3 Saltwater Fish to Avoid (Here's Why)
- Jul 28, 2024
- Anshika Mishra
- 55 0 0
We have all been there in the local fish store, mesmerized by the beautiful fishes on the other side of the glass. We ask the store assistant basic questions about the fish, and before we know it, we walk out with our new purchase.
Creating a fish stocking plan and researching every kind of fish can eliminate many of the problems newcomers face in their initial days. So, if you're new to the saltwater aquarium hobby, you must avoid these fish.
All the listed fishes will fall into one or more categories:
- Feeding issues
- Aggression
- Disease
- Size
Remember, these are recommendations for beginners. Once you have an established aquarium with some experience, every one of these fish can be kept with someone with experience and the right conditions in the tank. Although saltwater is not much more complex than freshwater in the basic sense, there are some saltwater fish that you may want to avoid as a beginner.
Hippo Tang
The Hippo Tang is categorized into a few names, including blue tang, regal tang, and Dory fish. The fame from Finding Nemo has made this a prevalent saltwater aquarium fish. Unfortunately, they are rarely kept in the conditions they need to thrive.
The Hippo Tang is not the best beginner saltwater fish due to its size, high activity levels, and sensitivity to water parameters and diseases. These fishes are sold while they are only a few inches long, making them seem attainable by the average hobbyist. Within a year, they can grow to be several inches, causing many unaware hobbyists to have to find new homes for their Tang.
So, ignore Hippo Tangs as your first saltwater fish because they need more food, time, and space.
Mandrin Goby
Mandarin gobies are among the most beautiful saltwater fish available, but they are also among the worst fish for anyone lacking experience. These fish need a constant supply of Copods and other small invertebrates.
This means that the tank should naturally be mature with a stable ecosystem. It may also involve setting up another system just to harvest food. Even then, these fish have been known to reject food and starve.
The only way these fish survive is in a mature aquarium with a good supply of Copods. If you buy them before that, you'll be on a journey to starving fish.
But keeping them in smaller tanks is also hard because they will wipe out the population of Copods and starve. So make sure to have some experience before you buy them.
Copperband Butterflyfish
The Copperband Butterflyfish is another beautiful but challenging saltwater fish. Like Mandarin Gobbies, Copperband Butterflies rely heavily on rocks and supplemental feedings for their invertebrate-based diet. In addition, they can grow relatively large and are active swimmers. These fish also fail to thrive when other larger, more active fish are in the reef aquarium, so some stocking consideration is needed.
These are very difficult to feed and often starve. Many are bought to solve the aptasia problem but slowly starve once that food source has run out. Their diet consists of Tubeworms, Featherdusters, and coral polyps. A larger mature aquarium is best suited to this fish where, over time, they can be trained to eat fish food before they eat all the food they can find in the aquarium.
About author