no tank or tank experience. She was looking at a puffer fish, and said "OOOOh, I want one of those", and the sales clerk told her " we can make that happen", and I thought "you've got to be kidding":rolleyes: .

Ok, end of rant....

Cheryl
 
Reefmack

Reefmack

NaClH2O Addicted
PREMIUM
Tammy - I saw the Orange Spot Filefish pair on Liveaquaria too. I wonder what they'll charge to kill a pair of them? :( Blue Zoo offers them as well, and at least gives a decent warning on care of these fish, and offers a "starter pack" with then - a browned out Acropora coral for food. If these fish are that difficult why even support their capture and sales?

Orangespotted Filefish plus Acropora - Oxymonacanthus longirostris

Oxymonacanthus longirostris - Orangespotted Filefish

I wonder how many die in the hands of the "experts"? Hard to imagine buying Acropora corals solely to feed fish.
 
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