what is your most dissapointing livestock purchase?

[milkit]

http://www.fishtoyourdoor.com/files/1728086/uploaded/Fire%20Shrimp.jpg

I must say that I wanted a fire shrimp for a long time and finally bought one, and it was the biggest waste of $35 bucks I have ever spent. After putting him in the tank he dissapeared and I thought he died. Then 2 weeks later shining a flashlight deep into a huge rock cave I have i spotted him way in the back. I now see him every few days but only with a flash light and hiding. I wish that such a pretty and expensive shrimp would show his face and maybe come clean some fish!

What is a livestock purchase you have made that was dissapointing when you got it home?

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Shrooms..by far.

[milkit]

yeah i have some purple ones. they are lame. i do like my green ricordia though.

birdsnest is also a waste of space I decided

[gws76]

Copperband Butterfly Fish! Love em. Had three, not all at once. They all died in short timespans. They just don't fare well in the aquarium.

Never really had any problems with the rest of my fish from clowns to tangs they live.

[RealReef7]

Flame angel.. Killed my flame scallop and is notorious for picking at sps coral :(

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15512150#post15512150 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RealReef7
Flame angel.. Killed my flame scallop and is notorious for picking at sps coral :(

I am thinking about getting one for my FOWLR tank. so pretty! I have heard that its hit or miss with corals and that when its bad, its real bad!

[seapug]

not really a purchase and not really a disappointment, but rather a regret-- I saved a sick/on the verge of death yellow damsel that a Petco employee was getting ready to flush when I was there buying dog food one day. Much to my chagrin, it fully recovered and is now large, agressive, and bites me every time I'm working in the tank. Some day I will catch that fish.

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15512233#post15512233 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by seapug
not really a purchase and not really a disappointment, but rather a regret-- I saved a sick/on the verge of death yellow damsel that a Petco employee was getting ready to flush when I was there buying dog food one day. Much to my chagrin, it fully recovered and is now large, agressive, and bites me every time I'm working in the tank. Some day I will catch that fish.

haha. I had a pair of 3 stripe damsels that were evil. I caught them using a 2 liter bottle with the neck cut/turned backwards and a peice of chicken off my pizza inside. might try it! just be prepared to catch a bunch of snails too

[Sisterlimonpot]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15512293#post15512293 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by milkit
haha. I had a pair of 3 stripe damsels that were evil. I caught them using a 2 liter bottle with the neck cut/turned backwards and a peice of chicken off my pizza inside. might try it! just be prepared to catch a bunch of snails too So that worked huh?
I like the idea of this thread. I have to say damsels, mushrooms and xenia's. Got rid of everything but the shrooms. I cut one off my rock and 4 emerged from the carnage....

[koranAngel]

same here cleaner shrimp $125

hides at back of tank under rock can only see him with light and a good eye

another was k-angel got rid of him recently
he nipped n ate all of my softies except anemone

[reefman30]

Damsel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[iamwrasseman]

i wasnt disappointed at first at least for the first few days but when i spent $750.00 on three choati leopard wrasses from Blue Zoo i kinda thought it was a bit crazy but it got worse when they died one by one and the week went by ,they were gone and so was my $750.00 not to mention the couple of hundred spent on live foods and medication that i didnt use . i have once again purchased three of the same from my favorite LFS ABC reefs and they are doing great ! four weeks and counting . and let me tell you Tim and Dave saved me a ton of money because they were one third the price this time , thanks guys !

[richie shepherd]

blacktip starfish he fell apart the next day, all corals and fish were fine no problems in water quality, just fell apart,,,,,

[defdad]

I'm a noob and no regrets yet but it sounds like I might be in for some. I have a yellow tail damsel and a mushroom. What have I gotten myself into?!

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15513831#post15513831 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by defdad
I'm a noob and no regrets yet but it sounds like I might be in for some. I have a yellow tail damsel and a mushroom. What have I gotten myself into?!

id try to catch the damsel asap. mushrooms arent really bad, just not anything special and they get boring

[LiveRound69]

my worst purchase by far was mandarin goby that a LFS owner talked my fiance into while we were shopping for other things. I was in the back of the store and separated by a little distance and shelving and didn't see the owner casing my fiance for a quick sale on something. After i got done looking at what interested me, I walked up to the register and seen her already checking out. I seen her holding a paper bag and asked what she got and when i found out...i wasn't really unhappy until i got home..did some research and found out that what he eats...and of course i didnt have probably 1 lonely copepod living in my new system at that point in time. I made a call and tried to return it but they dodged me and continued to do so until after about a month..i knew i was stuck...i tried everything...suddenly running out...purchasing a stand ..and another small tank to make a refugium to grow copepods in..buying supplies , return pumps, overflow box , some live rocks, sand, macro algae, and brine shrimp to feed him.till i got the pods going...AND AFTER ALL THAT I WATCHED HIM SHRIVEL UP AND DIE FROM STARVATION...ugh...i was so mad...the sad thing was ...the whole process of him starving took about 4 or 5 months. I hate that LFS and would never suggest anyone buy anything from them. Matter of a fact is that they have employees that respond to simple questions like someone who has been hit in the head with a huge rock....just baffles me as to why they would want someone of that caliber up front where the public with any sense and intelligence would be able to come into contact with them.

[scuba guy ron]

the many emerald crabs I've purchased. they seem fine, eating away at the algae and then a month later......vaished never to be seen again....4 of em so far.

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15514012#post15514012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scuba guy ron
the many emerald crabs I've purchased. they seem fine, eating away at the algae and then a month later......vaished never to be seen again....4 of em so far.

i have 2 tanks. started with 2 emeralds in each. In one i never see them unless i have a flashlight at light and in the other i found them both dead within a month.

[Toddrtrex]

3 come to mind right away --- Yellow polyps, green start polyps and mushrooms --- grow way too fast, and hard to fully get rid of.

[todd141]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15513854#post15513854 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by milkit
id try to catch the damsel asap. mushrooms arent really bad, just not anything special and they get boring


I completely agree with the mushrooms, they really are boring.

Geometric Pygmy Hawk (http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/hawkfish/geometricpygmyhawk/) - only see him in the morning when all the lights are out and I turn on my desk lamp. He's out sitting right in front. He's grown a lot, but he's NEVER out when the lights are on.

Purple firefish (http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/gobies/purplefirefish/) - I think he might be dead. For about 3 months he lived under a big rock and came out only at feeding time. Haven't seen him for a couple of weeks.

Both were a complete waste of money (and bioload) in my opinion.

[Salamander]

I gotta say its the condylactis anemone my wife bought me.

I knew right away it was a mistake but put it in to make her happy. a day later it crawled across the tank stinging everything in its path.

At least is was easy to catch and dump on the doorstep of the LFS.

[nosecondz]

so far for me its my pistol shrimp i bought in the hope he would pair with my goby.

now you see him now you dont!

[RealReef7]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15514012#post15514012 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scuba guy ron
the many emerald crabs I've purchased. they seem fine, eating away at the algae and then a month later......vaished never to be seen again....4 of em so far.

My emerald crab has been with me for 10 years now. Survived 4 moves. Tough little booger. I gotta get a video up of me hand feeding it cocktail shrimp!

[Everyones Hero]

Probably my 3 sexy shrimp & 2 yellow watchman gobies & a pistol shrimp.

The 3 sexy shrimp just went MIA after a couple of weeks. Same with the 1st YWG. It paired up with the pistol shrimp at the very front of the tank right off the break. Then it just went MIA. A few weeks later I tried another YWG. It also paired up right away & then went MIA. Now I have a pistol shrimp that just stays under a big rock & pops all night.

I'm starting to regret getting my Zebra Dwarf Lion. I had to move my other 3 fish to a 20g & it's not eating. It took a nip of frozen blood worms the night I brought it home but hasn't eating since. Won't touch the blood worms, brine shrimp, mysis, marine food, or silversides, even when I break them up in to little pieces, including just the heads dipped in garlic.

[buhumphrey]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15514266#post15514266 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by todd141
I completely agree with the mushrooms, they really are boring.

Geometric Pygmy Hawk (http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/hawkfish/geometricpygmyhawk/) - only see him in the morning when all the lights are out and I turn on my desk lamp. He's out sitting right in front. He's grown a lot, but he's NEVER out when the lights are on.

Purple firefish (http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/gobies/purplefirefish/) - I think he might be dead. For about 3 months he lived under a big rock and came out only at feeding time. Haven't seen him for a couple of weeks.

Both were a complete waste of money (and bioload) in my opinion.

I just got a pair of purple firefish about 4 days ago and they have been out all the time while the lights are on and once the tank goes completely dark they sneak off into a small hole in a rock but are out again in the morning. Sometimes just 1 hides in the hole during the day, I was hoping this maybe a spawning attempt. I love them! This morning my Royal Gramma tried to go into their hole and they both head butted him repeatedly from both sides. LOL

[mfinn]

My first online zoanthid purchase.
The pictures made them look as big as a tennis ball. What came were the size of my thumb nail.

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15516162#post15516162 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mfinn
My first online zoanthid purchase.
The pictures made them look as big as a tennis ball. What came were the size of my thumb nail.

haha i remember seeing some amazing zoa's online one day. It looked like a huge forest of them in the photo then I saw in the fine print it was a 1" frag. Made me sad.

[mfinn]

Yeah, I was expecting a box big enough to put a pair of boots into. What I got was a box 6"x 6"x 6".:(
I didn't see the fine print.

[Darkstar22]

My first reeftank, I thought the Chocolate Chip starfish looked really cool, bought it. They eat everything! Corals, fish, etc.....and also my first coral ever Goniopora aka flowerpot (the nice yellow one that I now know are for experts..needless to say how long it lasted! That was 15 years ago, and still learning!

[stingythingy45]

Buying 20 lbs of live rock at $8.99 at a lfs.
Only to join a local reefer club and get it for $2 a lb.
Just glad I didn't buy the 90 lbs. of it from that lfs.

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15516547#post15516547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stingythingy45
Buying 20 lbs of live rock at $8.99 at a lfs.
Only to join a local reefer club and get it for $2 a lb.
Just glad I didn't buy the 90 lbs. of it from that lfs.

I had a similar experience with my tank and original lighting/etc. found a much better setup used for 1/6 the price when i found the local forum the next day. luckily i hadnt bought rock yet

[mullinsd2]

def. the pistol shrimp

[stingythingy45]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15516567#post15516567 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by milkit
I had a similar experience with my tank and original lighting/etc. found a much better setup used for 1/6 the price when i found the local forum the next day. luckily i hadnt bought rock yet

It makes for an interest fact about the tank.I point to a few rocks when folks visit,then to a big rock pile and say"those 3 rocks cost me the same as that big rock wall".:rolleyes:
Live and learn...

[Jason Turner]

Abvout 3 months into my first reef one of our LFS talked me into purchasing a blue carpet anemone- ($75.00+). It moved around stinging the hell out of the rest of my livestock then overnight it died and let go of the reef, got caught in a pwerhead, and crashed the tank. I read later online that these things require "expert level" care....what a learning experience.

[Juruense]

Pistol shrimp because it piles up the sand all over the place.

Wife and son brought home a blue linkia, even though I told them not to get one. It died of course. When I told my son it died he asked if he could dry it out and keep it :mad2:

[wooden_reefer]

In all close to 30 years of saltwater, I have never had a single damsel. Never wanted or needed one.

The worst was a tube anenome, it ate my firefish. The LFS said it won't.

[jayelblock]

Coral Banded Shrimp. Lots of personality, and he was fun to watch, but what a terror. Used to pinch all the fish who wandered into his strike zone.

[Jason Turner]

I forgot to mention the timeframe with the anemone...7-10 days.

[scuba guy ron]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15514546#post15514546 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RealReef7
My emerald crab has been with me for 10 years now. Survived 4 moves. Tough little booger. I gotta get a video up of me hand feeding it cocktail shrimp!

You are real lucky. You are the first I've heard of keeping them long term. Everyone I've talked to says they last about 1-2 mos.

[Grassroots]

No regrets on live stock yet just learning experiences :rolleye1:.

As for damsels I personally really enjoy them, a fish who is out a majority of the time and is extremely colorful, although, you gotta pick the non aggressive species :lol:.

I do regret buying a powercompacts way back when, 2002-3 :P looking back I realize I could of just wired up some VHO lamps and kept everything I was keeping back then with ease and wouldn't of had to spend 500bucks on a light setup that was/is obsolete.

[Nanz]

Sally Lightfoot crab, Never Again! leave it in the ocean.

[Crustman]

My wonderful bleached sebae anemone with nice purple tentacle tips. Just rolled on the gravel and never attached. Went behind the live rock and dissappeared. My second is my skunk shrimp that hides all day and comes out at night. I also have a Green mandarin that hides behind the rock. I keep trying to feed it mysids, krill and anything I can squirt in the baster. Just pics the bottom for things I can't see.

[Hucklebery]

Several years ago I bought what was labelled as a "Purple Chromis." It was small, cute, and nice purple color. Within six months it grew like a horse, turned jet black, and was the biggest bully fish I'd ever seen. It looked like a giant black damsel. Any new fish added to the tank was killed within a day or two. This fish literally beat them to death and chewed off their fins. I tried every fish trap know to man. I was able to catch every other fish but this one. In addition to being a mean S.O.B., it was SMART! I even tried using a fish hook with krill on it. Twice I was abke to hook the thing, but it broke the line off on the rocks. The only way I was able to get rid of it was when my entire reef crashed while we were on a weeks vacation. Unfortunately, everything else went with him. The owner of the LFS that sold him had no idea what they were, but said every one who bought them had similar problems.

[TwistedEnvy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15517288#post15517288 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nanz
Sally Lightfoot crab, Never Again! leave it in the ocean. Agreed, although I got mine when I bought my tank, he is now an evil thing. I named him Hitler since he seems to want to execute anything other than a fish...even though he can't. Sometimes it is funny to watch, but other times he annoys me because he thinks he can beat anything (including me) up!

[Felix T Cat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15517224#post15517224 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scuba guy ron
You are real lucky. You are the first I've heard of keeping them long term. Everyone I've talked to says they last about 1-2 mos.

I am going to knock on wood here but mine has been alive for over 3 months and just survived a tank upgrade.

I will admit I hand feed him algae tabs on a regular basis, don't know if that helps.

[milkit]

mine in my tank are about 6 months old now. they were one of my first purchases. whats funny, I have one dinky 29 gal with an eclipse hood, no sump/skimmer/nothing and thats the one they survived in. The 2 in my fancy tank perished long ago.

[Greenxb]

Mine is the royal gramma, I only get to see it when I'm feeding my tank.

[Johnny C]

Green Brittle Star... Ate my clown goby AND my flame angel. (who was given by a friend who now lives out of the country).

Needless to say, I took it upon myself to commit homicide by means of H2O deprivation. :smokin:

[Caetano_Thiago]

"Now I have a pistol shrimp that just stays under a big rock & pops all night." Everyones Hero..

lol thats the funniest thing ive read all day.

[Lightsluvr]

I found a great deal on a blue spot jawfish at my LFS. I put him in a nano tank with seahorses, and he immediately began making his little nest - he was so cute...

He went carpet surfing the first night.

Bummer.

LL

[Caetano_Thiago]

a diamond head goby, one day he was acting a lil crazy and committed suicide, by diving straight into my anemone. $20 lunch. forget about silversides, it only like the expensive stuff lol.

[Caetano_Thiago]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15521556#post15521556 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lightsluvr
I found a great deal on a blue spot jawfish at my LFS. I put him in a nano tank with seahorses, and he immediately began making his little nest - he was so cute...

He went carpet surfing the first night.

Bummer.

LL
lol, that sucks.

[ScarletReef]

My most disappointing livestock purchase was a Spotted Hawkfish. So cute at the LFS, coming up to the glass to stare at me and such, got him home and introduced him, and he seemed to be such a fun personable fish... Then started the terror. First he started by picking off my hermit crabs, then he started bullying the other fish and picking the antennae of my snails. It took two of us over an hour and breaking down half my rock to get the bugger out. :(

[sruiz]

I bought a cleaner shrimp , as soon as I put him in my tank he went in a small hole in a piece of live rock, then the smallest hermit crab I had went and clipped his tail. It was kinda funny because the crab was hanging on to his tail.

[AquaWave523]

I would say the Mandarin fish, I was in the hobby about 5 years ago and purchased one when my tank was only a few months in with no refugium and sufficient co-pod population. :(

Actually I take that back, the darn Cleaner Shrimp aka peppermint shrimp! Died in 1 day...........grrrrrrrrr........

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15522706#post15522706 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sruiz
I bought a cleaner shrimp , as soon as I put him in my tank he went in a small hole in a piece of live rock, then the smallest hermit crab I had went and clipped his tail. It was kinda funny because the crab was hanging on to his tail.

ive had 2 cleaner shrimp. they were both very active and always out. one would even crawl on to my hand every time i put it in the tank and "clean" the ends of my fingers. Unfortunantly each died after about a month which is why i decided to try a fire shrimp

[agentgreen]

So far I'd have to say the firefish I bought. Didn't realize how closely it resembled a silverside...my eel noticed though.

[sam11909]

xenia, stoped pulsing as soon as I put it in the tank, and a few weeks later died. :sad2:

[Nanz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15522801#post15522801 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by agentgreen
So far I'd have to say the firefish I bought. Didn't realize how closely it resembled a silverside...my eel noticed though.

LOL... I had three firefish and I swear they think they are birds until they hit the carpet.

[shaginwagon13]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15512075#post15512075 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 1DeR9_3Hy
Shrooms..by far.

+111111!!!!

plus they brought Aptasia along for a little ride in my tank just to add insult to injury

[agentgreen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15523056#post15523056 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sam11909
xenia, stoped pulsing as soon as I put it in the tank, and a few weeks later died. :sad2:

Mine didn't pulse either after I put mine in the tank, they just were blown around like branches...they shriveled up after I started dosing vodka though. I stopped dosing after about 2 weeks but they never recovered.

[agentgreen]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15523090#post15523090 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nanz
LOL... I had three firefish and I swear they think they are birds until they hit the carpet.

The only time he jumped out onto the floor was when I was acclimating him in a bowl. I went to pour more water in, and the dood got about 15' into the air and right onto the floor. MAN was he hard to pick up!

[LHI]

I know this is to mention the most dissapointing things we bought, but need to save the fireshrimp from bad reputation :)
I have 3 fire shrimps, often I can see all 3 but I can allways see at least 2 of them, they are very friendly towards everything on the aquarium, and 1 sometimes 2 of them also cleans my hand when I put it in the aquarium (yes I have a algee fase atm) :)

http://a.imagehost.org/0304/ild.jpg

[small alien]

Porcelain crabs. I'm 0 for 3. Such a cool animal, too. I don't know why they won't live in may tank. Blah!

[Caetano_Thiago]

that hand looks a lil creepy

[sam11909]

I take back the xenia, that was the second worst buy, My first is the 50 watt power compact I bought for 100 bucks (what a deal!:mad2: ) and the worst part is I bought it for my 55G reef! I new nothing about SW at that time, I just new I wanted Nemo.:fish1:

[nick063]

xenia, just seems like they are very delicate and they shrivel in my tank, or maybe a snow flake eel that jumped out of the tank the same night i bought it

[alextheromanian]

green brain coral...lived for 3 days...thought i could save it looking so sorry at the lfs...

it makes me wanna punch myself in the head for wasting 40$ on a dying coral


<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/alextrusca/IMG_2892.jpg">

[Sisterlimonpot]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15525454#post15525454 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sam11909
My first is the 50 watt power compact I bought for 100 bucks (what a deal!:mad2: ) I did the same exact thing:(

[JLAURIA751]

I bought an anemone from lfs for cheap I don't know what kind it was but It stung the crap out of me, hurt way more than a jelly fish sting. I returned it the next day. I was so ****ed at the store I wanted to throw it at the guys head. Atleast now when I brush against fire coral while diving it doesnt bother as much.

[Aristarchus]

LHI welcome to the forum, great picture you posted.. would love to see more :)

[Korrine]

hmm i don't really regret anything that I've purchased...yet. tanks only been set up since March tho. I research a lot before I buy something too.

I must be lucky w/my red banded pistol shrimp. Have them w/a yasha goby pair. Granted the shrimp only comes out to grab a bite to eat or move sand around, he's still pretty cool to watch.

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg200/kj23502/sw%20tank/100_6816.jpg

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg200/kj23502/sw%20tank/100_6810.jpg

[Pdubss]

a frogspawn never extended or inflated. It was down to a skeleton in a week

[singold]

My first coral (Green Star Polyps rock) which had parasitic seaslugs on it. Picked about 10 of them off. Next day found more. Did fresh water dip, next day found more again. In the trash can it went. I am very particular & inspect corals carefully that I buy now. Have not had a problem like that since.

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15526503#post15526503 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pdubss
a frogspawn never extended or inflated. It was down to a skeleton in a week

i got a frogspawn today, luckily it was already looking good after 10 mins in the tank

[bunzaroo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15523056#post15523056 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sam11909
xenia, stoped pulsing as soon as I put it in the tank, and a few weeks later died. :sad2:

I have tons of it!!! Please take some!!!!!!!!!!

[fufu]

Zebra Eels....hides all day...like a fire shrimp, except he cost $200...

[transd]

pakastani butterfly..... he was so beautiful... and so peaceful the first 2 weeks... then he started picking at my hammer corals.. and killed 5 of them... off he went to another tank

[Tangweed]

Two Peppermint shrimp. I've seen one in the the past month one time. I've had them for over three months :mad:

[Pulp Fishin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15513128#post15513128 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by koranAngel
same here cleaner shrimp $125

hides at back of tank under rock can only see him with light and a good eye

another was k-angel got rid of him recently
he nipped n ate all of my softies except anemone

Cleaner shrimp $125? Please tell me thats a typo!

[Pulp Fishin]

Porqupine Puffer came looking fine, died 4 days later and the rest of my tank broke out with FLukes & FinRot.
Not only did I lose my new puffer but I lost a full grown Lionfish and 2 starfish and spent $170 to save my Blond Naso, Yellow Tang, and blue spot puffer.

Even worse my LSF doesn't give guarantes on marine livestock.

[sharky's machin]

Starfish in general. I can't seem to keep them alive, I've lost the last (and only) 3 I've purchased within a week.

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15527905#post15527905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pulp Fishin
Cleaner shrimp $125? Please tell me thats a typo!

maybe it was one of these spotted cleaner shrimp
http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3370/14226659dive299300012cr.jpg (http://img136.imageshack.us/i/14226659dive299300012cr.jpg/)


I cant find them anywhere to price, which makes me assume they would be pricey if anyone did sell them

[Sisterlimonpot]

Either way $125 for something you can't see is a disappointing livestock purchase

[jayelblock]

Milkit,
that's a Penderson cleaner shrimp, and they are $14.99 here:
http://www.aquacon.com/shrimp.html

Pretty little thing...

[eyesinthedrk]

live or die, hide all day or dancing at the front of the glass like the Warner Brothers frog i wouldn't care, $125.00 for a $25.00 shrimp would be a disappointing purchase in my book

mine would either be my first fish the neon velvet damsel, if you ever think maybe....dont

or my banded sleeper goby almost as mean as the damsel

[Lyfey]

ohh the grand one of them all.. Over 130lbs of live rock at almost 10$ a pound, before I found reefcentral! ASDF!

1. Light pink/green Lobo, lightpink was it bleached practically to death but LFS said thats the way they were.. drrrr thats my bad. Died a week later just got progressively worse.

2. Kole tangs, Ive tried 2 now both dead around the month and half mark.

3. Blue hip tangs. Ive had 1 for almost 9 months, died from flukes/ich. Tried 2 more in succession, same fate within a few weeks.

I think all of our problems have to do with unstable tank parameters and just introducing things to systems that are not mature enough. I know that all my problems except for the Lobophylia were from problems that I caused by not letting the tank mature before introducing sensitive fish. We all live and learn though. Death really is inevetable when learning this hobby.

[Lyfey]

The weirdest thing of them all is I had my first Blue Hippo Tang for almost a year and I put him in my first tank when I had 10lbs of LR and a heater and a canister filter. He lived happy as anything in that 75 gallon. So I discover reefcentral and I "make my tank better" by doing all this buying rock, powerheads, everything, testing kits.. I learned all right, had alot of fish die while I "was making things better"

Nothing in this hobby is better than time, all the gadgets in the world cant help an immature "reef tank" The best lesson has been, "hey just leave it alone, walk away and keep your hands out of the tank. Most issues work themselves out."

how many times have you come home from work and freaked out about a fish not acting correctly and all of a sudden its midnight and you have 4 tubs of live rock on the floor trying to net this fish out to QT him?

[nanshaw2001]

Atlantic Blue Tang.....lost the first one to ich. LFS supplier replaced it for me.....lost the second one to ich. Amazing fish....very disappointing !

[johnmaloney]

i got a mandarin, got the tank full of pods etc..waiting for him and he lives on the back half of the tank and never ventures forward. In the 5 months I have had him, I think I have seen him 9 times tops. :( Pretty fish that are hidden arent much fun.

[sharky's machin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15529619#post15529619 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lyfey
ohh the grand one of them all.. Over 130lbs of live rock at almost 10$ a pound, before I found reefcentral! ASDF!


:eek1:

[milkit]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15531839#post15531839 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by johnmaloney
i got a mandarin, got the tank full of pods etc..waiting for him and he lives on the back half of the tank and never ventures forward. In the 5 months I have had him, I think I have seen him 9 times tops. :( Pretty fish that are hidden arent much fun.

weird, i have a spotted mandarin and he is usually out and about (though close to the rocks)

[100%hydrophylic]

jeeese you guys have some really terrible lfs stories.selling you half dead things... thats terrible.. my lfs always gives me half dead corals FOR FREE just to see if i can get them back to life. i usually keep about 75% of them alive. the rest are usually too far gone. but let me think... the most disappointing thing ive ever bought was a red headed goby. he was absolutely tiny. less than an inch long, but he was so cute! my coral banded shrimp ate him lol. i dont get how he caught him though. that fish was extremely fast and jumpy. the only thing my coral banded shrimp bothered was my blue damsel (another disappointing buy). i didnt care the damsel was getting picked on though. he got what he deserved! but my coral banded i think gave up on life and just kinda sits upside down in the same spot at the front of my tank all day and night and catches food in the current. (also kinda disappointing. he was so active when i first got him)

[ReefWreak]

I traded corals for a YWG and pistol shrimp combo to someone who wanted to get rid of them. The YWG lives in the back of my tank, and I actually havn't seen him since I had a rockslide, however my g/f swears she's seen him, and the pistol I hear popping all the time :rolleyes: .

My little Niger Trigger is cute as a button, but he's got a long-term terminal viral infection that makes him have lacerations and white bumps all over his mouth and dorsal fin. I just try to keep him healthy, and I've always believed that as long as a fish is still eating they're relatively healthy, so he eats, I feel he's healthy.

Pink palythoas.... GRRRR They've grown over a lot of my rock, so I've slowly traded the rocks out with other reefers who want them in their tanks... Fortunately my slower growing favite colony is keeping them at bay for the most part. My mushrooms are growing a lot these days, and as much as I cut them up, they come back with even more of them. I don't think they sting my SPS, but they definitely shade them out until I hack them back with a razor blade.

My big BIG kenya tree that I finally sold. It would drop baby kenya trees every few days, so my tank is/was littered with them, and now the small babies are growing out into larger pieces, and nobody wants kenya trees so I can't really sell them either... Fortunately my tomini tang likes picking on them, so that helps me out a little bit.

Now that I know a little bit about reefkeeping, I try to err WAAAY on the side of caution and do a LOT of research before adding more livestock to my tank. The trigger I knew would be a challenge, but I feed him great food, and he loves frozen and pellets, so I don't think I'll have a problem with him, and as long as he lives a long life, I can't wait until I have to upgrade to a 220 or 375 because of his eventual size and beautiful streamers.

[murfman]

Goldflake Angel fish that lasted 31 days. Have no idea why he died, that is the most frustrating part of it.

[chops29]

First Swaltwater tank was a FO 55 gal. What did I buy not knowing what I do now a bamboo shark. Lasted 6 months in there then up and died one day. Later I found out they grow 3 to 4 feet. Mistakes we make as noobs.

[diverdan814]

I bought a small beautiful, yellow/blue Atlantic Blue Tang and placed him in my 120 reef. He began to terrorize any new addition after growing faster than THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN. I used a fish trap to catch and move him to a 210 FO tank. After growing more, he began to chase all the tangs and butterfly fish. I began to hear splashing sounds all the time. When I broke down the 210 this summer, I could not in good conscious sell or give this belligerent fish to anyone.

[RB Chagoi]

My first Wife!!!

[nick063]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15536487#post15536487 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RB Chagoi
My first Wife!!!

maybe because you bought her? mail order bride ? lol j/k

[weaselslucks]

wow i must have good luck .my skunk shrimp and always out and so is my royal gramma.i think my worst purchase was a large colony of purple zoas. after they started receding for no reason my other zoas started following suit

[Reverend Reefer]

seriously, ever since i've discovered frags, i rarely ever regret purchases. but just to contribute, i'd have to say:

long spined sea urchin
(Diadema savignyi?)

as soon as i started growing purple coralline algae, this roomba decided that was gonna clean my live rock - white clean. so i had to move it to the fuge (i know, its probably not the best idea) where it cleans all the live rock in there.

its in there with a coral banded shrimp (who i thought was possibly homicidal on my fish, so i moved him to fuge along with the urchin, i know its not the best idea!) which i would add to my regrets but its still beautiful so for some reason that makes up for the fact that its presence defeats the purpose of a fuge!

so the main regret is basically having to put them in the fuge, and now the fuge is no longer much a fuge (it still has cheato and mangroves but there are no pods on account of the "regrets".

- rev.

[MC Genghis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15513128#post15513128 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by koranAngel
same here cleaner shrimp $125

hides at back of tank under rock can only see him with light and a good eye

another was k-angel got rid of him recently
he nipped n ate all of my softies except anemone

Cleaner shrimp? $125? This must be a typo right? My cleaner shrimp was well worth the purchase, he keeps all of my fish clean and happy.

[Elysia]

Look, unless you {American} guys know how much cleaner shrimp go for Down Under, leave koranAngel alone. There are differences in livestock costs depending on one's location; not everyone is in the United States.

[merek123]

how many times have you come home from work and freaked out about a fish not acting correctly and all of a sudden its midnight and you have 4 tubs of live rock on the floor trying to net this fish out to QT him?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Thats funny and whats funnier is I doubt I could count. Well I'll contribute. I've had lots of disapointments but most recently my wife wanted another heddoni anemone (since she love to feed the last one which i sold with that tank). So I got her one that was about 5-6 inches. The hosting clown feeds him well so now he is around 12-15 inches and has eaten 1 blue hippo, 1 sand sifter starfish, a beautiful wrasse, 2-fire fish gobies, 2-zebra dart fish, most of the snails and hermits, and a few conch's! It looks like a snail grave yard around him. He's gotta go. I come home and if he's huge immediately start counting fish to see who else met their demise. Bad...Bad...Nem!

[bobbyjeb]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by milkit
haha. I had a pair of 3 stripe damsels that were evil. I caught them using a 2 liter bottle with the neck cut/turned backwards and a peice of chicken off my pizza inside. might try it! just be prepared to catch a bunch of snails too

Wut were they using that bottle for. ? Shouldn't leave pizza inside where they can reach it. !

[wickedfish]

Mine would be when i first started this hobbie 2 years ago. Is getting back to back 3inch indo harliquen tusk's straight from the local lfs shipments on monday. Biggest mistake They died with in a week. I finally realized patience, patience, patience, untill i finally purchased a aus. harliquen tusk that was at the lfs store for about a month eating like a champ.

[KillerReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15516162#post15516162 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mfinn
My first online zoanthid purchase.
The pictures made them look as big as a tennis ball. What came were the size of my thumb nail.

So true, if only I had read the description better. Still love zoos though, can't wait to fill my tank up with them...

[Jesus Freak]

mine, tomato clown, three stipe damsel, blue damsel x2. all evil

i have gotton rid of all of them but 1 blue damsel and i think he is next. best is my clarkii clown and banded sleeper goby.

[vickreyreef]

pulsing xenia.......
they are weeds that take over your tank incredibly fast.....never buy these things....

[vickreyreef]

pulsing xenia.......
they are weeds that take over your tank incredibly fast.....never buy these things....

[harthag12]

Reefkeeper lite, thought it would be great insurance by having lights & heaters plugged in to turn off if things overheated, worked great for 3 weeks than the temperature probe went all wonky one day & would read 74 one second and 87 the next, I'd come home to find the lights & heaters off and tank temp on the other 2 thermometers in the tank reading 74 (I wanted it at 79-80). Now it's stuck on a temp probe error that I haven't been able to fix (haven't tried in a month or so). I just use it as an expensive timer for my lights. (whole thing is only 3 months old at this point).

[Romulox234]

Id say this bubble coral i bought 2 years back, i wanted one so bad and i bought it and in 2 years it has not grown at all not even a little bit im glad its a small rock and doesnt take up a wole lot of space but still 2 years and not even an inch? when everything else has been growing fine

[blennielove]

My worst purchase was a flame scallop at my husband's bidding. We did not know that they actually eject themseves around the tank until they find a "happy place" during which knocking all my rock work out of place. It then finds himself in this spot that we can never see him, so again, at my husband's bidding, I move him. This went on for around 6 months till it died. I felt bad that I couldn't find it a "happy place" and told my husband, "Please, we can only keep animals that I can sort of understand. I can understand fish and crabs and shrimps and snails, but sorry, No bivalves!"