Fish Buying Remorse / Regret

[CHJ]

Any exotics I have bought that the internet didn't know about.
So I'm flying by the seat of my pants and guessing a middle of the road tank will work.
Sometimes it hasn't.

 

[ProudPapa]

For me there have been quite a few that didn't work out for one reason or another, but the only ones I have now that I wish I didn't are a result of me not paying attention when the guy at the store was netting my fish. I told him I wanted all the pristella tetras they had. When I got home and looked close there were two yellow fish in the bag. After some research that took longer than it should have I discovered that they were the albino version of pristella tetras. It bugs me every time I look at them, but I suppose I'll let them live out their lives with the rest. I can deal with it. I'm a big boy.

I regret buying mollies. Well, the only livebearer I'm ok with are endlers. But I hate mollies because they just bully all the other fish, and they are such food hogs! They take my BN plecos algae wafers, the bolivian ram cichlid pellets, all the flake food, and even then they're picking at the synodontis catfish's carnivore pellets. I hate mollies with a passion I cannot describe. They are the most annoying fish on the planet.
Edit: I forgot to mention that they destroy plants and uproot dwarf hairgrass...

I got rid of mine early on in my fishkeeping career because I got tired of watching them follow the corys around, waiting for one to find a morsel of food, and then chasing it away.

 

[Alejandro]

I feel guilty for dissing Alejandro's stargazer - so here it is just so you can all share in the beauty.
Another shot of him burried

 

[Whitelightning]

I feel guilty for dissing Alejandro's stargazer - so here it is just so you can all share in the beauty.
Another shot of him burried

Ayyyy there he is! What a beaut!

 

[Anixandria]

I don’t really regret any of my fishies. My wallet though? It regrets all the fish very very much lol

 

[Ouse]

For me I regret getting into rainbowfish. The reason I begun buying them is because, get this, my LFS suggested them as good solitary centrepiece fish.

One of my rainbowfish goes crazy every spring and flirts with the others. They’re really cool fish but I wasn’t ready for them.

 

[Annabanana728]

My neon tetras. Their pretty, but they don’t do much, I like to watch them eat though. A lot of people talk about how fragile they are and lucky for me, I bought 8 about a month ago and their all doing great, I know that’s not the case for most people though as others tend to lose 1 or 2 everything they get a new batch. I also live my guppies, BUT OH MY GOSH PEOPLE WERE SERIOUS WHEN THEY SAID THEY BREED LIKE RABBITS. I had to give a bunch to friends and give a ton away because the closet “local” fish store is an hour away and don’t take guppies. Oh well, their nice fish anyways.

 

[JaksAquatics]

My black skirt tetras because I want to set up a tank for goldfish but they are in it and My banjo catfish because i forgot I had him for a year until he freaked out during a water change

 

[Sez]

a pair "ghost" shrimp which were definitely NOT ghost shrimp and caused no small amount of havoc in peaceful tanks.

I don't think I'll ever trust ghost shrimp, no matter where I'm buying.

Also neon tetras.

Oooh I bet they were long armed prawns,look same a ghosts when babies but they are massive and the arms reach 28inches!

Leopard danios - I didnt research them before buying them so it's my own fault but they shouldn't have been in my tank anyway because they're cold water. Their constant darting around stressed all my other fish. They were too effective at fry control and they were such fin nippers. I took them back to LFS.

Biggest mistake I ever made back when I first started was buying some lake malawi cichlids knowing nothing about them except they look good and bringing them home for my community tank... luckily I was googling them while they were floating in the bag in the tank and I realised quite quickly that id made a huge mistake and took them back straight away.

I'm surprised to see how many people regret neons, I have 20 cardinals (not the same but very similar) I think they're pretty mesmerising. Guppies I understand, I feel like they put a huge restriction on what you can have in the tank with them.

I love the cardinals theyre so funny and sweet , bet you had a mild heart attack there before you took them back but well done for realising, close call

Great first thread sez! Definitely makes some good conversation. And welcome to fishlore!

Aww thanks,there's some interesting and also brutally honest stories on here lol

 

[UnknownUser]

Nerite snail, I don’t actually regret him any more now that I have the algae under control so he poops less. But I initially bought him for algae control and it was terribly messy..

I also have a love-hate with nerites, but they do an excellent job keeping my tanks clean so I keep them. During a med treatment, they were removed from the 5 gal tank for 3 weeks and it was massively gross in there. They cleaned the entire thing in only 4 days, but I had to do a 75% water change gravel vac every day because of the massive poop!

Honey gouramis

What??? Why???? I loved my honey gouramis! Favorite fish so far

 

[Alejandro]

With such a reaction to his stargazer maybe Alejandro should have entered that in the animal of the month photo contest instead of his octopus. He chose the octopus because he thought people might not like the stargazer. Maybe there are enough of you that are into oddballs like us .... you know what they say about people and pets.

 

[Krishorner84]

Name a fish you wish you never bought and why?

for me it was balloon mollies as they just demolished everything food, fry and plants and bullied other fish

 

[Hobbyist]

Name a fish you wish you never bought and why?

for me it was balloon mollies as they just demolished everything food, fry and plants and bullied other fish

I have an apple snails who eats near everything, I can’t put him in any tank not just because he destroys plants, but because he literally demolished a sponge filter , he ate most of it and I had to discard it , but if you ask me do I wish I never had him, I would say no , its not his fault that he follows his instinct

 

[fallfever]

Kuhli loaches. I've personally executed about 20 of them...not intentionally, of course. I have successfully kept dozens of species of fish, including other loaches, but cannot keep a kuhli. Might as well be feeding them to the cichlids. Whatever kuhli god there is, I'll no doubt face its wrath someday.

 

[ChrissFishes01]

I don't truly regret any of my fish. If there was one I had to pick, it would be my African Dwarf Frogs. They were fun for a while, but lately they're just kind of in the way. They've got from amusingly clumsy to almost annoying, in a way.

 

[Lucy]

Threads of the same topic have been merged

 

[veggieshark]

I regret the baby predators that I bring from the lake. They look too innocent as babies. First they won't eat anything but frozen or live food, soon they will start eating their tankmates. Then you have a monster in your hands, like a largemouth bass.

 

[TClare]

I bought two angelfish last year and 4 more early rhis year for my big tank. I bought them all very small and I did not realise at the time that some of them (3) have very long fins and tails. They were not sold as veil angels but must have at least some of that in them. These three now have damaged and ragged tailfins, I am not sure who,the culprit is but I wish I had looked more carefully and got all short fin types.

 

[Pfrozen]

I don't regret my harlequin rasboras but they weren't very interesting lol. I raised them to the max coloration by keeping them in perfect water and only feeding high quality foods on a regimented schedule. They looked absolutely gorgeous but just swam in one place all day lol. I moved the group of 7 from a 10 gallon tank to a 20 gallon tank and after a few weeks they just sat in one place still as rocks all day looking beautiful but not doing anything.

I kind of regret my pencilfish now though. I set up a species only biotope for them but the care level is bordering on expert. Fun little setup but it takes them several months to acclimate and settle into a new tank each time they're moved. I will probably need to upgrade the biotope to a 20g in the long run and then it'll take 3 more months for them to adjust

 

[BigManAquatics]

I regret the money i spent on that pleco that died in quarantine. Just glad it died there instead of main tank.

I don't really regret buying any fish, though. I do find rehoming fish because someone wants something different is the same as buying a dog or cat and taking it to the animal shelter a few months later, though. Irresponsible is the BEST word i can think of for it.

 

[JLAquatics]

The only fish I currently own but regret buying is my 5 year old clown pleco. While he (confirmed male) is the oldest fish currently in my care, all he does is hide away all day long in the big cave structures in my 29 gallon aquascape. While I do not wish to return him to the pet store as that is irresponsible IMO, he does make cleaning sessions so much harder with his MASSIVE pile of feces that always build up in and around the cave. I would imagine he creates a ton more waste than the other fish in the tank that are far more outgoing and only a third of his size. I circled his favorite cave to go under in red. If I am lucky I will see his brown tail fin hanging out of there!

 

[awilkinson871]

I regret adding the giant danios to my SA cichlid tank. I started with 8 and cannot do a fast day. The first time I did- they ate the tail off of one in their school. Since it was injured it went to the bottom to escape and the convicts finished it off. They always have scales missing from fighting each other and are almost annoyingly erratically swimming around. I kind of regret the convicts too- I started with 1 male and 2 females only to have the male killed after breeding. Now the females fight nonstop- I think because they want to breed. I also somehow ended up with a baby surviving the great fry removal. I am leaving it until I can determine male or female.

 

[A201]

I don't believe you're the first fish keeper that ever regretted buying Convict Cichlids. Lol.
I laugh a little when I read a new fish
keepers enthusiastic post reference his newly purchased Convict Cichlid, not realizing the hyper breeding & aggression.

 

[BigManAquatics]

I don't believe you're the first fish keeper that ever regretted buying Convict Cichlids. Lol.
I laugh a little when I read a new fish
keepers enthusiastic post reference his newly purchased Convict Cichlid, not realizing the hyper breeding & aggression.

I feel sorry for the folks that think they will make money from breeding convicts.

 

[TClare]

I don't regret my harlequin rasboras but they weren't very interesting lol. I raised them to the max coloration by keeping them in perfect water and only feeding high quality foods on a regimented schedule. They looked absolutely gorgeous but just swam in one place all day lol. I moved the group of 7 from a 10 gallon tank to a 20 gallon tank and after a few weeks they just sat in one place still as rocks all day looking beautiful but not doing anything.

I kind of regret my pencilfish now though. I set up a species only biotope for them but the care level is bordering on expert. Fun little setup but it takes them several months to acclimate and settle into a new tank each time they're moved. I will probably need to upgrade the biotope to a 20g in the long run and then it'll take 3 more months for them to adjust

That’s strange, I have moved my pencilfish twice with no issues whatsoever.

 

[LHAquatics]

I accidentally bought Lambchop rasboras and can't find others so there are 7 Harlequins and 1 Lambchop trying to fit in with the Harlequins.

 

[Phantom240]

Not in my community tank, but one of my smaller tanks... pea puffers. My god are they finnicky eaters... and require way too much space.

 

[awilkinson871]

I don't believe you're the first fish keeper that ever regretted buying Convict Cichlids. Lol.
I laugh a little when I read a new fish
keepers enthusiastic post reference his newly purchased Convict Cichlid, not realizing the hyper breeding & aggression.

I had some in a tank years ago before I took a break from fish. I really got them this time because I wanted a turquoise jewel and an electric blue jack dempsey so I needed tankmates. The convicts don't bother anyone in the tank except each other so it isn't that bad. It is just frustrating to see them liplocked trying to fight each other and constantly chasing each other. It doesn't matter how many hiding places and plants they seek each other out. I always laugh when I see people have added convicts to a tank with tetras or other non-aggressives and get mad they are chasing and fin nipping. They are exactly what their name implies- aggressive little rule breakers that belong in jail...lol.

 

[pagoda]

I regret having a few of my hooligans...

Bristles the delinquent BN when he attacks the airstone and rams it into the ornament so I have to go rescue it....

The Bronze Cory bandits who dig holes in the sand and sit there gazing at their reflections in the now exposed bottom glass that I had hidden moments before....

The Danio's who chase around in the aquarium next to the bed at 1am when I am trying to sleep so stop that flippin' splashing!

Oh and my other Bronze Cory teenagers who think its a great wheeze to do backflips in the filter flow in the middle of the night and barrel roll into any sleeping fish that happens to get in their way....

But then I think to myself.....how boring would life be without them all to entertain and make me smile....even at 1am

 

[Catappa]

Backstory: The year was 1965 and I was already a somewhat experienced aquarist who'd kept rare (at the time) fish. I had subscribed to the TFH fish magazine for years and always got excited when reading about newly available/or discovered species in the aquarium trade.

For many years, I regularly visited The Aquarium Stock Company in NYC, where they had a huge selection of tropical freshwater and marine fish. I suppose there were very few shops like that in the US back then. Even now, it would be exceptional. I think it covered a whole city block! Anyway, I had been a customer from the time I was about 14, and there were probably very few children that shopped there. (That's where all my allowance, Christmas money, etc. went.) They knew me and were always helpful. Most the time, I didn't go to buy, only to look. It was like visiting an aquarium section of a zoo. I recall falling in love with the marine Clown fish. (That was decades before they became widely known, thanks to Finding Nemo.)

Well, in 1965, I was married and living in Manhattan and had a large (probably 1 1/2 - 2 meters) aquarium. I can't remember what fish I had at the time. It was a community tank, but I always had some fish that were very uncommon back then.

On one trip to their shop, I discovered one of their latest offerings, which became the only fish I have ever regretted buying. It was Pantodon buchholzi (African Butterfly Fish), a real rarity in the fish trade back then. I bought two, and they cost what to me was a small fortune. Fortunately, my husband had a very good job and enabled my hobby.

Although the men at the business were very knowledgeable about their stock and usually advised me, this time I was on my own. I added the fish to my aquarium. They were strangely beautiful and also scary. They ate quite a lot of their tankmates. They always hovered at the surface and one day, one leapt out, soaring across the room like a flying fish (in my memory). It didn't survive. I can't recall if I had a tank lid -- probably. If so, I had lifted the lid and it took its chances. The remaining fish was difficult. I recall it being a fussy eater, except for dining on tankmates. Of course, I knew nothing back then about acidic water, feeding surface dwellers live food, etc. I did give my fish tubifex worms occasionally, but can't remember if the Butterfly ate them.

I came to view it almost like a large scary insect and was rather frightened of it. House guests were fascinated. I can't recall how long it lived and whether it died or if I gave it away. I didn't like its difficult, predatory ways and regret that I got it and also regret that I didn't know enough to take proper care of it.

I'm curious whether anyone here on Fishlore has ever kept them.

 

[Ouse]

Prob my platies. I bought them for the purpose of breeding them and using them to fish in cycle; both plans failed. I didn’t know enough about doing either back when I bought them. I still have them.

 

[Pfrozen]

That’s strange, I have moved my pencilfish twice with no issues whatsoever.

Eh depends on a lot of factors. I discovered today that I have 4M and 3F so I banished 2 to their own planted tank lol. Should be okay now. If I have to I'll just keep 1 male

The 2 that I banished are fully colored up because they have plenty of territory in their own tank. Pencilfish are odd creatures

 

[Marlene327]

I'm sure I'm not the only one. We buy certain fish or substrate or plants or ______ (fill in the blank), put it in the tank, and a month or a year later we ask ourselves, "What was I thinking?" or "Why didn't I research this first?"

Mine is this tiny floating plant that in this picture looks so small and innocent. I cannot remember the name of it. I bought it in a little cup at least a year ago, put it into my 40 gallon tank, and it pretty much died. Found a few survivors, put it into my 20, and it went crazy. So I added more to the 40 and it also grew fast that time. I dismantled my 20 gallon and it went away. I had to remove all my floaters, including water lettuce that I DO like, from my 40 and I rinsed them like crazy. I kept them out of my 40 at this point, put 5 into my 10 gallon. Well, the lettuce and these buggers that were apparently stuck to their roots all went crazy. I'll bet it was only ONE, that's all it takes.

Tonight once again I'm trying to clean out that 10 gallon tank of all floaters. I had a lot of new stem plants floating in there to root and want to get them planted. WOW there's a lot of this. Again, taking everything out and rinsing them, keeping only a few lettuce plants, and will hope for the best. Trying to catch all these devils with a net now, had to get on here and vent. I also just wonder what everyone else's mistake has been!

And please, someone tell me what this is... I know it but it's driving me crazy, can't remember! It's so small and cute.... Bwahahaha!!

 

[PlantedCommunityTank132]

That’s duckweed for sure. I bought two Chinese algae eaters for my 45 gallon tank when I was a beginner and thought they were Siamese algae eaters. A few months later I realized that they werent Siamese algae eaters, which was quite frustrating. The same happened to me with bladder snails. I found one, and thought "oh, so cute" and soon enough, BOOM. Everywhere bladder snails. I wish I would’ve simply gotten rid of the snail in the first place.

 

[mattgirl]

Agree, it is duckweed. I am trying to eradicate it from my tanks. I check and remove any I find every day. Eventually I will win. Well, I hope I will eventually win.

Little pests try to run from me when I try to pick one out so I keep a little plastic cup by the tank. Dip the cup close to it and the plant rushes in.

 

[bored411]

I regret the stocking of my 10-gallon tank. The tank itself was frustrating to get cycled and was back when I was clueless as to what I was doing. Already had fish in it before it was cycled and once the dwarf gourami died, I focused on guppy and a more hardy fish my sister liked. What's left in it at this point is one large swordtail that hates other fish even close to her size (my sister's pick because of the little mustache it had) and 5 guppy that harass each other and her constantly. Definitely going to do some peaceful schooling fish with a more mellow centerpiece next time.

And duckweed is a menace. My sister's tanks that I took over were full of it. I've had them better running for over a month now and am still finding duckweed that snuck away from me. Her tanks were also overrun with bladder snails and I'm still stuck plucking them out every day.

 

[PlantedCommunityTank132]

I honestly don't have any problems with duckweed. I added some once, and a few weeks later, all the floaters were dead. It might be the hard water that we have.

 

[Marlene327]

PlantedCommunityTank132 and mattgirl
This actually wasn't duckweed - it's hard to tell from the picture because the plants are so small and immature. I had to go back and look up old orders - it is Salvinia Rotundifolia Minima. I don't know the size of duckweed leaves but pictured it as larger? This goes from a nice light cover to a real nuisance to me so quickly! It grows bigger with longer roots as it matures.

As I was working on the tank and thought it was all gone, I kept finding more floating. The HOB was pushing it down and it would stick to other plants. I was trying to move and replant some things and dislodging them. I continued to chase it around even after a small water change! I'll see if more is there tomorrow. lol

I honestly don't have any problems with duckweed. I added some once, and a few weeks later, all the floaters were dead. It might be the hard water that we ha

That’s duckweed for sure. I bought two Chinese algae eaters for my 45 gallon tank when I was a beginner and thought they were Siamese algae eaters. A few months later I realized that they werent Siamese algae eaters, which was quite frustrating. The same happened to me with bladder snails. I found one, and thought "oh, so cute" and soon enough, BOOM. Everywhere bladder snails. I wish I would’ve simply gotten rid of the snail in the first place.

I had Siamese Algae Eaters that ate every bit of fish food I tried to feed 20 other fish before they could get to it, and had no appetite for algae whatsoever. They were insane and they grew so fast, I dropped them off at the LFS after chasing them down. So cute as babies but they sure get to 5" fast, and I think they'd go to 7".

I have pond snails, bladder snails, MTS and ramshorns, none of whom were invited in. I'm not a fan of any of them, but have learned to co-exist. I see them on plants or tank walls with algae and know they're doing something good. But now and then I get in there and pick out all I can find. Once I pulled 200 MTS in 2 days. I'm sure I pulled out that many of all the others this past weekend. Still lots in there, I can live with that for awhile. I have sand and know the MTS are beneficial to that. Losing 200, that was probably 8 months ago, didn't hurt a bit. Every night they gather in the front right corner of my tank, I don't know why but it's worth going in there for a look sometimes. I'll see a line of them marching along the glass to get there - I took a picture last week, should find and post that, it was a parade!

 

[Cue]

That isn’t salvanina minima, that’s duckweed.

the tiny things in this picture are duckweed, larger are salvania; for scale.

 

[Marlene327]

I regret the stocking of my 10-gallon tank. The tank itself was frustrating to get cycled and was back when I was clueless as to what I was doing. Already had fish in it before it was cycled and once the dwarf gourami died, I focused on guppy and a more hardy fish my sister liked. What's left in it at this point is one large swordtail that hates other fish even close to her size (my sister's pick because of the little mustache it had) and 5 guppy that harass each other and her constantly. Definitely going to do some peaceful schooling fish with a more mellow centerpiece next time.

And duckweed is a menace. My sister's tanks that I took over were full of it. I've had them better running for over a month now and am still finding duckweed that snuck away from me. Her tanks were also overrun with bladder snails and I'm still stuck plucking them out every day.

I looked my plant up and it's Salvinia Rotundifolia Minima - I looked up duckweed too and yes they are pretty similar in appearance. But I understand your crazy stock situation AND your snail issue. Some love them, some hate them, and some of us who didn't want them just learned to live with them. But see what I replied to above for what I do with them sometimes! I have assassins in 2 tanks, but won't in my 40 gallon because I have mystery snails and I've had them killed by them before.

Would you consider taking the fish you really don't want to a lfs? We should love what we have, it's hard to love them when they upset us. Petco has taken a lot of guppies from me when they got out of hand, I think they'll take any healthy fish. They don't resale them in the store, but there's an auction somewhere, somehow (I don't understand it really) they have at times to raise money for food for shelters. Then you could get what you really want and enjoy your tank more.

That isn’t salvanina minima, that’s duckweed.

the tiny things in this picture are duckweed, larger are salvania; for scale.
View attachment 835578

This is what I bought from Modern Aquarium, that's all I know.

That isn’t salvanina minima, that’s duckweed.

the tiny things in this picture are duckweed, larger are salvania; for scale.
View attachment 835578

I sure see what you mean in the picture. Do you think maybe my salvania did all die, and maybe duckweed came to me attached to something else? I'm starting to wonder now.

 

[Bwood22]

The biggest thing that I regret putting in my tank was a shipment of African Cichlids from a particular Cichlid vendor in Tampa Bay.
He has fantastic prices so I blew half of my fish budget on these Cichlids from Tampa Bay.
Guaranteed males for $21.00. You can't beat that.

Folks, you get what you pay for.

Oh, but he was great about replacing bad fish...infact he's so good at replacing bad fish, that he will even replace them with more bad fish.

Of that $230+ order that I placed back in May of 2021....i have 1 of them left. But that fish is awesome.
I guess only the strong survive.

This is Superman. The lone survivor of the Cichlids from Tampa Bay.


So while I'm a huge fan of ordering fish online...you gotta do your research.
I learned a hard lesson on good quality fish from very, very bad quality fish.

I eventually gave up on this Cichlid seller in Tampa Bay.

There's other fish in the sea.

 

[bored411]

Would you consider taking the fish you really don't want to a lfs? We should love what we have, it's hard to love them when they upset us. Petco has taken a lot of guppies from me when they got out of hand, I think they'll take any healthy fish. They don't resale them in the store, but there's an auction somewhere, somehow (I don't understand it really) they have at times to raise money for food for shelters. Then you could get what you really want and enjoy your tank more.

I've had them for a while and figure they'll go eventually. I'm skeptical about Petco's "auction" thing you mentioned and would rather just hang onto them knowing that at least they're enjoying themselves in a decent tank. Plus, my sister would be devastated if I got rid of her swordtail. Would I be upset if they go? Not really, but I got them and I live with what I get. I'll just remember this next time I get fish and go for something a little less... chaotic

And the tall tank I took over from my other sister that was infested with bladder snails is the only one I'm still finding them in (her long tank I took over no longer has them so I must have plucked them all out). It's got lots of crevices since I redid it with rocks and plants and wood, so I just pluck out those I find on the glass and let the two assassin snails that are in the tank do the rest.

 

[mattgirl]

I sure see what you mean in the picture. Do you think maybe my salvania did all die, and maybe duckweed came to me attached to something else? I'm starting to wonder now.

This is how I ended up with duckweed. A tiny sprig of it hitchhiked in on some other floaters. I ordered dwarf water lettuce and red root floaters. Both died off but I found I had also received some type of salvinia and the dreaded duckweed. The salvinia died off over time and I was left with duckweed. The duckweed grew like wildfire. My duckweed is a super tiny plant, each tiny plant has just 2 tiny leaves. It makes so many more so quickly it can cover the top of a tank in a short time. It mixes in with guppy grass and hornwort. I rinse and rinse and still if I miss a tiny piece before long I have hundreds of the tiny plants again. Any time I stick my hand in the tank it comes out with duckweed stuck to it.

 

[CHJ]

I learned a hard lesson on good quality fish from very, very bad quality fish.

Yep. I learned the lesson by getting ripped off for 500$ by Anglemania.net. It was bad when the day I ordered or a day after I talked to someone at teh LFS about buying angels when they said they breed them and the first thing they say is "Please tell me you didn't order from Anglemania.net... Uh oh.". Yeah, total scam job. Always research your vendor when you can.
A few years(5?) before that, I ordered a bunch of bland fish from Aquaticarts and people were "Oh no, please tell me you didn't." That order came through just fine, well there were issues like receiving 250+% of the lambchops I ordered, order 10 receive like 30. All the fish in that order came with more than 1 backup fish. If I the fish we not planned for a 55g with can, instead of say a 29 with foam, it could have been an issue. I have no idea how that shop is regarded these days.

 

[JTW]

I don't have any real disaster stories. I don't get too wild with my selection. I like them small, cheap, and common, which probably keeps me out of a lot of trouble.

Most of the fish I have kept, I would keep again if they fit the setup. With one exception.

I wouldn't buy any Otocinclus again. I had a small school for a while, and I just never liked them. I think I need something more to look at. If a fish isn't colorful, it better be interesting, and Oto's are neither. I still have the last of the bunch living out his remaining days with a bunch of juvenile guppies. But he'll be the last one.

 

[Marlene327]

Agree, it is duckweed. I am trying to eradicate it from my tanks. I check and remove any I find every day. Eventually I will win. Well, I hope I will eventually win.

Little pests try to run from me when I try to pick one out so I keep a little plastic cup by the tank. Dip the cup close to it and the plant rushes in.

I have done that little cup trick many times in other tanks, will remember to keep one nearby for this one!
My post got merged with another very similar post about fish regrets. I don't regret many fish, but this plant - ugh! SAE was my one regret in fishes. lol

 

[bumblinBee]

Cherry barbs. This was when I was first learning how to stock, and everybody I asked said they were shy fish that would need a heavily planted tank in order to come out of their shells.

They turned out to be quite bold. Very active swimmers, they were all over the tank and liked upsetting the balance with the other tank inhabitants. The males were constantly at one anothers throats or picking on the females. They never coloured up well. All around was a bad purchase, and I learned my lesson. I'm sure these fish have worked well for others, but they're not my cup of tea. Barbs in general are a group of fish I tend to steer clear of.

I kept most of them until they passed, and for a long time I wasn't happy with that tank. I wish I had handed them off to somebody else sooner.

 

[nj278]

I feel like I most regret my angelfish. Don't get me wrong, I love her so much, but I feel like every tank decision I make revolves around her and what fish she won't eat, ones that won't nip her fins, and are temperature compatible.

 

[mattgirl]

I have done that little cup trick many times in other tanks, will remember to keep one nearby for this one!

Works like a charm. I put it to work again today. You think you've got 'em all and another one pops up. I actually pulled 3 out today. I am determined to put a stop to them in my 55 gallon tank.

My post got merged with another very similar post about fish regrets

I was wondering how we ended up on page 6

. I don't regret many fish, but this plant - ugh! SAE was my one regret in fishes. lol

ugh is a good word for this pesky plant

I love my Sam, the Siamese Algae Eater. I just wish more than one survived to trip to me. I am sure he would enjoy having some friends. For a while he stayed hidden except at feeding time but he has stopped doing that. He comes up to greet me anytime I stop by the tank. I love the way he can swim just as easily backwards as he does forward. He is a very curious little guy.

He ignores black beard algae now that he is full grown but he sure chowed down on it while he was little. He is the next to the biggest fish in my tank. Elbert is the biggest.

 

[Marlene327]

I feel like I most regret my angelfish. Don't get me wrong, I love her so much, but I feel like every tank decision I make revolves around her and what fish she won't eat, ones that won't nip her fins, and are temperature compatible.

I can sure understand that. They're beautiful fish, you buy them when they're so small - and then they grow and grow and are the BOSS! I used to stand at the LFS and watch them in the tank and want a few - then have to snap out of it and walk away! I'm a person who loves MANY (small) fish in a tank, and don't know if I could ever be happy with a huge tank and only have 2 fish in it. That's just not me. I think they live at least 10 years, too. It's sad knowing your fish could outlive you. I know for sure my many cories will be here long after I'm gone!