Peter Eichler
New member
It's really too bad that this thread isn't as prominently seen as it was, sadly I think I lot of hobbyists won't know this thread exists now that it's not a sticky.
Difficult and Special Care Species List
- Thread starter Peter Eichler
- Start date
Paul B
Premium Member
That list doesn't mean you can't keep those fish, they are just harder to keep than most fish. I have kept every fish on that list (except the nautilis which is not a fish) and in most cases I have had more than one specimen, and you certainly can keep all of them but some of them need special care such as the orange spotted filefish. You can keep them and they are very hardy. You can even spawn them but they only eat coral polyps, so if you can provide that on a daily basis, you can keep that fish. Some people, myself included have kept Moorish Idols for five years and if that is all you want out of a fish that should live 15 or so years, then you can have a Moorish Idol. Of course I went to Bora Bora and spent time diving with them to learn some of their secrets and if you want to have better luck with them, you could do that.
Garden eels are easy to keep but jump out as do ribbon eels. Ribbon eels also eat mostly small live salt water fish so if you can get them and keep them from jumping out, you can certainly keep those fish.
Parrotfish bite off pieces of coral to get the living tissue inside, they also grow to 3' long, but if you have a huge tank and thousands of dollars worth of live coral to feed them, go ahead and buy one.
The list is not meant to be creatures that are impossible to keep, just hard to keep for various reasons. As you gain more experience, you can keep most of the fish on that list. :dance:
Aquarist007
New member
I don't agree with you. There are plenty of beautiful reef fish you can keep.
If you have a fish only tank there are even more...similarity if you have a predator tank
Aquarist007
New member
If experienced guys like you can only get 5 years out of a moorish idol then I think that is one fish that should be banned for market sale.
Aquarist007
New member
IMO I think the reasons for not being able to keep them alive is the most important here and make this thread very important to consult
sacremon
New member
Georgia Aquarium hasn't had the best of luck with their whale sharks, so you are not alone
They are back up to four in their pelagic tank, and there are a couple manta rays in there with them.
Dmorty217
Saltwater Addict
Georgia Aquarium hasn't had the best of luck with their whale sharks, so you are not alone
They are back up to four in their pelagic tank, and there are a couple manta rays in there with them.
You would think that people would be protesting outside of the aquarium... I mean come on, how many are you going to keep plucking out of the ocean to die? Put them on the list with great white sharks that CAN'T be kept in a aquarium. How does that work exactly if I'm the Georgia Aquarium, I just hire whoever to go catch a few?? With what permit from Georgia? which last time I checked was no where near where whale sharks range, so then we are talking about some government permit (which is a joke) for scientific research? They sure are getting to do a lot of whale shark necropsy. I think they should start putting blue whales in the Georgia Aquarium, since blatant disregard clearly is a mission statement there.:debi::deadhorse1:
sacremon
New member
IIRC, the whale sharks were obtained from a South Korean fishing company that was intending on turning them into sushi. Despite that, I recall the the South Korean government did lodge a protest when two of the whale sharks died.
So being kept in 6+ million gallon aquarium or being served for dinner.
So being kept in 6+ million gallon aquarium or being served for dinner.
woodnaquanut
Active member
My knee jerk reaction, based solely on this thread...
At least dinner is quick. Slow, certain death in an aquarium is torture.
Of course, instead of either, leave it in the ocean!
Dmorty217
Saltwater Addict
sacremon
New member
All the organisms that we keep in our tanks - the fish, the motile and sessile invertebrates - from the ones listed at the beginning of this thread to ones that are regularly aquacultured all benefit from those who kept or tried to keep them before us. We did not just observe them in the wild and deduce from that "their requirements and needs". It also came at the expense of countless lives. That, unfortunately, is how knowledge sometimes progresses. The best we can hope for from those deaths is that we learn from the mistakes and help both ourselves and others not to repeat them.
Dmorty217
Saltwater Addict
I guess the real question is then how many are you going to try and keep before you conclude that the knowledge you are learning isn't enough to justify yet another dead whale shark?Eventually the deaths will keep rising and the knowledge won't. It doesn't logically make sense to try and keep such a large fish confined, whether that's 6 million gallons or 60 million. We will agree to disagree
Aquarist007
New member
Ugg. Second regal angel I have had that has died within 3 or 4 days. It's an indo so I know it is a tricky eater. However my best friend had it in his store for a month and it was feeding well on mysis. I think they are easily intimidated as this one went directly behind the reef and stayed there until it died.
Wondering if we had it too long in copper?
Wondering if we had it too long in copper?
Aquarist007
New member
Peter Eichler
New member
I'm not trying any more regals.
I love that fish, but still dismal survival rates. They seem to have a chance if they make it to the LFS in good shape and go into a reef tank where the owner likes the fish better than they do their zoanthids, and meaty LPS...
Also, really sad to hear about the whale sharks. Sadly, many public aquariums seem more interested in the display than the well being of the creatures they care for. The Shed Aquarium used to replace fish like crazy. They seem to have the same luck with dolphins and belugas
I have a really hard time with aquariums that keep marine mammals.
Aquarist007
New member
I love that fish, but still dismal survival rates. They seem to have a chance if they make it to the LFS in good shape and go into a reef tank where the owner likes the fish better than they do their zoanthids, and meaty LPS...
Also, really sad to hear about the whale sharks. Sadly, many public aquariums seem more interested in the display than the well being of the creatures they care for. The Shed Aquarium used to replace fish like crazy. They seem to have the same luck with dolphins and belugas
Hi peter
Have you heard any relationship between regal survival rate and length of treatment in copper?
Peter Eichler
New member
It's been believed for a long time that angelfish don't deal as well with copper as most other fish. Years ago when copper was more common, many claimed that their gills were harmed by copper and that it tended to cause excess mucus in their gills. I also always noticed sores on angelfish that were kept in copper, whether or not it was from the copper or perhaps because they're more prone to bacterial infections is hard to say.
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