mrbigmuscles posted a reply:

In regards to what "Funfishtank" has to say, I disagree. Whether you cycle fishy or.

If It Won't Live in Aquaria, Leave It in the Ocean!

This is not a complete list by any means. We will up-date this list from time-to-time. Please note that not all members of a listed Genus or Family are difficult to keep. Many species that are closely related to those listed here are hardy. If you disagree with any of our selections, or feel we've left out a particular species, please email us by clicking here. We'll evaluate your comments and revise our list if you can plead a good case. Comments like "I've kept one for years" will be ignored, as exceptions to everything in life and nature exist, and your case is the exception, whether you like it or not. How Our List is Organized: Fish species appear on our list for the following reasons: Diet: Require a specialized diet, very difficult to duplicate in captivity. Habitat: Require a specialized habitat which is very difficult to simulate. Drugs: Often collected using Sodium Cyanide or drugs, or which come from areas of the world where these methods are still in use. Aggressive: Extremely aggressive, have large territories in the wild, and are unsuitable for most community aquariums. Aggression in fish is not an indicator of "anger" but is due to highly-territorial behavior. Dangerous: Fish and invertebrates that are able to poison or severely hurt the hobbyist, sometimes resulting in death or trauma. Note that in most cases, this does not necessarily mean they cannot be kept successfully in a home aquarium. We just want you to be careful! Size: Grow too large for almost all home aquariums, requiring more than 1000 gallons, and in many cases, several thousand gallons. Stress: Those species that are very sensitive and stress easily, do not transport well, and are susceptible to parasites and disease. This classification also includes species that only seem to survive in an aquarium when kept in large shoals (schools), and those that are collected from deep water, often improperly Rare: Folks! If it is next to impossible to FIND a fish in the wild, collecting that species is a sure-fire way to drive it into extinction! To us, keeping these species is very irresponsible. We have two words for people that disagree with this . . . BITE ME! Please note that some species may be on the list for more than one or more of these reasons, but not all reasons are shown due to space limitations. In our opinion, one or two reasons alone are enough to avoid that species, unless it falls into the category of being available as tank-raised, may be kept in an aggressive community tank, or is classified as poisonous, but easy-to-keep. Whenever we felt additional comments were necessary, we have added them in a row below the listed species. Definition of Classes: To clarify our position on listing certain species, while also conserving space in the following table, we have assigned a "Class" to each fish which correspond to the following comments. In some cases, this may seem redundant, but this is done to emphasize the importance of these reasons to avoid that species. A - Fish that should never be kept in captivity, period. B - Fish that may be kept successfully, but ONLY in public aquaria that can supply their specialized needs. C - Fish that are often kept successfully in larger reef aquaria, but usually do not survive in fish-only aquariums. This is commonly due to specialized diet requirements that reef aquaria provide, in the way of naturally occurring micro-crustacean populations, but in some cases, may simply be due to the more complete natural ecosystem found in reef tanks. D - Fish that are now bred and raised in captivity. Tank-raised specimens of these species will do well in aquariums, whereas wild-caught may not. E - Fish that are almost always caught with Cyanide or drugs, and whose purchase supports this horrible practice. F - While not impossible to keep in a home aquarium, requires either a specialized diet and/or habitat that make it impossible to keep with the majority of other species. Many should be kept in a dedicated tank. This classification is also used with very aggressive fish, or those that can eat larger fish, requiring special consideration when choosing tank mates. G - Venomous. Exercise extreme caution when catching, or when cleaning the aquarium, and do not keep if you have small children. H - Fish that should not be sold or purchased because they are rare. We felt the need to emphasize this one. Imagine public reaction to our hobby if it were discovered and published that the aquarium trade was responsible for the extinction of a species. Note that we have also included certain invertebrate species, which we strongly feel are being exploited in the aquarium trade, or may inflict toxic bites or stings, capable of inflicting severe injury, or even death.