What Fish Do You Regret Buying?

[Rosenbaumn]

Giant danios- I was told they would be great in a community tank, but they just chased my other fish and would let anyone on the top 1/3 of the tank

 

[Collusalbuzz]

Hey everyone! I've seen this topic on a few fishkeeping yt channels and I thought it would be cool to hear everyones answers on this aswell!
What fish have you owned that you regret owning/buying and why?
Heres a few of mine:
Sailfin Plecostimus - I got one of these when I was Quite young and inexperienced in the hobby, only expecting it to grow to around 7 inches but as we all know, that number is usually triple hahaha.
Three spot gourami - Again I was more inexperienced and had no idea how to handle aggression at the time especially when I wasn't expecting it from the gouramis.
Electric Blue Ram - I had bought a pair a couple months ago but I made a huge mistake by buying them off a huge chain store where they had clear deformities and thinking I was doing them a favour by "rescuing them" they were already too far gone and did not survive further than a week even in good water perametres.
Firemouth Cichlid - A few years ago I was obsessed with these fish and owned a trio, Great fish but destroyed my community which is my own fault for not doing the full research on the breeding activities of these fish and understanding the space needed to succesfully house three let alone one in a community setup.
Last but not least
Bala Shark - As a kid, I saw these in the store and thought "Shark I want!" which ended up me unkowingly buying a fish that grows to over at least 1ft and housing it in a 30 gallon tank, fish stores should definetely make a huge effort to either ensure the customers have suitable tanks or just not sell them at all! Such a beautiful fish that is unfortunately always sold even if you don't have a suitable aquarium and I will always feel awful for the poor bala I bought all those years ago. I hate my decisions for buying all of these fish and I really wish I researched them all before considering buying but it's all learning and I wish I could've been a better fishkeeper for the sake of the fish as I love them all and all animals and people ?

Gold fish, but I was so new to the hobby back then?

 

[Ken Sauer]

Hey everyone! I've seen this topic on a few fishkeeping yt channels and I thought it would be cool to hear everyones answers on this aswell!
What fish have you owned that you regret owning/buying and why?
Heres a few of mine:
Sailfin Plecostimus - I got one of these when I was Quite young and inexperienced in the hobby, only expecting it to grow to around 7 inches but as we all know, that number is usually triple hahaha.
Three spot gourami - Again I was more inexperienced and had no idea how to handle aggression at the time especially when I wasn't expecting it from the gouramis.
Electric Blue Ram - I had bought a pair a couple months ago but I made a huge mistake by buying them off a huge chain store where they had clear deformities and thinking I was doing them a favour by "rescuing them" they were already too far gone and did not survive further than a week even in good water perametres.
Firemouth Cichlid - A few years ago I was obsessed with these fish and owned a trio, Great fish but destroyed my community which is my own fault for not doing the full research on the breeding activities of these fish and understanding the space needed to succesfully house three let alone one in a community setup.
Last but not least
Bala Shark - As a kid, I saw these in the store and thought "Shark I want!" which ended up me unkowingly buying a fish that grows to over at least 1ft and housing it in a 30 gallon tank, fish stores should definetely make a huge effort to either ensure the customers have suitable tanks or just not sell them at all! Such a beautiful fish that is unfortunately always sold even if you don't have a suitable aquarium and I will always feel awful for the poor bala I bought all those years ago. I hate my decisions for buying all of these fish and I really wish I researched them all before considering buying but it's all learning and I wish I could've been a better fishkeeper for the sake of the fish as I love them all and all animals and people ?

Serpae Tetras...fin nippers...can be very mean even to one another

 

[Surfing_Chef]

Hey everyone! I've seen this topic on a few fishkeeping yt channels and I thought it would be cool to hear everyones answers on this aswell!
What fish have you owned that you regret owning/buying and why?
Heres a few of mine:
Sailfin Plecostimus - I got one of these when I was Quite young and inexperienced in the hobby, only expecting it to grow to around 7 inches but as we all know, that number is usually triple hahaha.
Three spot gourami - Again I was more inexperienced and had no idea how to handle aggression at the time especially when I wasn't expecting it from the gouramis.
Electric Blue Ram - I had bought a pair a couple months ago but I made a huge mistake by buying them off a huge chain store where they had clear deformities and thinking I was doing them a favour by "rescuing them" they were already too far gone and did not survive further than a week even in good water perametres.
Firemouth Cichlid - A few years ago I was obsessed with these fish and owned a trio, Great fish but destroyed my community which is my own fault for not doing the full research on the breeding activities of these fish and understanding the space needed to succesfully house three let alone one in a community setup.
Last but not least
Bala Shark - As a kid, I saw these in the store and thought "Shark I want!" which ended up me unkowingly buying a fish that grows to over at least 1ft and housing it in a 30 gallon tank, fish stores should definetely make a huge effort to either ensure the customers have suitable tanks or just not sell them at all! Such a beautiful fish that is unfortunately always sold even if you don't have a suitable aquarium and I will always feel awful for the poor bala I bought all those years ago. I hate my decisions for buying all of these fish and I really wish I researched them all before considering buying but it's all learning and I wish I could've been a better fishkeeper for the sake of the fish as I love them all and all animals and people ?

I had 37 tiger barbs once in a species only aquarium and they destroyed everything I tried to do with plants or other fish !! Crazy things

 

[663]

Years and years ago, when my husband and I first started to get into fish but still didn't know that much about them, a fish store sold us a pair of "red-bellied cichlids." After they got upsurdly large and we saw their grotesquely horrifying human-like teeth, we realized that they were red bellied pacus! They got so large and were pretty aggressive that the one we named Montana jumped up and broke our housing for our light. We had to rehome them ASAP to lovely folks that literally have thousands of gallons worth of tanks in their home and seascapes painted all over their basement walls. LOL

We have VERY similar experiences, Mimi. It's great to know that you and the hubby exist and know how amazing pacu's are. If I may ask, how large did your pacu's get before you rehomed them? My Alice doubled in size in just over a year. All it took was my indulgence, fruit wedges and things like Brazil nuts. She was a filthy fish but we loved her. ?

 

[Sunnyvmx]

In Mexico you learn to take what you can get. I returned to my one and only LFS for a few more Cory's. He only had little catfish and didn't know what they were. I bought 5 and my research said Syndodontis Nigriventris or Upside-down Catfish. Only 3.5 to 4 inches and I had 5 in a 10 gal. A month later, 40L tank and custom made cabinet, custom vinyl background, more Cory's, Kitty Tetras, Molly's, a Betta and Dwarf Gourami are all well and happy.

I wanted a small aquarium to supply fish water for my plants. Now I have enough for plants and yard too. Not really complaining. The tanks are fun and a pleasure. So is my life.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Years and years ago, when my husband and I first started to get into fish but still didn't know that much about them, a fish store sold us a pair of "red-bellied cichlids." After they got upsurdly large and we saw their grotesquely horrifying human-like teeth, we realized that they were red bellied pacus! They got so large and were pretty aggressive that the one we named Montana jumped up and broke our housing for our light. We had to rehome them ASAP to lovely folks that literally have thousands of gallons worth of tanks in their home and seascapes painted all over their basement walls. LOL

Oh wow! You were very lucky you were able to find such a good home for them! Have heard many horror stories of people getting stuck with their pacu, because no one can take them.

This guy ended up keeping a huge pacu that he loved, but ended up keeping for years in much too small a tank, just because he couldn't find anyone who would take her until Ohio Fish Rescue agreed to come get her. Makes me very glad my LFS doesn't buy in monster fish unless it's a special order and that person has the right set up for them. They've taken in common plecos that someone has bought elsewhere and can't house anymore, but they don't buy them in.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I hear pacus are fairly decent eating...

 

[663]

Pacu's are increasingly used as farm fish based on their resistance to adverse water conditions, and decent taste. I won't be eating any, though.

 

[lotsofcloth]

Because of the frequent “dwarf gourami disease” (which mine more than likely has atm), I regret getting a fish with such frequent health issues that I get attached to so quickly.

Same here. I lost my DG this morning - third one I've lost in as many years. This one was a gorgeous orange and such a mellow temperament. I loved how he got along with the rest of the 55G inhabitants and how he added color, but I hate that they all seem to wind up sick. Now I need to decide whether to go through it again...

 

[Trop65]

Hey everyone! I've seen this topic on a few fishkeeping yt channels and I thought it would be cool to hear everyones answers on this aswell!
What fish have you owned that you regret owning/buying and why?
Heres a few of mine:
Sailfin Plecostimus - I got one of these when I was Quite young and inexperienced in the hobby, only expecting it to grow to around 7 inches but as we all know, that number is usually triple hahaha.
Three spot gourami - Again I was more inexperienced and had no idea how to handle aggression at the time especially when I wasn't expecting it from the gouramis.
Electric Blue Ram - I had bought a pair a couple months ago but I made a huge mistake by buying them off a huge chain store where they had clear deformities and thinking I was doing them a favour by "rescuing them" they were already too far gone and did not survive further than a week even in good water perametres.
Firemouth Cichlid - A few years ago I was obsessed with these fish and owned a trio, Great fish but destroyed my community which is my own fault for not doing the full research on the breeding activities of these fish and understanding the space needed to succesfully house three let alone one in a community setup.
Last but not least
Bala Shark - As a kid, I saw these in the store and thought "Shark I want!" which ended up me unkowingly buying a fish that grows to over at least 1ft and housing it in a 30 gallon tank, fish stores should definetely make a huge effort to either ensure the customers have suitable tanks or just not sell them at all! Such a beautiful fish that is unfortunately always sold even if you don't have a suitable aquarium and I will always feel awful for the poor bala I bought all those years ago. I hate my decisions for buying all of these fish and I really wish I researched them all before considering buying but it's all learning and I wish I could've been a better fishkeeper for the sake of the fish as I love them all and all animals and people ?

For me, buying 2 gold gouramis.
The larger spends all his time bullying the smaller one. He leaves the other fish alone at least.

 

[Becauseweare]

Convicts,

They are beautiful and fun to watch, as they are easy to keep, but they are extremely territorial and constantly on conflict with other fishes, in my cases with the Oscar and a bushy nose pleco.

He spent his time patrolling his rock, "his apartment".

 

[Callisto405]

I had a 10 gallon tank a long time ago and it got overrun by black brush algae so I purchased 2 Siamese Algae Eaters in hopes they would clean it up. They did just that. I was amazed

Fast forward 10 years. I get my 55 gallon and I buy 6 Siamese Algae Eaters for it. Only problem is, I don't have an algae problem and these fish grow to 6 inches?. Wish I didn't buy so many. On a side note these fish are for the most part laied back but they can be absolutely lightning fast. I swear it's the fastest fish I've owned. They cross a 55 gallon tank in the blink of an eye

Another fish I regret is the Black Skirt Tetra. Whoever said they were peaceful fish is nuts. These fish are just as vicious as cichlids. I couldn't keep Neons with them cuz they would eat them. Straight Tank Terrors

 

[MaryOski]

My bristle nose plecos. They are hardly ever seen and just another thing to feed. Although they aren’t fish, I also bought Malaysian Trumpet Snails in my early days. Who does that? A normally reputable guy on another forum told me to get them since I had added sand as my substrate in a tank. Now they are everywhere!

I had one of those years ago in a tank with my 10 yr old Jack Dempsey. I actually loved him. Thought he was really cool and Jack left him alone haha

 

[Electric Warrior]

GBR's. I tried several times when I kept discus, and even though the discus were fairly difficult to keep, the GBR's would never last more than a month. I think I gave up after the third try. Beautiful fish but too stressful just waiting for them to die in my tank.