Inverts (and fish) that should NOT be purchased unless you are an EXPERT!

I have decided to start a thread with a list of marine aquarium items that should not be purchased unless you are a VERY experienced reef keeper because of their low survival rate in the aquarium hobby. Please add to this list anything you have come across that simply won't survive without EXPERT care in a home aquarium. I'm hoping this list will help others not to make the same mistakes I've made. Now I will vent my frustrations, if you don't want to hear it, skip the next paragraph and head straight to the list of items that are below it.

I am SOOOOOO frustrated right now! Does anyone else get really really angry when the LFS flat out LIES to you about the care and feeding of the items they sell? Why are the retailers and suppliers allowed to sell so many animals that are simply going to slowly starve to death in your tank? Animals that they either don't know what it eats or cannot supply the food for it should NOT be sold at all! There is nothing in this hobby worse than spending a lot of money on something just to watch it die slowly, whether it's a fish, a coral or a slug or other invert. I started in this hobby because I CARE about marine life, not because I want to kill it just so I can look at it for a few months! These are NOT just decorations, they are living things for crying out loud!


Things I've bought that I was told would be easy to care for and they were not.
- Feather Star
- Yellow stripe anthias
- blueberry sea fan (blueberry gorgonian, not all gorgonians, just this one as far as I know)
- sand sifting sea star
- mandarin gobies (wild caught)
- sea slugs (any kind, really)

Things I didn't buy, but they tried to talk me into (which also won't live without expert care)
- sun coral
- flower pot coral
- chili pepper coral
- cleaner wrasse (unless you have a HUGE tank with A LOT of fish)
- blue sponges
- sea hare


That's all I can think of right now, but I'm SURE there are more. Please add anything you've had experience with.

If anyone has kept a blueberry sea fan or a sand sifting star for MORE THAN A YEAR I would like to know what you did. They are both doing well so far, but from everything I've read here on 3 reef they won't last long if I'm not very careful and attentive. I was specifically told by my LFS that a small sand star (about 3 inches across, tip to tip) would not starve to death in a 29 gallon biocube because I asked. Now I've read otherwise from other threads on here. My tank has been running about 10 months with LR and black live sand in the bottom which the star doesn't seem to like because he's been on the glass for all but about 8 hours since I put him in three days ago. There are plenty of spaghetti worms and anthripods in the sand cuz I can see them all over the place.

tank params
SG 1.025
ph 8.2
amonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphates- 0
The biocube is an all in one system, so I'm really not sure what to say about the fuge except that it has bioballs in it.

 

Purple queen anthias too. I have not had one, but from researching before buying, everything says they are notoriously difficult to get to eat. If you know of advances in the care of this fish and it has survived for MORE THAN A YEAR please share what you did.

 

good thread idea for newbies! TBH i think Mandarins, gorgonians, and sun coral can be done, but with experience. and alot of it is just for the money.

 

Think your list needs a little editing. A lot of that stuff can be kept successfully if you know what you're doing and willing to put in the work. I've kept a pair of mandarins, blue sponge, gargonians, and sun coral all successfully. Specially with mandarins now, many are captive bred and tank raised and will accept many types of food and be fairly easy to keep.

 

Tavast,

A warning thread like this may have it's place. But honestly, there are plenty of reefers out there doing just fine with the animals you listed. The key to success is knowing what you are capable of keeping with your setup and husbandry.

Sorry for your losses.

 

Things I bought.
Basket star.
Cleaner wrasse.
Margarita snails.
Sea Fans.
Linkia star fish.

Things that should not be on the market in my opinion.
Wild caught Sea horses.
Blue spotted octopus.
Blue Spotted Jaw fish, very limited geographical area for collection, we will wipe them out in a number of years.
Nautilus.
Most sharks/rays.

I am sure I will think of more. Some hobbyist seem to not care or know that a lot of tangs collected in the Hawaiian Islands, may not be available within five years and I am fine with that.

Passionate about this topic I am.

 

Most of these things can live/flourish in home aquaria. Whether or not they were good choices for your tank.....Maybe we should be required as hobbyists to take pictures/testimonials of your tank size with us to pet stores. So that way they can be sure we won't try to keep livestock under inappropriate conditions. I just figure that it's more my job to be responsible in my choices than to expect suppliers to make my choices for me.

 

Speak like yoda, you do

 

I bought a yellow head sleeper goby thinking it was easy to care for and *should* eat in my tank... Been about 3 weeks he still wont eat and his stomach gets indented more everytime i see him

 

have to add court jester goby do to there extremely selecetive diet.