Fish That Are NOT For Beginners

FuriousFish

Piranha
MFK Member
Jan 8, 2012
2,427
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America
Hey guys, I have noticed that people ALWAYS make impulse buys on fish that get way to big for the average aquarist to be able to properly maintain. So I am going to compile a list of all the different species of freshwater fish that you should avoid if you are a beginner or do not have a giant tank. With each species I will list the reasons why it is not for beginners and the minimum requirements for keeping that type of fish.
If you want to help contribute please tell me a type of fish you think should be on the list.
Ok first off,

RED TAIL CATFISH:

Reasons why it is nor for beginners:

-Can grow up to 3-4 foot (sometimes larger.

-Grows EXTREMELY fast!

-They have giant mouths and they will without hesitation eat most any tank mates (they are known to die choking on a tank mate that they could not swallow.)

-Feeding costs, filtration costs, maintenance costs etc. Are very high.

-need a Massive tank. 1500 gallons MINIMUM!

Remember, be careful with these guys. They are often seen in pet shops or fish stores at around 4-5 inches for low prices and look so cute. But remember that that little harmless pet store fish can grow larger then the family dog.


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FuriousFish

Piranha
MFK Member
Jan 8, 2012
2,427
98
81
America
Fish #2
PACU

Reasons Why They Are Not For Beginners:

-They grow VERY large (3+ Feet) and are very tall as well.

- They can be really jumpy and if you scare them they may go ballistic and ram into the glass potentially harming theirselves. Many pacus have busted lips and mouths for this reason.

-they need a very large tank. Not just because of their sheer size, but because they are so jumpy the need lots of additional space so that when they gave their "spasms" they do not harm theirselves. Tank size should be 10x4 minimum with around 3 foot height.

-they can be really aggressive towards tankmates at times.

-they have different diets then most other fish

These guys, like alot of other non-beginner fish are commonly sold at small sizes for cheap. Petsmart carries these guys. But what they don't tell you is how big they can actually get.


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rodger

Polypterus
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2008
3,343
283
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Kansas City
What are you going to do with this list? If you are on this forum there is a 99.9% chance you already know this information.

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Aweshade9

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 18, 2012
1,072
10
53
USA
Good intentions, but kinda useless. If a beginner fish keeper finds this, he probably already went through a couple other site, or pages detailing how bad these fish are for beginners.
 

wild bill

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 4, 2010
1,386
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three hills,ab. canada
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I would say there are a lot of other criteria that make a fish not a beginners project other than size.
I would not call a tropheus a beginners fish due to diet. Then there are fish needing soft acidic water. There is far more than size in this topic. Makes me ask if we sold our 1300g tank to a beginner he could then have a rtc?
 

JonY3k

Gambusia
MFK Member
Feb 22, 2013
263
8
18
Ohio Wooster
How about a list of fish that are not at most LFS but are suitable for people with big fish tanks.
 

Evz jardini

Jardini
MFK Member
May 19, 2010
4,761
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manchester /uk
Jardini aro (a lot different to silvers but they dont always tell you that un lfs's) in fact hardly any ive seen them in explain the aggressive behaviour
 

JesNicole

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 6, 2012
5
0
0
Saint Louis
I absolutely agree. My fiancé got our pacus about 15 years ago at petsmart. I believe the tag said that they would grow to 12". So, we were quickly forced into monster fish keeping when they outgrew our 75 gallon aquarium. But I can absolutely say that you are correct about everything you said about them.
 
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