It's an epidemic in this hobby that you'll notice at nearly every LFS you visit, there always seems to be those "showy" fish that every novice hopes he/she will get the greenlight from the employee at the store to go ahead and add to their tank, but the majority of the time have too small of a tank or the bulk of their fish wish list won't be compatible with these particular fish. The species I'm talking about are...
Baby Hippo Tangs (Paracanthurus hepatus) - Pitiful track record in aquaria and they're typically only sold because of the cute factor that grabs so many customers attentions. Hippo Tangs can be hardy fish, but seeing 20x 1" juveniles wedged in the cracks of coral skeletons makes me wonder how many will actually survive and thrive longterm.
Dascyllus Damsels (3 stripe, 4 stripe, domino etc.) - Is anybody ever happy they added these fishes to their tank? This genus represents a good chunk of the fish "horror stories" that people love to talk about (mine was a Hoeven's wrasse, go figure
), and if it's not a situation where some poor soul simply didn't expect that little black and white guppy to turn into a murderous tyrant, than it was one of those people that still insists on putting animals through torturous conditions to cycle their tank, only to toss the surviving fish after the tank is nice and broken into. The bottom line is this - there are too many other benign, affordable, and brightly colored damsel species to keep selling the Dexter Morgan of damselfish (minus the vague morals and strange likability) using the excuse "people need damsels".
Baby Clown Triggers (Balistoides conspicillum) - By far THE most popular among novice hobbyists IME, at least when it comes to asking "would that be okay in my tank?". These fish are misleading, and I can guarantee you *most* people in this hobby do not have a tank large enough to comfortably house a full grown clown trigger, especially given their restrictive temperament and propensity to nip on things (like power chords :spin1
. They may sell quickly, but if they even survive to maturity they will most likely rip whoever is unlucky enough to be roomies with them to shreds. Not very fish friendly, let alone reef friendly.
Juvenile Panther Groupers (Cromileptes altivelis) - Like aquatic dalmatian puppies, they're freaking adorable... unfortunately like the clown trigger, they simply won't mingle well in 95% of tanks out there if they even make it to maturity. They grow way too big for any but the most massive of tanks and are highly predatory, so anything that can fit in his mouth is going there eventually. They're pretty much the opposite of pajama cardinals and foxfaces, everyone thinks they're beautiful, but they won't thrive in most tanks.
Sharks in general - Making it at the top of the wish list of every frat house that found a 75g on Craigslist, and of every guy that walks in asking "how much that is?", sharks really need to be one of those special orders people need to request, otherwise they end up in tanks that just won't work longterm. I've seen too many bamboo sharks crammed in the 55g tanks of high school students to think that most of these sharks are going to 500g+ sparsely decorated tanks or ponds with the appropriate tank mates.
Baby Clown Tangs - Same as so many on this list, poor survival rate and even if they *do* make it to a decent size, they more often than not prove to be terrors in the aquarium. Many perish even before being sold, so it's beyond me why stores keeping bringing them in. The larger specimens fair much better and can thrive in large enough tanks that don't house competitors that may cause them to "snap".
Vlamingii Tangs - Ever wonder why you constantly see these fish taking up residence in the coral runways at your local fish stores? It's because these personable, puppy like fish grow to a whopping 2 feet long! I'll admit, I had one ('Hudson') in my 120g for a year, but all along I knew he'd be going to a 1,600g reef, so it wasn't something I had to scramble to figure out once he got too big. These are one of the most commonly returned fish IME and so most end up just being tossed in whatever tanks are available, thus the trend of the scuffed up, HLLE ridden vlamingii tanks schooling under the surface as you pick out your next frag. They're wonderful fish, but just be sure you know you'll have somewhere for him to go once he gets too large for your tank. In my reckoning, these fish *should* be available, but just not in the numbers they are currently.
Horseshoe Crabs - Nobody has tanks for these poor guys, and considering their natural lifespan, it's a sad thing to consider their success rate in captivity long term.
... *steps off soap box*... *ahem* ... That is all :bigeyes:
