What Not To Keep In Your Tank And Why!

[Pearsondesign]

cool
the tank has sliding glass lids, and a very heavy wooden hood
it isnt getting out of this tank lol

 

[sorgan]

Lol lljdma06, couldn't handle a planted tank huh? How about trying a planted marine tank champ! Nitrates? Phosphates? Bah! Try to keep those constant as well as PH, S.G, high light output, calcium, magnesium, CO2, O2 and the 70 odd other elements that make sea water, oh and try to find non invasive, non poisonous, non narcotic, non illegal algae to grow.
Finally try to find some critters to keep the tank alive that won't feast on your precious algae, oh did I mention the tendency algae has to dump all it's nutrient into the water and nuke the tank?

Planted freshwater, may have to give it a go

 

[-Nemo-]

white lightning sponge

Shame, because they're gorgeous

 

[lljdma06]

Lol lljdma06, couldn't handle a planted tank huh? How about trying a planted marine tank champ! Nitrates? Phosphates? Bah! Try to keep those constant as well as PH, S.G, high light output, calcium, magnesium, CO2, O2 and the 70 odd other elements that make sea water, oh and try to find non invasive, non poisonous, non narcotic, non illegal algae to grow.
Finally try to find some critters to keep the tank alive that won't feast on your precious algae, oh did I mention the tendency algae has to dump all it's nutrient into the water and nuke the tank?

Planted freshwater, may have to give it a go

Oh, please, it wouldn't be that hard! It's just a matter of reading, research, & having the finances. I've followed some Marine planted journals; some American Planted forums have a subsection for Marine planted tanks. Barr Report has had a few Marine journals. Seagrass tanks are especially beautiful and it is a local biotope in South Florida. You are most welcome to join me where the grass is greener.

Continue discussing what you shouldn't keep in your tanks.

 

[Pearsondesign]

hang on, non narcotic?
what is meant by this?
can you get underwater weed so to speak?

im curious here, didnt know any underwater plants were considered narcotics

 

[sorgan]

Some marine algae is has narcotic elements much the same as the well known land bound plants we all know of.
It's a matter of survival, if you eat a plant and get stoned, whilst watching the pretty colors you have a greater tendency to be eaten by a shark (if your a fish)
And i much agree with not keeping moray eels in a tank unless it is well big enough for the eel, eels, sharks and rays use vast amounts of area in the sea and don't belong in a glass box.
I know this argument could be said for all fish bit when you consider that most small reef fish tend not to go very fair from their claimed area (usually less then a metre or so away) our tanks (if properly cared for) are more a haven then a prison.

Although I suppose any of these 'don't keep' species would thrive in systems dedicated or tailored to their needs.

 

[GAB99]

well ill be the mediater(sp) since i do both tanks and say both are rather challenging so we can stop the smack talk and stay on topic

ive got a book that lists things to avoid they might have already been listed but ill list em anyways, note that some entries are simply because they are a bit tricky for newbies, ill pint em out if i note them:

Magnificent sea anemone, will just waste away without good care, alternative would be bubble tips

corkscrew anemone, needs expert care

tube anemones, similar to aips in which they are total pests most of the time

green brittle star, fish eater

carnation coral, very hard to take care of and waste away in even supossedley well suited aquariums

colored tree coral, same as carnation essentially

flowerpot coral, needs expert care due to diet (again like i mentioned above)

sun coral, does not require light but needs to be fed (this would be one that i mentioned)

hairy legged hermits, grow large and will prey on nearly everything if its small enough. suited for species tanks

horse-shoe crabs, need open fields of sand and large tanks, can get wedged inbetween rocks or starve very easily

sally light foot crab, larger they get more predatory they become

spider decorator crab, decimates reefs, but suitablefor species tanks

feather stars, almost impossible to keep as they are very selective filter feeders

lettuce slug, need lots of food to survive, but are generally easy compared to slugs

caulerpa, extremely invasive

elephant ear mushroom, known to have eaten many a clownfish, good for species tank tho

Phillidia varicosa, if it gets hurt or dies, itll nuke the tank

nudibranch, generally toxic, and typically starve in tanks

blue ring octopus,nuff said

sea apple, look like something out of avatar, this cucumber generally starves in a tank and itll take everyhting else with it.

sea pens, require DSBs and target feeding

most sea stars, starvation, the best choice would be a spotted linckia if reefers wish to attempt stars

crown of thorns, gigantic starfish that eats polyps

catalina peppermint shrimp, need cooler temps,and willnot eat aiptasia

bumblebee snail, not algae eaters, they are carnivores and sometimeseven hunt other snails (again i think this would be an exception)

cone shells, have the ability to kill a human in 3 minutes, fish in even less time

flamingo tongue, eats polyps and fancies gorgonians

margarita snails, cold water snails only

tritons trumpet, this thing eats crown of thorns starfish, eats sleeping fish and has toxic saliva, and it gets 2' ,could be kept in species only but best left in the wild

sponges, difficult to care for, (nother exception)

spanish dancer, 2' monsters that eat eat sponges, species only but best left alone

fire urchins, not suitable for unknowing aquarists or kids, the colors are there for a reason.

longspined urchins, need big aquariums and can cause pain from stings

slate pencil urchin, bulldozers, either superglue everything or give it a species tank


hoped this helped