Controversial fish in LFSs?

[threebuoys]

Oof
I hear it’s the worst. It is known to be more painful than a bullet ant. Luckily the pain is really the only danger (well infection of the wound and the wound too of course) but the venom can be so painful it causes cardiac arrest in very rare instances. So the key after being stung is to stay calm, hot water, and potential use of pain reducers.

Not an expert though, I just work in toxicology and have basic field medical training.

I soaked the foot in the hottest water I could stand. Within 30 minutes the pain was gone, the hole in the waders patched, and I was back fishing for red drum.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

What are some of the most controversial fish you’ve seen pop up in your LFS(s)?
Whether it’s their size they get to, care or something else, let’s hear them!

One controversial fish I see (I’m personally on the love side of them) is tilefish. I find they can be quite controversial as they can often be unsuitable for most reefs.

I had put together a list of "animals to avoid" due to poor surviorship. I included a few of the more dangerous animals, but I didn't get into "fish that grow to large" or like this tilefish, "fish that almost always jump out" (grin).

MARINE FISH AND INVERTEBRATES TO AVOID

Knowing which species have extra challenges helps home aquarists avoid heartbreak down the road. The following are some species that may pose problems for you, despite the level of care that you offer them.

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[thomas_neil]

My LFS usually has bat fish. Look great as juveniles, not great as a 2' behemoth of a fish.

 

[i cant think]

Educate me. Why are tilefish not good or controversal in a reef tank? I was thinking about a bigger tank and was going to include a tilefish. I don't know much about them other than the basics so what am I missing?

Tilefish are fairly known jumpers and often don’t feel all too comfortable in highly lit tanks with fewer dark hiding spots.

My marcosi is at 6-8 months old now and not once had an attempt at jumping. I’m not sure why that is but it may be because I have enough dark spots for him.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I got stabbed in my foot by a stingray through the rubber boot of my fishing waders once. The pain from the venom was incredible. More than anything I've ever experienced.

I had a staff person get nicked by a cownose ray. They were in "exquisite pain" while we were in the emergency room waiting to see a physician. I asked if I could use some hot water from their coffee machine and was told, "not until the doctor has seen them". Well, for every dangerous animal at our facility, we had a laminated chart outlining proper first aid for any issues. I had brought that chart with me, so I showed them were it said, "use hot water to denature the venom's protein". They let me do it then. I did NOT tell them that I had written the chart myself (grin).

Jay

 

[i cant think]

Corallivore butterfly's. Those like the Ornate or Arabian. Stunners but even and expert would have a hard time with these. I think you'd have to have a huge established reef with lots and lots of corals to munch. In the wild these guys are always grazing the reef for coral. The Ornate has to be my favorite tropical marine fish so gorgeous.

I’ve always wanted to experiment with some corallivirous butterflies and feeding. It just intrigues me with ways to get different fish feeding and yes, sometimes this risks coral.

Stonefish are weird. They can kill people but actually their venom is very similar to the venom in stingwrays, rabbitfish, catfish, lionfish, and scorpionfish. What makes them dangerous is actually that they often inject far more venom because they are stepped on and the spines and venom sacks are functionally like an upside down syringe. The more force put in the “syringe” the more venom is injected.

So arguably they aren’t that much more dangerous then a Foxface as you presumably won’t be stepping into your tank. However I think as a hobby we do not realize how bad the stings of rabbitfish, lionfish, etc are. A bad sting is so painful it could cause cardiac arrest. The risk is very low but not zero and I don’t think enough people know that.

As someone who has 2 rabbits and has had to move countless of them, I still fear the day I get stung.
I’ve even had some that jumped out of nets/buckets but not had a second net to hand. Definitely not a situation I wish to be in again.

 

[danimal1211]

It’s an interesting subject I saw a blue ring octopus at an LFS once and seriously thought to never shop there again. Palys are a hot topic right now for good reason and how many of us think twice when seeing them for sale?

 

[PizzaIan339]

Nurse shark has been the worst one I've seen in person

Heh my lfs had one of those a while ago before i went.

So many I could list but off the top of my head

1. Harlequin Sweetlips are a common fish at my LFS
2. I’ve once seen a stonefish which is both ugly and too dangerous to be smart for an LFS to sell. Not as stupid as blue ring octopus though
3. Twin spot coris wrasse
4. All species of unicorn tang
5. Spadefish (sometimes called batfish but the nonbenthic batfish)
6. Parrotfish

My lfs has also had a blue ring octopus lol.

(pick from facebook this is super edited i was in real life and it was very dull.)
And they recently got in a mimic octopus.

Lionfish.

I know, they are pretty.

But look at what has happened along the entire eastern seaboard when hobbyists decided they were too much to handle so they dumped them in the ocean. And they are still for sale today.

Wow my lfs had those as well!

I always chuckle when I see baby (3 inches or less) groupers for sale at the LFS... how many new hobbyists are gonna a. know how big those things get and b. actually have a system big enough to support them??

Ding ding ding my lfs had one of these as well last time I went before i switched to another lfs as my main one.

 

[Biokabe]

It’s an interesting subject I saw a blue ring octopus at an LFS once and seriously thought to never shop there again. Palys are a hot topic right now for good reason and how many of us think twice when seeing them for sale?

It's a bit different between a mobile animal with a venomous delivery mechanism (bite/sting) and a sessile animal that can only poison you if you somehow ingest/inhale it.

A blue ring octopus can escape from its tank, walk across your floor, and bite you when you try to pick it up to put it back in its tank. A paly can only poison you if you eat it, boil it, or squirt its juices into your eyes.

Or to compare to something terrestrial: Most people would rightly think you have a death wish if you choose to keep a cobra as a pet, but no one thinks twice about keeping daffodils, lilies and sago palms.

 

[littlefoxx]

A STONEFISH!? That is a shocking lfs stocking choice. That's like "maybe call somebody" level shocking to me. It's really irresponsible to sell that to some parents or something whose kid likes ugly fish.

There was a post a few months ago with someone’s fish store selling a blue ring octopus as well

 

[littlefoxx]

I always chuckle when I see baby (3 inches or less) groupers for sale at the LFS... how many new hobbyists are gonna a. know how big those things get and b. actually have a system big enough to support them??

I love these guys! So cute!!! Even as adults. But the size issue is why I wont get one unless I had a massive tank big enough! That little face in the babies though!! So cute

 

[Bob Weigant]

Bat fish and twin spot wrasse

 

[gastone]

A number of years ago there was this nursery outside of DC, roozens, that at the time was the only east Coast direct receiver of all things saltwater. No wholesaler, no middle man. Direct from the exporter. They sold: stone fish and nautilii. No joke, nautilii. Multiple...in a tank. They had a blue ring octopus. They had a barracuda that they'd feed diseased fish to ( and many fish were diseased). At some point the state of md shut them down.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Lionfish, stonefish and Sizes of certain fish

 

[~MD~Reefs~]

Not a saltwater fish but I recently saw a Pacu at an LFS. Which is kind of strange because I’m in California and I believe they’re illegal here?

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

We had stonefish on exhibit, and we had imported antivenin from Australia as a precaution. However, as you said, the mortality rate for stings is very low and hot water helps like it does for stingrays and lionfish. The calculated mortality rate is likely around 1%. However, we also had Geographic cone shells on exhibit - no antivenin and possibly a 60% mortality rate.
We handled them with tongs and had a strict two person rule when working with them.

One of the scariest moments I had working at the LFS was unloading a shipment of Conchs. I had a bag and was grabbing them one at a time by hand to place them in small cubical tanks in the system runway. Everything was going smoothly until I realized that the conch I just grabbed wasn't a conch it was a Textile Cone Shell that someone mixed into the bag of conchs. I instantly dropped it and it happened to land in a tank. I was petrified and all of my co-workers came asking what was wrong. We eventually pulled out the cone shell and euthanized it.

 

[Slocke]

All in the same terrible LFS back in June and that’s just some of their ridiculous stock.

 

[caietaro]

Heh my lfs had one of those a while ago before i went.

My lfs has also had a blue ring octopus lol.

(pick from facebook this is super edited i was in real life and it was very dull.)
And they recently got in a mimic octopus.

Wow my lfs had those as well!

Ding ding ding my lfs had one of these as well last time I went before i switched to another lfs as my main one.

We must have the same LFS lol - mine also recently had and sold a blue ring octopus and just got in a mimic! They’ve had an emperor snapper for a while too - not quite as crazy as a panther grouper but still grows into a behemoth.

 

[davidcalgary29]

 

[Tub Life]

Why not a convict tang? I'm asking because they've finally grown on me and I plan to get one soon.

And whats the deal with sexy shrimp and rainbowfish?