what should hobbist not purchase because they do not thrive in our aquariums

[crimzy]

Originally Posted by mscarpena
http:///forum/post/2612177
I know many people who just buy them because they think it is cool to have a shrak and it makes them feel tough or something....I don't know. I am not saying you did that because you obvisouly are pationate about your shark and that why you have provided it with the proper care requirements.
I only bought mine because I'm a lawyer and I like the metaphor of sharks in the water.

 

[robn]

I bought my horn shark to cull out the pesky kids in the neighborhood

 

[midas]

bought my horn shark to cull out the pesky kids in the neighborhood
Haha
I think there are a lot of types of fish no one should keep in their tanks due to the species, and all the other reason's listed here.
Some thing's are just harder to keep, and if kept, should be kept by experienced hobbist's only. (By experienced I mean years of the hobby depending on the fish etc.) Unfortunately, there are million's of fish, invert's, etc. that die each year, due to inexperience or negligance.
I'll add one-most cleaner wrasses, they need a LOT of fish just to cater to one cleaner.

 

[110innc]

I got 1 sand sifting star.

 

[fishkid13]

Why not a sea apple I had one for about 2years and it did great. It ate and didn't hurt anything it grew to be about 9"tall(from 5") I dont have it now because my fish sitter turned the heater in my room to 130+ and you now what happend after that.

 

[sh00tist]

Let me chime in with Flame scallop, you see them at many LFS,they are very attractive and cheap but without a constant supply of food(basically not possible in our systems)they give in to starvation within a few short months.

 

[novahobbies]

I'm not so sure I agree with the gorgonians at the top of this post. They are difficult, but not overly so. I have three in my pony tank and have seen new growth on all three. Live phytoplankton has made a world of difference, and of course the standard low light/high flow we all read about is very important too. I think in the end, the keys to success with gorgonians are proper tank placement and spot feeding.
Sea horses are another issue: I would NEVER knowingly buy wild caught ponies. If you are really in the market for sea horses, make bloody well sure that they are captive bred tank raised. I found out there is a signifigant difference between C.B.T.R. and just plain tank-raised -- a pony that is just advertised as "tank raised" may have started life in the ocean, then captured and bred out in a tank. Although they are acclimated to aquarium life and frozen mysis, they are still removed from the ocean first.

I've often wondered how difficult it would be to keep "care sheets" for different species of fish at a LFS. They don't necessarily have to be pretty full-color jobs -- just a plain standard sheet with basic info for individual species. Once written, the LFS staff could photocopy them to their hearts content and be reassured that their customers have at least a little idea of how to treat their new stock. I cringed a few weeks ago when I was in my LFS and a guy who was buying a niger trigger pointed at the black reidis and asked "how many of those can I keep in this tank?" Thankfully, the clerk told him absolutely no.