Difficult and Special Care Species List

[Sk8r]

I've noticed people, oddly enough, seeming to react negatively to 'their' fish being on the list: I'd say they should feel either lucky or pleased that they've succeeded in keeping their 'difficult' fish alive and well. I kept a ribbon eel, Lord help me---it was expensive, and it was an experience, but I'm sure not upset to see him on the list: go back, new reefer, it's not an experience I'd ever recommend. If you do have a 'difficult' fish and he's doing well, by all means, share your method and management for the rest of us.

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10305796#post10305796 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TWallace
I've tried a few Potter's over the years and would definitely agree they're not as easy to care for as most other dwarf angels. I currently have one in my 55. I've had it about a month (2 weeks in QT first). So far it's looking good and eating ok, but I still think it could die at any second, due to my previous experiences with them. It was a picky eater at first, but luckily I leave my QT running at all times and it has a healthy population of copepods, amphipods and mysis shrimp, which the Potter's devoured.

My experiences with store bought potters have been similar. They just get beat up, and get kept in totally innappropriate holding tanks, and can't take it.


I've bought one from a really good 'online' place, and bought one locally from another reefer, and both have been remarkably healthy, and easy to care for.

So my oppinion? Hardy, but not generally collected and shipped properly. Kind of like leopard wrasses.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

I've noticed people, oddly enough, seeming to react negatively to 'their' fish being on the list

I've noticed this as well and see it every time Peter puts his list up. "This species shouldn't be on the list because I have kept one for "X" amount of years, blah, blah...." I look at this list as a guideline for beginners and a very good one. I might be able to nitpick a selection here and there but overall this list is very, very good. Nicely done Peter.

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10311470#post10311470 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kahuna Tuna
I've noticed this as well and see it every time Peter puts his list up. "This species shouldn't be on the list because I have kept one for "X" amount of years, blah, blah...." I look at this list as a guideline for beginners and a very good one. I might be able to nitpick a selection here and there but overall this list is very, very good. Nicely done Peter.

I agree. I'll happily use myself as an example. Anthias suck. They can be temperamental feeders, get bullied by other fish, require huge amounts of food and filtration, and their rediculous social structures have had me pulling my hair out on more than one occassion. I've lost plenty in my day, and completely agree that they should be where they are on the list, as a group. My post earlier in this thread was to state the fact that if we are going outside of the "group as a whole" description, then tuka should be at the top of the anthias-to-avoid list, not bimacs or squarespots.

 

[barjam]

Pipe Organ Coral is difficult?!?!

I had no idea. This was one of my first corals and I never had any issues with it. It has suffered some questionable parameters and poor lighting (it grew fine at the bottom of the tank that was lit only by NO bulbs).

Perhaps since this was a frag from another tank rather than wild caught that is why it is easy to care for. *Shrug*.

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10311847#post10311847 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by barjam
Pipe Organ Coral is difficult?!?!

I had no idea. This was one of my first corals and I never had any issues with it. It has suffered some questionable parameters and poor lighting (it grew fine at the bottom of the tank that was lit only by NO bulbs).

Perhaps since this was a frag from another tank rather than wild caught that is why it is easy to care for. *Shrug*.

Pipe organ is another "Easy but is usually collected improperly"


Its actually a softie, and the entire thing is alive. Collectors just hack off the top sometimes, and it tends to just wither away.



My Pet Peave with the list: Anemones. Theres very little thats easier to keep than a BTA, Condy, or Rock anemone. Theyre just as easy as mushrooms, except when you put them in a bad place, they can move.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

My Pet Peave with the list: Anemones. Theres very little thats easier to keep than a BTA, Condy, or Rock anemone. Theyre just as easy as mushrooms, except when you put them in a bad place, they can move.

One of the major problems is that they are being collected from the wild and are disappearing from the reefs. Maybe you can make a case for propagated BTA's but most anemones are horrible choices for the average aquarist. I keep an LTA which is a species that is among the best suited for the home aquarium but if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have got one and wont have one again unless its captive bred.

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10312565#post10312565 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kahuna Tuna
One of the major problems is that they are being collected from the wild and are disappearing from the reefs. Maybe you can make a case for propagated BTA's but most anemones are horrible choices for the average aquarist. I keep an LTA which is a species that is among the best suited for the home aquarium but if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have got one and wont have one again unless its captive bred.

I for one, have never seen a wild caught BTA. Not once.


People can't even get rid of them around here. Seriously. You cant give away GBTAs.

That fact alone proves that theyre much more suitable for the average aquarist than most of the corals we keep.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

I for one, have never seen a wild caught BTA. Not once.

You must not have been in the hobby long, propagated BTA's haven't been around all that long. OK, That's one species out of many available and the most common I see at stores are sebae's which are terrible choices. Sebea's, magnificent's, carpet's, crispa's, adhaesivum, and many others are just doomed for the most part. They often come in torn up, dyed, and just a mess.

"Know though that the vast majority of specimens aquarists try only live days to a few weeks... largely due to the trauma of collection, holding, shipping practices before they get them... and secondarily due to factors such as a lack of light, inappropriate feeding, being placed in poor water quality, with incompatible livestock... -Bob Fenner

Far too many of these beautiful creatures are being destroyed for no good reason. Thats why they are on the list.

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10312847#post10312847 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kahuna Tuna
You must not have been in the hobby long, propagated BTA's haven't been around all that long. OK, That's one species out of many available and the most common I see at stores are sebae's which are terrible choices. .

4 or 5 years. What was going on back further than that is irrelevant at this point. I'd be willing to bet that atleast 80% of BTAs available now are captive propagated (most in AQ facilities). How they were distributed 15 years ago doesnt matter at this point.

I disagree with the Sebae. Theyre again like the pipe organ: VERY HARDY if you dont absolutely destroy them while collecting them. They're not difficult to keep, people are just doing stupid stuff to them. Anemones being dyed has nothing to do with whether they're suitable for aquarium keeping.

I've kept a lot of animals. If you want to put most anemones on the list, then IMO, every single SPS and LPS coral should be on that list.


Magnificas, different story.

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

If you want to put most anemones on the list, then IMO, every single SPS and LPS coral should be on that list.

I agree, they should be on the list also, especially wild collected corals. And BTW mortality rates for sebae's are horrific precisely because the vast majority of them DO come in ripped up. And anemones being dyed has everything to do with their suitability, it is happening and far too frequently.

 

[FishAreFriends2]

Wow what a sweet list of fishes, Nice list Peter. I appreciate the work that people put in to make a simple and fun list to help others. Hey it might not be what you want but atleast its something that you can use as a guide. AWSOME

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10312988#post10312988 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kahuna Tuna
And anemones being dyed has everything to do with their suitability, it is happening and far too frequently.

No, it doesnt.

If you dont buy the dyed ones, people will stop wasting their time dying them. Brown ones are perfectly suitable, and very hardy animals.

 

[zemuron114]

loosecannon, Most of your points are against the norm. For the most part, dragonettes are not for the beginner. Heraldis ARE normally caught with chemicals are do not fare well. Again you have an unusual one....
snowflake eels are very easy to keep and are a good specimen to keep in captivity because they don't get all that big in comparison. Im thinking Peter was lumping them all together along with green morays and tesselatta eels etc.

There is always someone who is able to keep one certain fish that 200 others have failed at trying to keep. By no means should this one person be the "rule" to this particular fish. You can keep any fish if you meet their needs. I can keep an orange spot filefish if i feed it acros which is the ONLY food it eats....

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

No, it doesnt.

Rich, you are missing the point. Thousands of dyed anemones are sold to NEWBIES every week, saying that if people dont buy them , wholesalers wont dye them is meaningless because NEWBIES dont know any better. That is what the list is all about. I live here in So Cal, one the largest hubs for marine wildlife in the entire world. I can state with certainly that a huge portion of the livestock you see in Beantown has come through here first. I've been doing this for nearly thirty years now, I know what I'm talking about and am not going to get dragged further into an argument with you. I could take you down to the LA wholesalers tomorrow and show you things that would make you shudder. Dyed anemones, dead and dying anemones, anemones that should have been left on the reef, tens of thousands of them. They belong on that list, period. That is what I know to be true, you can choose to believe whatever you want to believe, I really dont care what you believe anymore.

 

[Sk8r]

Carpet anemones, now---in my first reef, in a wet-dry, HO lit reef, I got a carpet and two clarkiis, as I recall---we had both percs and clarkiis at different times, and this was nearly 3 decades ago. They took to that anemone and fed it and punched it and generally beat on it---result: in a fairly raw from-seed-rock and crushed coral tank about 8 weeks in cycle and still unstable as all getout, that 'nem grew, and grew, and grew, and within 6 months, starting from about 7 inches, took over about 1/3 of a 100g tank [50g sump]. Never had any luck at all with any other nem. We sold those clowns and the nem together. It ate several small fish, whether dead or alive, I have no idea. It was probably a case of stumbling into just the right chemistry and lighting, and once the tank matured and changed its chemistry according to the way we did tanks in those days, meaning no skimmer, no frequent water changes, it couldn't repeat that success.

 

[happyface888]

Hmm I think I might of asked this, but where would tube anemones stand?

 

[Kahuna Tuna]

Hmm I think I might of asked this, but where would tube anemones stand?

Despite the name they aren't anemones at all. I kept one back in the day and it was moderately hardy. here's a good article.

http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/guest/toonen/TubeAnemones.htm

 

[happyface888]

Yeah I still have mine, its extremely hardy had it since I started SW tanks, about 7 years. The more I feed it the more it grows the less I feed it, it shrinks. It even lived through cuprimine @_@

 

[SDguy]

I think tube anemones, like many specialized inverts, are VERY hardy IF placed in the proper environment. Few people do this, considering their potential size and sting.