Beginners, consider yourself warned!

[AlyciaMarie]

Skip this fish; don't fall for this sales tactic; don't trust just anyone's advice, etc.

What is your word of warning to new reefers about what you have learned through your time in the hobby?

 

[tbrown]

Watch out for the clowns! They have teeth!

 

[BryanM]

Until you have a relationship with an LFS and trust someone there, don't trust the LFS.

They often just tell you what you want to hear.

Like sure, that red coris wrasse is reef safe.... Yep, it won't eat corals, but it will hunt under anything on the sandbed, overturn them to look for things to eat, and fill everything down there with sand it stirs up hunting.... So to me it is not reef safe.

Or the long spined urchin is reef safe. Maybe, but mine in short order grew to the size of a vollyball, and was certainly NOT safe for humans, and it walked over corals irritating them (and I think one to its death).

I could go on... y'all get the point, do your own research until someone earns your trust.

 

[christinna77]

When a fish is called 'peaceful', that doesn't always mean it's peaceful with its own kind. I've seen people make this mistake a few times. They buy several 'peaceful' fish, then get confused when the fish start fighting because every source said they were peaceful.

Usually, 'peaceful' means the fish gets along with other types of fish. But many fish may still fight with others of the same species, unless they're kept as a mated pair or added to the tank at the same time, although that doesn't work for every fish.

 

[revhtree]

This hobby deemed “relaxing” can be, but more times than not, it’s a grind! If you want a reef tank to be proud of, you’re gonna have to fight for it!

 

[EnterName]

It can be really tempting to get certain animals, but not all of them are so easy to take care of:

Yellow Okinawa Goby (Gobiodon okinawae)

• It's small and fits in nearly every tank
• It's so cute looking! It looks like it is wearing blush with its rosy cheeks
• It will eat your acropora frags for breakfast

If you really need to get one, do so when you have giant Acropora it can rip a few chunks out without causing significant damage.


Sand Sea Star (Archaster angulatus)

• A reef-safe sea star
• Great part of the CUC and keeps the substrate clean
• It will likely starve slowly

You should have a large tank with a lot of substrate, and even then it might be necessary to find a way to feed it. Many sea stars can be hard to keep. Make sure you really know how to care for them.


Disco Clam (Ctenoides ales)

• A beautiful clam with a flashing light effect and cool name
• Filter feeder helping to keep the water clean
• It will starve

Keeping plankton feeders actually sated is really difficult. Phytoplankton doesn't survive for long in a tank so you have to feed it by buying (or cultivating) lots of phytoplankton. They can only catch and digest so much at once, so they need very frequent plankton feeding which makes keeping them difficult. If you really want one it's possible, but it requires more work than dumping in a bit of phytoplankton every now and then.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Skip this fish; don't fall for this sales tactic; don't trust just anyone's advice, etc.

What is your word of warning to new reefers about what you have learned through your time in the hobby?

Always do your OWN research!! knowledge comes with time and experience, try NOT TO learn things the hard way! That gets very expensive and discouraging

 

[exnisstech]

Bad things happen much faster and usually more often than good things but that makes the victories feel even better. No pain no gain I suppose.

 

[Freenow54]

Bad things happen much faster and usually more often than good things but that makes the victories feel even better. No pain no gain I suppose.

You cant blame the LFS staff if you don't do your own homework. Mine quit carrying my favorite food for my Malawi African Chic lids . A young guy recommended his favorite . He did not know mine cant digest meat. Neither did I until they all died from Malawi bloat . WHO's fault was IT ? Answer Mine

 

[EnterName]

You cant blame the LFS staff if you don't do your own homework. Mine quit carrying my favorite food for my Malawi African Chic lids . A young guy recommended his favorite . He did not know mine cant digest meat. Neither did I until they all died from Malawi bloat . WHO's fault was IT ? Answer Mine

Accountability? In 2026?!

Jokes aside, this is a very healthy attitude and everyone should follow this example.

 

[Peer.Boerner]

Be sure to be patient and observant. I forget this advice all the time. Fast change to lighting, flow and chemistry will kill corals. Unless it’s an emergency, and sometimes even then, raise and lower things slowly over days and weeks. Don’t expect your coral to react to changes in hours or days. Often it will take weeks. Watch the tank every day. It’s relaxing and also educational and you’ll see the gradual changes both good and bad.