This fish wasn't all it was cracked up to be.....it was a let down?

Have you ever gotten a fish that you were so excited about but it ended up being a bust?

  • Yes (please tell us what in the thread)

    Votes: 161 60.1%
  • No

    Votes: 96 35.8%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 11 4.1%

  • Total voters
    268

arussellnsg

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I was so excited to get my livestock and when I first started over a year ago. I fell in love with the "look" of the Blue Velvet Damsel. I regret that decision so bad. He's actually the ugliest, nastiest, most evil SOB
 

stacksoner

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My Clownfish. I love them but they kinda annoyed me as they won't host anything except a algae scrubber. They also bite a lot
+1 to this. I bought a pair of all black clownfish and they made a home in the back corner of my tank against the black background. I couldn't even see them
 

Maxine

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Aside from watching my aiptasia-eating filefish avoid its supposed prey and go after my acans and zoas instead, no.
That happened to us too! We were so confused as to why our zoas were slowly dying and everything else was fine.. eventually we caught the filefish munching on our LSOH. :'(
 

rhostam

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Holy cow, look at how varied the responses are! I'm surprised at a few of them because they came highly recommended as basic crews or starters for a tank, among them are:
  • Clownfish - "hardy starter fish" - these guys stick to their little nesting corner but come out and seem to get along just fine with the other fish. If the chromis are jerks, they are jerks back - but on the whole don't seem to be actively bothering other inhabitants.
  • Six-line Wrasse - mine spends all day inspecting and going in and out of caves. He holds his ground when chromies or clowns try to shoo him away, but he doesn't actively seem to seek conflict. He is such a gorgeously simple fish and fun to watch.
  • Green Chromis - they school nicely. Sure they enforce their pecking order and do the odd lip locking shoving ritual a lot, but they generally stick to themselves. If it weren't for them, I don't think my clowns would have ever come out from hiding (they hid in the back of the tank for weeks until the chromis arrived). They are clever fish and camp out near the feeder now. Sigh. They can be more bullies than any of the other fish, but its always super brief as in they crossed paths in a moment. The next they've moved on.
  • Lawnmower Blenny - mine is always working at the glass or rockwork scraping off algae. I've seen him scoop up rocks so he could be better positioned to access algae at the base. He also readily accepts food, but has never stopped mowing the lawn.

If I had to complain about a tank inhabitant, it would be the "peppermint shrimp." I wasn't excited about them. But they were supposed to have a function. The posers I bought were not the correct ones and this was before I knew that there were different, yet similar species that behave wildly different. Mine learned quickly that if they annoy corals with their poking and prodding those corals will regurgitate their food. They treat them as Pez dispensers. I have to ensure they've eaten before I target feed any corals. They were particularly rude to the duncanopsammia and catalaphyllia j.

I intend on catching these poser peppermint shrimp and preparing them for the cynarina to exact vengeance on their behalf. Well, that is what I daydream anyhow.
 

Buckster

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I had an orange anthias that was aggressive towards other fish. separated it to the qt. Also a blenny that chewed the side fins off my green mandarin. That blenny was donated to my lfs.
 

KyOsIBa515

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Maroon clownfish. Bred from the depths of hell. I had a pair and whenever I would put my hand in the tank they turned into jaws. Also bullied EVERY fish.
 

ZoWhat

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t-mcdonalds-Filet-O-Fish.jpg

The only fish that will never let you down...


.
 

Goaway

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Red spotted hawkfish.
I thought it would be okay to add him with my powder blue and fox face. With in minutes of adding that booger. He claimed all the rock and would dive bomb the rest of the tank mates. 2 days later, I couldn't find him. 6 months later, no sign of him.
 

ClownSchool

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Meanest saltwater fish you can buy. Intelligently plans out how to bite you and draw blood

Gold-Stripe-Maroon-Clownfish.jpg
My female Clarkii does the same thing. She hasn’t drawn blood, but she’s getting increasingly bolder and will even attack the net.
 

Fezbearer

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I never see my captive-bred yellow watchman goby. I see a lot of them poke their heads out of the holes and stuff in vids, in the store, but mine literally never does this. It's also barely yellow. It's very pale, almost white.
This right here. I added one to my tank, and he decided he’s going to live behind one of the big rocks in my tank. Never see him any more.
 

dkfrosty1

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Have you ever gotten a fish that you were so excited about but it ended up not living up to your expectations? Let's talk about those fish today and why they weren't all you wanted them to be!

1. What fish were you excited about but turned out to be a let down?

2. Why did this fish not meet your expectations?



Huma Picasso triggerfish, Rhinecanthus aculeatus This is a royalty-free image from Pixabay.
reef-triggerfish-2274544.jpg
My fire fish is soooo boring! He just stays in one spot all day! Pretty but dull!
 

ClownSchool

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Neon dottyback - My LFS recommended it after they sold me a live rock riddled with bristle worms as a way to clean them up.
Needless to say, it will look at them as they leave their holes, and then go harass the hermit crabs.
 

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ARCkeeper

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My first bluespotted jawfish. He was beautiful and settled into the tank nicely. I knew they were jumpers so I was careful to have a tight top on the tank - or so I thought. I had him less than two weeks when I found him dried up on the floor behind the tank. I CSI'd the scene and, as far as I can tell, he got out through a half inch by half inch gap around where the filter discharge entered the tank.
 

squidarcher

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I never see my captive-bred yellow watchman goby. I see a lot of them poke their heads out of the holes and stuff in vids, in the store, but mine literally never does this. It's also barely yellow. It's very pale, almost white.
That means it’s a female
 
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