Difficult and Special Care Species List

[Zionas]

That’s a nice list. Once the 3 wrasses are added would you say you’re done stocking? Sorry to hear about the disappearance of your female Clown maybe it jumped?

 

[i cant think]

That’s a nice list. Once the 3 wrasses are added would you say you’re done stocking? Sorry to hear about the disappearance of your female Clown maybe it jumped?

Yeah, I think the last three wrasse will finish it - I may try sneak another black photon in there next time I see one, it’s strange because there’s no sign she jumped

 

[i cant think]

I have a 4x2x2 at the moment, It has a 5’ diagonal to it and then there’s 2-3 more wrasse going in it - It has 5 at the moment, those 5 are:
- Indo Lubbocki,
- Cebu Lubbocki,
- Aussie Scott’s,
- Radiant,
- Jade/Green coris wrasse.
The last few wrasse to go in it are:
- Blue Star Leopard,
- Naokoae fairy,
- Maybe A flasher of some sort

The fish I have that aren’t wrasse (as Said above) are:
- Magnificent Foxface - RedSea
- CBB - Aussie,
- Blue Eye Kole Tang - Indo
- Black photon clown (The female vanished)
- Swallow tail angelfish - Not Japanese

I have hopes on what that 3rd wrasse will be:
Either a P. attenuattus or a C. isosceles.
My LFS has both (P. Attenuattus is female and they don’t have a clue what it is, I said it may be a female naoko) and the C. Isosceles may be a hybrid (Lunatus x Pintail fairy)

 

[i cant think]

Fish Best Left For Experienced Or Knowledgable Hobbyists:Finicky nature, parasite prone, specialty feeders, require specialty tanks, or threatened species


Anthias (family Anthiinae): Require a good amount of swimming room, peaceful tankmates, and frequent feedings, often unhealthy and starving by the time they make it to dealers tanks, some almost require special tanks with their needs in mind and others often refuse to eat and starve quickly in aquaria, do plenty of research before purchasing any Anthias

Teira Batfish (Platax teira): Can be very hardy once acclimated but there can be problems feeding, they stress easily, are disease prone, and will also outgrow most aquaria

Majestic, Blueface(Pomacanthus Euxiphipops spp.): Can be hardy once acclimated to aquarium life and eating well, that's often easier said than done though, larger juvenilles are often the best way to go with these fish as tiny specimens are quite fragile and large specimens have the hardest time adapting to aquarium life, this is true for many large angelfish

Regal Angelfish (Pygoplites diacanthus): A problem feeder, specimens from the Philippines and Indonesia rarely make it long in captivity, Red Sea Specimens tend to be hardier and more willing to accept prepared foods partially due to collection and holding techniques, the more recent trend to keep this fish in reef aquariums helps with survivability

Bandit Angelfish (Holacanthus arcuatus aka Apolemichthys arcuatus): Very similar to the Rock Beauty above but with a much smaller sample, at their price you'll probably do your research, if you don't you'll most likely learn an expensive lesson

Bicolor Angelfish (Centropyge bicolor): Concerns with drugs used in collection and frequent unwillingness to accept prepared foods, also one of the more common coral nippers

Heralds's or Yellow Angelfish (Centropyge heraldi): Often collected with the use of drugs, be very wary of newly collected specimens, this can be true with many Centropyge but seems especially problematic here

Lemonpeel Angelfish (Centropyge flavissima): See Herald's angelfish above

Potter's Angelfish (Centropyge potteri): Mixed results with this one with a lot of mystery deaths early in captivity, if they've been eating and active at the fish store for a few weeks they usually end up being quite hardy

Golden Pygmy Angelfish (Centropyge aurantius): Adapts poorly to aquarium life, only attempt if you find a healthy specimen and have a larger reef aquarium containing less boisterous fish with a lot of rock to graze on

Swallowtail Angelfishes (Genicanthus spp.): Can be hardy once acclimated, but lots of problem specimens due to the depths they are collected at, take extra special care in examining and observing them before purchase

Angelfish in General (Centropyge, Chaetodontoplus, Apolemichthys, etc. spp.): Just a general note, Angelfish are among the more common fish collected using cyanide, so paying particularly close attention to their behavior and appearance before purchase is advised

Butterflyfishes (Chaetodon spp.): Very few are suited for a reef tank or a beginner hobbyist, do your research

Copperband Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus): Like the Regal Angelfish, this one has gone from nearly impossible to having some success with the popularity of them being kept in reef tanks, even then, longevity is questionable

Garibaldi Damselfish (Hypsypops rubicunda): Typically will not do well longterm in tropical conditions, if they do live long that cute little fish turns into a large territotial nightmare

Trunkfish, Boxfish, and Cowfish (various genera): Most are rather sensitive and can release toxins when stressed or dying

Clown/Gumdrop Gobies (Gobiodon spp.): Poor shipper, once established can be a good surviver with less boisterous fish, will nip "SPS" corals

Catalina gobies (Lythrypnus dalli): Not a tropical species and will not live long in the temperature of the average marine aquarium

Mandarin "Gobies" and Scooter "Blennies" aka Dragonets (family Callionymidae): Require large amounts of live food, quite often starve to death, providing larger tanks (50+ gallons) with large amounts of live rock and little competition for food has proved successful, do not treat with copper medications

Radiata Lionfish (Pterois radiata): Tough to acclimate to aquarium life and foods, more sensitive than others in the genus

Fu manchu Lionfish & Dwarf Zebra Lionfish (Dendrochirus spp.): All the dwarf Lions require tanks with their needs in mind, these two also seem very sensitive, very shy, are poor shippers, and can be particularly difficult to ween onto aquarium foods

Anglerfishes and Frogfishes (Order Lophiiformes/Antennariiformes): Most get very large and can consume fish nearly their own size, often will only consume live foods which is troublesome since feeder fish are rarely nutritious enough longtern

Achilles, Powder Brown, Powder Blue, and Gold Rim Tangs (Acanthurus spp.): Ich prone and fairly sensitive to water conditions, they also require large amounts of swimming room, very risky to consider one without quarantine

Bristletooth Tangs (Ctenochaetus spp.): Ich prone, some of the hardier tangs once established but can starve when detritus and algae aren't available in decent supply, so overly "clean" aquariums are not a good choice, the Chevron is probably the least hardy of the genus and can be particularly difficult

Seahorses, Seadragons, Pipefish (Family Syngnathidae): Need quiet species tanks and large quantities of nutritious live food, wild caught specimens ship poorly and have high mortality rates, tank raised seahorses are often already accepting prepared foods and are much better candidates for aquarium life, they still need a tank with their needs in mind though

Hawkfishes ( Family Cirrhitidae): Hardy fish but they are notorious jumpers, be very careful with ornamental shrimp, crabs, and small fish

Porcupine Pufferfish (Family Diodontidae): Can be hardy but some are very disease and parasite prone, most require large fish only aquariums

Fairy and Flasher Wrasses (Paracheilinus and Cirrilabrus spp.): Require peaceful tankmates and do best in reef aquariums, they stress easily and the first few weeks in captivity will often make or break their longevity, known jumpers

Lawnmower Blenny (Salarias fasciatus): Will sometimes not accept prepared foods and will starve to death in tanks without a natural algae food source

Diamond, Golden Head, Sleeper Gobies (Valenciennea spp.): Sometimes starve to death even when accepting prepared foods, tanks with large sandbeds containing lots of food will help as will frequent feedings when they will eat, mated pairs may help as well

Courtjester/Rainford's and Hector's Goby (Amblygobius spp.): Often will not accept prepared foods, need established tanks with a fine sandbed full of life

Fourline Cleaner Wrasse (Larabicus quadrilineatus): A cleaner when small, but are coralivores as they enter adulthood so are not good reef aquarium inhabitants, some of the Tubelip Wrasses are know for a similar behavior and rarely live long in captivity

Cephalopods, Octopi, Cuttlefish, Squid (Class Cephalopoda): Not fish, but including them here because of their intelligence compared to the dumb lumps of goo that are most invertebrates, the Nautilus from above is in this group as well, these must have species tanks and require a lot of research before attempting them

Honestly, I would move the tilefish family down here. Yes they’re finicky by not hard to get feeding. My flashing tile ate in the first week (It took about three days for him to acclimate to lighting). Tilefish come from rather far down so the easiest way to have them settled is having a bunch of caves. The caves will mean they can acclimate to your lighting and then come out at their own time. Peaceful introductions are a must for this species. I entered the hobby and got told to avoid the genus Hoplolatilus, yes they can suffer issues from being under so much pressure. I’ve had my flashing tilefish for a month now and he is so funny to watch, he hides in his cave (He will come out for food and just randomly throughout the day) and when someone is near he changes colour to be orange like the rocks that get light or purple like the rocks in the shadow. People who say these fish don’t flash in captivity I feel like didn’t get their flashing tilefish settled into captivity. Mine flashes certain colours depending on surroundings. Here’s a list of the colours he will go and why

Orange:
Often when he’s over my Florida recorder or in his cave and changes to look like the rockwork.

Purple:
Often when he is near a rock that is in the shadow. He usually does this in his cave.

White/VERY pale blue:
Usually when feeding he will change to a light blue, basically white very quickly, I feel like this is the lighting that helps him to camoflauge better.

Deep blue:
He normally does this when I have my hand over the tank and he’s swimming under the shadow of my hand.

Green:
He will usually do this during a water change, or when the water is tinted green by the AB+.

Yellow:
He did this early in the morning when he used to go out of his cave (he no longer comes out early morning or as long as he used to).

I think that’s all of the colours I have seen him go at different times, usually when stressed he will change to all of the colours and not just one or two of them (This is how I know it’s not stress causing him to “flash”) here’s a couple photos of him changing colour:

 

[CC_N]

Unfortunately, too many people put inhabitants in aquariums without caring about their specific needs or longterm requirements. In years past this was a bigger problem than it is now, but it's still a very real problem in this hobby, and a continued the lack of regard for the things we take from the ocean and keep in our aquariums only further damages our hobby and may lead to those that take a more conscientious approach being punished.

It's a list of basic information and guidelines that you can apply as you see fit. The list was originally compiled many years ago to hopefully save some frustration for people that wanted to choose hardy and sustainable livestock and to help save the lives of some fish/animals. There are thousands of species that aren't on the list and adapt well to home aquarium or are on the list and just need a little extra care. A few of them have changed over the years as collection practices, equipment, and husbandry practices have improved, but overall I feel the list remains accurate. If you're not conservation minded and/or get a thrill from keeping really difficult to care for fish and don't want to go to extra lengths to give them the proper environment, this list isn't for you.

Recently, there are a lot of new technology that helps keeping this fishes especially the deepwater ones. This thread is kind of old thou and contains some dated/incorrect(?) info. Recommend an update

 

[i cant think]

Honestly, I would move the tilefish family down here. Yes they’re finicky by not hard to get feeding. My flashing tile ate in the first week (It took about three days for him to acclimate to lighting). Tilefish come from rather far down so the easiest way to have them settled is having a bunch of caves. The caves will mean they can acclimate to your lighting and then come out at their own time. Peaceful introductions are a must for this species. I entered the hobby and got told to avoid the genus Hoplolatilus, yes they can suffer issues from being under so much pressure. I’ve had my flashing tilefish for a month now and he is so funny to watch, he hides in his cave (He will come out for food and just randomly throughout the day) and when someone is near he changes colour to be orange like the rocks that get light or purple like the rocks in the shadow. People who say these fish don’t flash in captivity I feel like didn’t get their flashing tilefish settled into captivity. Mine flashes certain colours depending on surroundings. Here’s a list of the colours he will go and why

Orange:
Often when he’s over my Florida recorder or in his cave and changes to look like the rockwork.

Purple:
Often when he is near a rock that is in the shadow. He usually does this in his cave.

White/VERY pale blue:
Usually when feeding he will change to a light blue, basically white very quickly, I feel like this is the lighting that helps him to camoflauge better.

Deep blue:
He normally does this when I have my hand over the tank and he’s swimming under the shadow of my hand.

Green:
He will usually do this during a water change, or when the water is tinted green by the AB+.

Yellow:
He did this early in the morning when he used to go out of his cave (he no longer comes out early morning or as long as he used to).

I think that’s all of the colours I have seen him go at different times, usually when stressed he will change to all of the colours and not just one or two of them (This is how I know it’s not stress causing him to “flash”) here’s a couple photos of him changing colour:

If you don’t know them yes I still have this fish, a lid is a MUST. I have had him jump twice now, the second time was MUCH more stressful for me (Not so much for the fish).

 

[i cant think]

Another thing Id actually change to this is the “Fish to be avoided” Id add a goby genus called Valenciennea, my reasoning as to why is seen in another thread if you’re curious, just search “Gobiidae” and in the original thread there should be a link to the newer one that has my research on this family and reasons why I think certain gobies should be avoided altogether.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Recently, there are a lot of new technology that helps keeping this fishes especially the deepwater ones. This thread is kind of old thou and contains some dated/incorrect(?) info. Recommend an update

+1 to this with the court jester/hectors. there are now fully captive bred lines

 

[i cant think]

+1 to this with the court jester/hectors. there are now fully captive bred lines

Yeah, definitely agree - Hopefully someone can update this thread in the future and make tweaks to it!

 

[footballdude2k3]

Can we get an update?

 

[Aspect]

I agree with this list, however I have a Clown Tang, Cleaner Wrasse, and Longnose Butterfly fish all eating very well. If you have any of these fish and they are not eating, I recommend feeding more and varied foods. Start off with freeze dried Mysis, Brine, and Bloodworms. Feed often and soak in a vitamin supplement, my fish seem to like Selcon the most.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I agree with this list, however I have a Clown Tang, Cleaner Wrasse, and Longnose Butterfly fish all eating very well. If you have any of these fish and they are not eating, I recommend feeding more and varied foods. Start off with freeze dried Mysis, Brine, and Bloodworms. Feed often and soak in a vitamin supplement, my fish seem to like Selcon the most.

These are good eaters. The longnose needs foods that work with its forceps. My cleaner wrasse just hit eight years old and clown tangs are food hogs

 

[Aspect]

These are good eaters. The longnose needs foods that work with its forceps. My cleaner wrasse just hit eight years old and clown tangs are food hogs

Depends on the individual, I heard lots of stories of all of these that wouldn't eat.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Depends on the individual, I heard lots of stories of all of these that wouldn't eat.

Been doing this almost 4 decades and these wre always good eaters. Had pet store for 12 years and were best sellers although the clown tang can get quite nasty

 

[i cant think]

Depends on the individual, I heard lots of stories of all of these that wouldn't eat.

Cleaner wrasses are notorious for not eating.
I don’t know how @vetteguy53081 has been so lucky with them being so good at feeding as I’ve (And many other people) never had luck and most starve in captivity.

 

[Aspect]

Cleaner wrasses are notorious for not eating.
I don’t know how @vetteguy53081 has been so lucky with them being so good at feeding as I’ve (And many other people) never had luck and most starve in captivity.

Yeah, there are tons of forum posts everywhere about Cleaners not eating. He has definitely been very lucky since they are notorious for not eating in captivity.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Cleaner wrasses are notorious for not eating.
I don’t know how @vetteguy53081 has been so lucky with them being so good at feeding as I’ve (And many other people) never had luck and most starve in captivity.

I should mention - Blue streak. Hawaiin croak quite fast and false cleaners bite the fish
Im going to take a pic right now of this old gal

 

[i cant think]

I should mention - Blue streak. Hawaiin croak quite fast and false cleaners bite the fish
Im going to take a pic right now of this old gal

Yeah, Labroides dimidatus has always been a nightmare for me to feed as they almost never settle in the hobby. They seem to starve faster than we can get them fed.

 

[Aspect]

If you throw enough food at a healthy fish, it will eat eventually, hard part is keeping the water quality high with all of the excess food that is decomposing.

 

[i cant think]

If you throw enough food at a healthy fish, it will eat eventually, hard part is keeping the water quality high with all of the excess food that is decomposing.

In the LFS we fed fish 3-4 times a day at a minimum. If we weren’t too busy it would be 5-6 times or more. They were still nightmares to feed and keep healthy.