Controversial fish in LFSs?

[CrimsonTide]

Yes, you guys should eating them. They do taste very nice, and cooking denatures all the poison, so it's safe.

I love 4hrs from the beach so I've never been down there when fresh ones have been speared but one day I'll get to eat one of the invasive fish. But they are becoming more common on menus. But more common really means not common Still because people don't know what it is really.

 

[PizzaIan339]

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.

Yup must have if your around boston then check out sea creature aquarium in providence they are much cheaper!

 

[TheFunnyFarm]

About 25 years ago a LFS store in NH sold American Alligators about 2’ long.

Kept them on the floor in one of those collapsible kiddie playpens with 3’ high sections!

 

[flashsmith]

Surprised nobody mentioned the Golden Pilot fish. I see online retailers offering them all the time. As far as tangs. For me I live in Central FL. Yes I've purchased Naso tangs and clown tangs etc.. To go into my G2 reefer 625xxl. I have a tiny clown and Naso right now. I can get a good 2.5
years or so before I need to think about rehoming them. And that's Speculating they even survive that long in captivity. This hobby is not cheap and I made the decision to keep what I want long ago within reason of course. I'm a fish guy before coral so spending loads of money to keep clownfish doesn't appeal to me. There are alot of hobbyists around here with large systems so rehoming is easy for me when the time comes. Then I start all over again. People don't want to pay "full size" prices so they go quick. Predators and venomous are a big nope for me and shouldn't even be sold but as long you have an outlet to rehome larger species I see nothing wrong with keeping those species as long as they are in a tank they can comfortably live in for awhile. I get there are folks here who live in BFE and that should definitely be taken into account when buying livestock that will need to be rehomed at some point.

 

[Mr_Knightley]

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 never knew that cownose rays were venomous

 

[jmoney7]

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 stepped on a saltwater catfish on accident and went right through my fishing shoes and burned like no other. It held my foot under burning hot water for about 45 min for it to go away.

 

[PeterReefer]

I had a LFS in NJ sell me a long horned cow fish, once. It was a really cool fish, with a great personality! However, when this fish was stressed out by my Hippo Tang, it released a toxin that was catastrophic to the entire tank!

 

[KrisReef]

Guppies and feeder goldfish.

Neither are good for a reef tank.

 

[Slocke]

Guppies and feeder goldfish.

Neither are good for a reef tank.

My lunare wrasse would disagree. They have very tasty eyeballs according to him.

Feeder guppies are a good live feeder but goldfish are toxic to predators in large amounts.

 

[ReeferHD]

one of the LFS i go to stocks a lot of these controversial fish. including Pinecone fish, Remoras, and Stonefish, I'll post pictures i took when i find them.

 

[carbasaurus]

Any fish that will outgrow a typical home tank. I also once saw a nurse shark in a LFS. Very sad. The thing looked miserable in the display and was already too big. That was only once. Juvenile batfish are much more commonly seen and while quite pretty they will obviously outgrow most systems

As for fish stings (sting rays, etc). Hot water is key. As hot as you can stand (test with non affected limb so as to not accidentally scald yourself) Been stung by a stingray and a scorpionfish (California sculpin). Scorpionfish was way worse though may have been due to sting site. Sting ray tagged me on top of my big toe. Scorpionfish grazed the sole of my foot. Really hot water works miracles but you have to soak for awhile (like an hour). Then make sure tetanus shot is up to date and perhaps antibiotics

 

[Sharkbait19]

I had a LFS in NJ sell me a long horned cow fish, once. It was a really cool fish, with a great personality! However, when this fish was stressed out by my Hippo Tang, it released a toxin that was catastrophic to the entire tank!

Saw one of these once at an LFS too, which has since closed down (a shame, because it did always have some unique finds). I was surprised, to say the least. I’m sure they can make great pets for experts, but otherwise they seem like one of those fish that should remain in the wild or under the care of public aquariums.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

About 25 years ago a LFS store in NH sold American Alligators about 2’ long.

Kept them on the floor in one of those collapsible kiddie playpens with 3’ high sections!

Did anyone actually buy them? That's crazy a fish store would sell those haha

 

[fish farmer]

For me the “conscience shocking” ones:

Black Tip Reef Shark (about 2’)

and

Blue Ring Octopus

My one LFS has a bad habit of ordering “things that are cool” vs “things that may actually sell”

I can also recall baby Baracuda and Nautilus back in the day (2004-2006ish)

One of my friends worked at a LFS, he tried to educate, but one of the kid's would do the orders, they got in a remora "because it was cool".

About 25 years ago a LFS store in NH sold American Alligators about 2’ long.

Kept them on the floor in one of those collapsible kiddie playpens with 3’ high sections!

Was it Lebanon Pet?

They have some odd stuff from time to time. Seen channel catfish, sturgeon, water hyacinth, lots of pacu still. They have these big open top shallow tanks, one pacu was known to jump out occasionally.

About 20 years ago a local Vermont store had a caiman or gator about 3 feet long. The local game warden told them they couldn't have it. They questioned where the rules for that was....so by 2008 the state made a list of what you could possess and import.

 

[TheFunnyFarm]

Did anyone actually buy them? That's crazy a fish store would sell those haha

They must have as I only saw the setup for two weeks.
I couldn’t believe it either. If there were smartphones back then so many people would have tripped head first into them !!!

 

[TheFunnyFarm]

One of my friends worked at a LFS, he tried to educate, but one of the kid's would do the orders, they got in a remora "because it was cool".


Was it Lebanon Pet?

They have some odd stuff from time to time. Seen channel catfish, sturgeon, water hyacinth, lots of pacu still. They have these big open top shallow tanks, one pacu was known to jump out occasionally.

About 20 years ago a local Vermont store had a caiman or gator about 3 feet long. The local game warden told them they couldn't have it. They questioned where the rules for that was....so by 2008 the state made a list of what you could possess and import.

It was SeaWorld Pet in Salem, NH.

I remember Lebanon Pet. Used to stop there on my way to and from College. Interesting place, didn’t know they had pacu.

 

[Flame2hawk]

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’ve had a Oreni tilefish for a long time and it is hardy, interesting and great tank mate. Never have heard of them being controversial at all. Hmmm??

 

[i cant think]

I’ve had a Oreni tilefish for a long time and it is hardy, interesting and great tank mate. Never have heard of them being controversial at all. Hmmm??

I’ve found these are some of the most controversial fish in terms of being suitable for a reef due to their jumpiness. They’re often quite skittish in a highly lit reef tank.

 

[Tub Life]

When I was a young adult I worked at an LFS that had a tank with black-tip reef sharks. Granted it was a huge display and they were for display only, not for sale.

We also had someone surrender a 2-3' Caiman. Which was a crazy sight to behold, it was kept in a 135 for the short period we had it.

 

[ReeferHD]

one of the LFS i go to stocks a lot of these controversial fish. including Pinecone fish, Remoras, and Stonefish, I'll post pictures i took when i find them.

I can’t find the remora pic but I found the others. Not gonna lie I kinda wanted the stonefish , it’s been in a small tank attached to their main system for over a year now.