Fish that are not suitable for captivity or expert only!

[davelin315]

Thought that with losing the battle despite thinking I was going to succeed with Tranman's Red Fin Butterfly I'd put this thread out there so that people can share their experiences with fish that are not suitable for captivity. I know that there are exceptions, for instance the Moorish Idol can be kept but is very difficult to do so (Gatortailale is a great example), but overall these are very difficult fish to keep. Feel free to add your own but try and make sure that you are putting down accurate information rather than simply saying you have never had luck with them.

 

Butterflies

Red Fin Butterfly - eats only sps coral polyps

Myeri Butterfly - eats only sps coral polyps

Ornate Butterfly - eats only sps coral polyps

Copperband Butterfly - difficult to entice to eat, once it's eating food that is offered, easy to care for

 

Angels

Rock Beauty Angel - sponge eater, does very poorly in captivity despite appearing to do well at first

 

Wrasses

Leopard Wrasse - difficult eater (lots of exceptions in our club of healthy leopard wrasses due to expert care)

Cleaner wrasse: difficult to feed

 

Gobies

Catalina Goby - cold water fish from colder Pacific waters, needs to have a dedicated system with a chiller

 

Tangs/Rabbitfish

Moorish Idol - difficult to sustain long term

 

Filefish

Orangespotted filefish: obligate feeder on SPS polyps

Edited November 21, 2011 by Coral Hind
updated list

[unninair]

Can the Admins make this one a pinned item?

[treesprite]

good idea

[jason the filter freak]

Dragonets for the most part...

[davelin315]

Let's see how it fares first. It's a good one for a pinned thread, but look at how many are already pinned...

[BeltwayBandit]

I agree with Davelin. Lets get the list going, then we can combine and create a new sticky in an appropriate forum.

 

BB

[mogurnda]

cleaner wrasse: difficult to feed

orangespotted filefish: obligate feeder on SPS polyps

 

To be annoyingly picky, the moorish idol is allied with the tangs and rabbitfish, not the butterlies.

[YBeNormal]

Shark eggs and baby sharks - few people really have the resources to properly house these animals

[Gatortailale]

To be annoyingly picky, the moorish idol is allied with the tangs and rabbitfish, not the butterlies.

 

we have a winner!

 

 

fishbase.org link: http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=5950

 

 

Waikiki aquarium article: http://www.waquarium.org/MLP/root/pdf/Mari...MoorishIdol.pdf

 

So, what is the Moorish idol's true identity? The Moorish idol, Zanclus cornutus, is unique -- the only

member of the Family Zanclidae. This family name, from the Greek "zanclon", refers to the sickle-shape of the extended dorsal fin. Moorish idols are actually most closely related to the surgeonfishes, sharing similar teeth, scales, and swimming style (using primarily the pectoral fins), but lacking the tangs' characteristic "scalpel". In shape, behavior and diet, through, the Moorish idol more closely resembles butterflyfishes. Omnivorous, the idol feeds mostly on animal material, like sponges, and extracts prey from crevices with a slightly elongated jaw. The diet makes this species difficult to maintain, but Aquarium Live Exhibits staff find that younger individuals can be trained over to the gelatin food we prepare.

 

 

Good hands on forum discussion on Idol on Reef Central: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...;highlight=idol

 

Again - it should be "FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE" not what you have heard or read. Lots of people read something and think they know it all when they haven't even owned the item (here fish).

 

Mine ate green finger leather and Sarcophyton. Leaves my squamosa clam alone - did like to pick on gigas clam that I had to move to back room.

[BeltwayBandit]

cleaner wrasse: difficult to feed

 

 

I would also add that cleaner wrasse is not a good specimen due to the damage that their removal does to the reef. Some articles that I have read allege that their removal is detrimental to the overall health of the reef because of the vital cleaning services they provide.

[mogurnda]

Again - it should be "FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE" not what you have heard or read. Lots of people read something and think they know it all when they haven't even owned the item (here fish).

Although I agree that simply parroting what you have read is the way that myths get perpetuated, it is equally bad to simply ignore authors' experience. Should I try an orangespotted filefish to be sure I can't feed it?

[F&Fmgr]

Related tothe topic I get moorish Idols to eat pelleted food quite often. 90% are still living

 

Sean

[Brian Ward]

I had an orange-faced butterfly (larvatus butterfly). Beautiful fish, the g/f fell it love with it at the store so I took it home. Turns out it's one of the ones that only eats acropora polyps. Never got it to eat and the "fish encyclopedia" that we all have has it rated a 1 - says never even try because they don't convert to prepared food. I submit this for addition to the list.