Fish Compatibility - what a disappointment

[Charley]

Beginning to find this hobby to be such a bummer.....have a 90 gal reef tank and can't make a move with fish. You buy this and it will kill that. Want a blue one, it will get ich, You buy this it will eat all the inverts. Get this and grows too big.You get that and it will who knows what. What's the point? Spent all this money to have maybe 6-8 fish that might maybe be ok together and everything else is off limits for whatever reason forever......should just take up something fun it seems.

Just a hobby to grow some pretty corals and frag and make a few bucks.....what else is there to do? Even with that, one false move with water parameters and your toast.

 

[Timbo]

It is important to make sure you know what you want to accomplish and add in your tank and not impulse buy in this hobby. I keep saying no more fish but another finds it?s way into my tank and all get along fine. Some aggression is expected when any new fish is added but they figure it out quick and as long as you keep them fed not much to worry about. At least that is my two cents.

 

[Charley]

Definitely not impulse buying....not buying anything...that's the whole prob

 

[marrone]

This is why people have multiple tanks, some of which can be FO, FOWLR or a reef tank. This will let you keep more fish than say if you have one big tank.

 

[Charley]

Well that's a thought......ok I got the yellow tang, which I love in the 90 gal. also love a copperband, now I need another at least 90 gal for that puppy. Oops, also love the blue hippo...tang police (laughable) would recommend a minimum of 200 gals? Not to mention the other bunch of fish I would enjoy having....space, money? The hobby turns out to be in reality very much a wierd pipe dream of false hope as to what it is ....except for the rare few who can actually do it. Reduced to some nice corals and a bunch of clowns and even they might not get along ...

 

[Timbo]

Can you go big? My goal is to get to 300g one day and I am sure it still won?t be enough room because you always want more as things continue to look good in the tank.

 

[Charley]

Yes, I prob cold could at some point.......but is it worth it? As big as 300 gals is, it is still soooo limiting, so risky, so expensive, etc.......I love fish, corals, the ocean, etc.....just seems so pointless. Was in the LFS today and it hit me that all should just stay where they came from......way too complicated in reality, absolutely nothing is certain and most look horrible in the stores, maybe I can give a better life for some.....but so what. It all felt sooooo sad and a bit painful quite frankly. I guess I should take up golf or something.

 

[NL146]

I'm not sure I understand. Compatibility, requirements and care are natural considerations when choosing pets. It's just the same with fish and corals.

 

[NL146]

I'm holding out for Ventralis anthias

 

[Charley]

Sort of yes......but with fish, it is so limiting as to what u can keep....makes it boring and frustrating. The perceived enjoyment of having fish, especially if you do like it and to scale up this hobby to enjoy the breadth of the species one would like to enjoy is to me just a huge frustration and add in the fact how few one can have in 1 tank is disappointing at best. Compatibility Is the big prob at the outset already setting up huge disappointments usually resulting in taking chances which only compounds the whole deal. Yeah I kmow...everyone should plan perfectly at the outset and resist every impulse ..not realistic generally speaking. I have gotten good at resisting but this is only creating frustration to the point of not fun at all......just a let down.

 

[Donewiththisplace]

Yes compatibility issues suck..but there are ways to try and make it work.

Adding the more timid and peaceful fish first and the more aggressive fish later on will sometimes alleviate compatibility issues. Allow the peaceful ones to get comfortable in the tank and establish their space. Then when a more aggressive species comes in, it's at the disadvantage.

Also, try buying smaller or younger fish if their temperament is more aggressive. If their outsized, good chance they will not mess with anything larger.

Lastly, make sure your tank has plenty of caves, overhangs of different sizes. The areas that the smaller fish can seek refuge. If their gonna be harassed at least they can take a break now and then.

Yes, there are alot of fish that shouldn't be put together but there are also plenty of instances where they survive together in all size tanks just fine.

As for the tank size requirements...use common sense. Yes a larger fish requires more tank space..and im not saying go and put a hippo into a 10 gallon nano. But if u like the hippo tang, get a small one. Just know that at some point down the road you may have to either upgrade your tank or trade/sell it off to a bigger home.

As far as the challenges of keeping sw tanks and all the problems that come along with them..it just comes with the territory. Any hobby you have is gonna have set backs. Yes its frustrating, aggravating to the point where you want to dump the whole tank into the street. But when you overcome those challenges, understand and balance out all those parameters that seem so dam finicky...you'll finally sit down and be able to enjoy a small piece of the ocean in your living room.

Just think..if a hobby was something that you did once and then never had to interact with again, it would be kinda boring wouldn't it? Wouldn't be a hobby.

 

[Charley]

Yes, got all that and agree of course. I would love more interaction....but thats the prob, how? can't add more fish, done! Ok, now it's boring. I go to the LFS like its a museum of wonders. Even if parameters are consistently perfect, what's there to do? Just maintain the perfect parameters. Prob is, the more knowledge and the more perfectly u do things, the more boring it gets. Can't upset the balance! Very bad. Even though u love it, don't buy it, bad things will happen! It's like Russian Roulette became the hobby.

 

[Donewiththisplace]

I dont know about you, but for me the purpose of the hobby is to get things set with as little work as possible..in turn allowing for the enjoyment of what I maintain. As the tank ages,the work load should become less and less. The last thing I want is to be constantly working on the tank to keep it running. Got kids to involve in doing water tests/changes? Document the corals and fish u have and monitor growth? Fragging? Spot feeding or hand feeding the livestock? Aquarium photography? Brag to people that come over about your tank and explain to them what goes into it? I find that people who aren't into tanks are intrigued by them and often find them staring. Theres plenty to do to keep you busy.

Well either way good luck...worst case, keep us posted when it will be out on the curb.

 

[Charley]

The purpose of me doing anything at this point in my life with more years behind me than ahead of me is to have fun, period, end of story. Simply lamenting how much fish there is and so little room to do anything with them, which is a real bummer for me. Sure, I add corals like everyone else and they are nice of course. I just find the hobby very very limiting which is my biggest frustration and a huge disappointment. It looks vast, but in reality just contained to the few gallons one has. Do all things u mentioned to one degree or another. I use to enjoy going to LFS's. But not now so much. If I see something I like, all I can do is sigh.......or risk becoming Evil Knieval of the reef hobby squeezing things in at great peril not only perhaps costing the lives of the fish and corals, but losing money......having said all that, not breaking down the tank anytime soon. do enjoy the reading different perspectives, mush appreciated