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Reef Compatible
Fish?
What
to add or not to add?...fish. This is a huge question
facing all reef aquarists. What constitutes something
as reef safe? Well, let's define "reef safe"... this
is mainly anything live that will not eat/harm inverts -
corals, clams, snails, feather dusters etc. Reef safe
also includes fish that get along in a community environment
& species that won't grow into fish eating monsters
too!
Here comes the
"Beware!" part.
Many stores
don't know if an item is reef safe
& instead of telling you "they don't know" will tell you
it's safe for the sake of a sale. I've encountered
many customers who experienced death & destruction because
they were told something was reef safe. Let me tell ya
(if you don't already know), it's NOT fun to try & rid your
tank of an unwanted critter! Not to mention the loss
of loved livestock & the $ invested in them.
Many critters as
juveniles are safe but when older turn into carnivores (meat
eaters). A true story... A lady customer of mine was
sold a beautiful Yellow Coris Wrasse juvenile by another
store. Told it was reef safe she brought it home to
her reef which was home to a beautiful clam. A couple
months later & 3 subsequent clam losses in an otherwise
perfect reef system, the lady contacted me to ask why her
clams were dying. I identified the wrasse as the
culprit! The worst part about this scenario is these
wrasses are known to eat a clam parasite (a good thing) but
once older will turn into a clam eating fish which many
times it was originally bought to save!
Buy your livestock
from a reputable, knowledgeable & ethical source like AquaCorals &
save yourself the headache, heartache & money lost from
misinformation.
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