- Oh, yeah.
Oh man, that one's nice.
Oh, look at that one.
He is gorgeous, man.
That would look so good in my tank.
Please don't add her to your tank.
(jazzy music)
(chiming)
A big howdy, howdy to all of my fellow
and future hobbyists out there.
My name is Matthew.
I'm your BRS beginner guru.
And all we're gonna do
right here , right now is give you
our list for the top 10 worst beginner fish.
Before we start out with a list
I only have one disclaimer today,
which actually is pretty good for me.
There are exceptions to all of these rules.
If you have your heart set on one of these fish,
you can absolutely do that.
But any one of these fish
on this list is on this list for a reason.
And usually because by adding them to your tank
that means there's a lot of other things
that you can't put in your tank.
The second caveat, didn't I just say I was only
gonna give you one caveat?
But the second caveat is size.
A lot of these fish are also on here
because they require a really big tank.
And of course, a beginner can do a really big tank.
Just most beginners don't have a lot of money
to spend on a brand new, 120-, 180-gallon system.
So, a lot of these fish need that larger system.
And for that reason, make it onto the list.
Starting off our list with
the 10th worst beginner fish is actually
any sort of super aggressive or predator fish.
We're talking things like lionfish,
triggerfish, eels,
sharks, rays,
frogfish or angler fish.
Starting off with lionfish,
they are absolutely gorgeous
although their spines are super toxic.
There are some dwarf species out there
that you might be able to put in your tank.
But as a beginner, I just tend to stay away from them
number one, because they will eat your other fish,
and number two, if you're not careful
you could get hurt by them.
Then you have the triggerfish, which I love.
And I will try to find this footage for you.
When I mistakenly bought a triggerfish,
put 'em into my 40-gallon breeder quarantine tank,
and then watched that triggerfish
attack and eat my other fish,
which then I quickly removed the triggerfish (chuckles).
Triggerfish also need a really large space
but they are super aggressive and they are predator fish.
So, they will likely eat a bunch
of smaller fish you put in there.
Same thing for eels.
Now, there are some dwarf species that you could add
to a tank with a bunch of larger fish,
but on the whole, eels need a very large system
and you have to the tank completely around them,
including their habitat.
You also have to feed them large meaty foods.
And if you put a lot of other fish in there
they may disappear one by one.
Sharks and rays.
This one should be pretty obvious.
They're awesome, they're awesome.
But they require such a large tank
that they are not beginner-friendly.
And lastly, our frogfish or any kind of anglerfish.
These are those really cool fish, especially the anglers,
that dangle that little thing off of their head
as a little fishing lure and then consume an entire fish
in one gulp that is faster than the naked eye can see.
Super awesome fish and you can totally have them
in a beginner tank if that is your only fish,
because they will eat fish,
sometimes even fish that are larger than themselves.
Moving on to our worst beginner fish.
Number nine on the list
are angelfish.
Now, there are some exceptions.
For example, these smaller coral beauty angelfish
is hit or miss with corals.
But the main reason I put these fish
on this list is because they do eat corals.
And I would say most beginners,
at some time, unless they know they only want a Fowlr tank
or a species-specific tank,
are going to add corals to their tank.
And angelfish will look at that brand new $250 torch coral
and just think it's a snack.
So, stay away from angel fish as a beginner.
And as you learn more then maybe there are
certain species you can add in
with certain kinds of corals.
Worst beginner fish number eight on the lish.
Lish?
(chuckles) Worst beginner fish,
number eight on the list are cowfish.
These are those yellow box fish,
and they are so awesome
because their personality is fantastic.
You can see videos all over the internet
where these fish will come up to their owners
and they'll splash them and they will
take food directly from your hand.
Super personable, but they can get huge.
And if you see one of your LFS
and it's like this big (disagreement grunt).
They can get so large that you need a huge system.
I'm not even sure how much you need
but we're probably talking a minimum of 180 gallons,
probably even larger than that,
which puts it a little bit outta the price range
for most beginners out there.
Worst beginner fish number seven
are any type of pufferfish.
We're talking any of the larger pufferfish
or even the smaller Tobys.
I have a Toby.
I finally got a Toby.
It took me so many years to get this Toby.
And I built this tank, this Fowlr tank over here,
specifically for a Toby.
And that means no corals.
Many Toby fish, for example, will consume your corals.
There might be some that they won't,
but there are others that they will.
Now, while Tobys are also small,
they can also secrete a toxin from their bodies.
So, they require a larger tank.
This tank over here is approximately 70 gallons
in total water volume.
And that's pretty close
to the minimum size you need for a Toby.
Now, other pufferfish species get really,
really large and you can see them.
Some of them are, are pretty small in your LFS.
But if you've ever gone snorkeling in Hawaii,
man, sometimes they can get gigantic.
So you need a huge system,
probably at least 180 gallons,
maybe even more than that.
And for that reason they are not necessarily
a great beginner fish.
These sixth worst fish on our list
is going to have some vehement disagreement
but I'm gonna put it on the list
and then I'll tell you why I'm adding to the list.
Tangs.
Whoa, I know, I know.
Don't, don't like jump down my throat
and say, what an idiot I am.
I get it.
Some tangs are fantastic.
And tangs in a larger system are absolutely fantastic.
There's really two main concerns with tangs,
why I put them on this list.
Number one, tangs need a large tank.
You can get some baby tangs
that might be able to go
into a 50-, 60-, 70-gallon tank.
But as they grow, you're probably gonna need
a minimum tank side of 120 for even one single tang.
The second consideration for tangs is
some species of tangs can be
really aggressive and territorial.
And there's a reason they're called surgeon fish
because they have these surgical blades
down by their fins that can whip and hurt,
especially other tangs.
So yes, tangs are great additions
if you have a larger system
and if you add them at the correct time
and the right species of tang
so they don't interact with each other in a negative way.
But because they need a big tank
and because you have to be careful which ones you add,
I'm gonna add them to the list
and say they're one of the worst beginner fish out there.
I know you gonna hate that.
Put a comment down below,
tell me why I'm wrong.
I'm willing to be wrong.
If you're gonna build 120-gallon tank plus,
then by all means, consider putting a tang in there.
And the worst beginner fish,
number five on the list is the one
I actually have right over here.
But that's gonna have to wait till next time.
We'll put a link to it somewhere over here
as soon as we're finished.
And as always, everybody thanks for watching.
Happy reefing, be well.
We'll see you next time.