Top 8 Fish You'll Regret (And 11 Great Alternatives)

[@ReefDork]

Got a nano tank? How about these fish?? kzbin.info/www/bejne/i57Zd3aCjrmrr6c

[@krazymuncher2288]

What about dragonets?

[@csouza1977]

KrazyMuncher they are a bit harder to keep as they need a lot of copepods in the tank

[@erikcoetzee3231]

Could you do one on fish to keep in a 15 gallon 🤔 like to take care of algea ect

[@Randomslsandfishyt]

U will probably regret the purple tang alternative is the sailfin tang

[@mo9158]

@@Randomslsandfishytgr

[@emerymorgan4389]

I have two freshwater tanks that are thriving and I know nothing about reef tanks. But I’m gonna watch this anyways.

[@TheHappySmileyFace12]

Ever since I got into saltwater I lost my interest in my freshwater planted tank, doesn’t even compete

[@suzannecook9840]

Ooooook

[@shelbym6460]

This guy is just out here releasing A+ content like it's no big deal

[@ReefDork]

😅🙏

[@rob431]

😂 I think I have 5 of them fish on the list, it’s like you looked at my tank before you made this video, but I’m fish only

[@ReefDork]

🤣

[@russellgrant4544]

I kept a neon dottyback as a lone specimen in a nano reef tank and it was one of my favorite fish I've ever kept because of its bold nature and bright colors. I eventually moved it into a large community tank with fish much larger than it (large Koran angel and a yellow tang) to avoid it being a bully. Definitely wouldn't keep it with anything close to it in size though!

[@wayneevery2176]

I have been doing this hobby for about 4 years and, I find your videos to be spot on with the time I have been doing this. with the tang and, some of the other fish and, they help me know more about the good fish I want in the future.

[@brettbarrett2533]

One of the most honest breakdowns of fish destined to die slowly and proper alternatives to try. Reef Dork is truly one of the hidden gems and a great added value to any list of youtube / Marine Biologists/ Hobbyists who are honest.

[@mothsocks4082]

I’ve literally just ordered my first marine tank! A Red Sea reefer XL! I’ve just found your channel and I’m absolutely hooked. You’re so informative to novice marine keepers like me! X

[@CescaTheDarkHorse]

Have all these fish in my reef. My copperband has been in the reef for 4 years Lucky I have a lot of coral. :)

[@jamesprescott1577]

I actually don't have an aquarium. Just doing a bit of research.

[@krazymuncher2288]

For a chromis alternative, you could keep pyjama cardinalfish. They school and are around the same size but imo aren't as active and stick to the rock work more.

[@mandrew20111]

I’m thinking about a small group of fire fish. Beautiful colors and they swim together

[@StudioGhibletz]

Banggai's are great too and I think they're captive bred now

[@JeriDro]

2:13 Tang: "Worship me!" Chromis: "Yes, lord!"

[@greenshades1234]

Wish I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say Chromis kill each other off. I’ve had 7 in a 90 gallon tank for over a year and they do great haven’t lost a single one. They definitely have a pecking order and I’ve seen few cases of battery and assault but no murders.

[@eiurgretarsson9884]

had a pair of flame angels for years that didnt touch anything , and a flame hawkfish aswell , ..however the copperband never worked out for me ,fun video and nice to show alternatives.

[@chrish6659]

Watching this as I drive to the fish store to actually buy more fish for my tank! Great video, it’s a really thoughtful mindset to do this!

[@erect4e369]

The only damsel I would recommend people get is the blue sapphire damselfish, extremely hardy, and much more timid and less aggressive than my clownfish.

[@andyprem]

have to say the talbot's damsels aren't bad. after a few years they get a bit territorial but since they never grow much are easily persuaded to give up.

[@magalimckay4685]

I got very lucky with my yellow tailed damsel. He's entirely peaceful. Admittedly he's the exception to the rule. Thank you for the suggestions! :)

[@shirtdirt1874]

My six line only fights with my green chromis, which I have 7. He'll chase one and get confused and give up. That's about the only aggression I get with him.

[@animetronic6689]

5:00 There is TWO exception though for the zebrasoma tangs. The dejardini and sail fin tangs get bigger than the blue tang. But most of the others are good.

[@rustyshackleford234]

I used to have a blue sapphire damselfish in my old 15 gallon nano reef. It lived peacefully with my two clownfish for over an entire year!

[@pelagicswimmer]

I think one of the best shoaling fish are Ghost cardinals, if kept with larger fish like tangs they really do keep in a decent shoal. Some interesting alternatives put forward, I think success with a copperband is selecting the right tank mates and having a well established tank.

[@razorreef6552]

A schooling fish you might want to look at is the neon blue rainbow fish ( pseudomugil cyanodorsalis). It is small and reef safe. Inappropriate reefer has a video on them.

[@Jaaaaayyy]

Flame hawk fish can be very aggressive towards other fish , I have one in my 40 gallon nuvo and can’t put any other fish with him or he will kill them in less then a day . Even tries to attack my snails and conchs . Could be just mine is just a nightmare also I guess but that’s my experience .

[@bradsimpson8724]

Flame wrasses are a peaceful red aquarium fish that I could recommend, even if they are a bit pricey.

[@alfst5546]

Brilliant video, wish I could have seen it a few years ago, because several of fish you mentioned, I have had in the past, and yes, I experienced exactly what you described, I had a bunch of Anthias all female, when one decided to turn into a male and boy did he rule the tank, sounds funny, but sad to see how it affected all the other fish.

[@emmareyes8114]

thought clownfish were the only ones able to produce sgender change

[@billybassman21]

I’ve had good luck with Dottybacks. I will have to say the Damsel fish is one to avoid. I had one and it was a ruthless bully that wouldn’t back down even with fish that fought back. They are good to establish an aquarium and then you get rid of them, if you can catch them.

[@Not_Hans]

What an awesome video thanks for the Info I've wanted to get a reef tank going for some time now I've got a 180g aquarium already picked.

[@77MyEsha]

I don't keep fish anymore, but I used tp some years ago. My one regret was introducing Angel fish to the tank with my other fish. Trust me, they look angelic but they don't live up to their name!! they started attacking and killing all my other fish. At first I couldn't track down who the culprit was, until one day I caught them at it!! If I ever decide to get fish again, I would stay well clear of Angles, unless they were on their own of course.

[@Bullzor121]

Great informative video! i like how you care and prioritise the health of fish before the keepers desire for colour and aesthetics :)

[@ReefDork]

Easy to do in a hobby so full of colour 🙂

[@eisenhauerd]

Just brought home a copper banded butterfly and thought of this video. I couldn't help myself.

[@therageheartshow2099]

How come dragonets are not on the list? They starve easily without enough pods and even with a well established tank with pods hey can eat pods in the tank at a rate they will disappear from the display

[@ReefDork]

Yep, 100% agree 👍

[@stephend7]

They will eat frozen fish eggs!!! I’m not experienced enough to really know, but I think you will still need pods because they pick and eat all day so they probably aren’t set up for once a day feedings.

[@lordnems997]

They pretty easy to train and I do a decent job.

[@stephend7]

I bought pods after losing a couple. I bought them well before I bought him to let a stable population to grow. It wasn’t until later that I found out about the frozen fish eggs. Mine now eats fish food pellets.

[@JosvanMeer]

They are actually quite easy to train on frozen food or pellets (my mandarin ate pellets), It requires only discipline and patience. Once they eat frozen or pellets they are set for life. Unless they suicide by anemone. RIP Queen Margaret.

[@erikawilson1154]

Thanks for this. Changed my mind on all the fish on my wish list 😆. Do you have a video about starter marine fish and clean up crew that can all be kept together? Thanks.

[@ReefDork]

How about a list of fish EVERY reef tank should have?? kzbin.info/www/bejne/enzUiGaNn710hJI

[@ReefDork]

And a list of awesome inverts... kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4DHi2p9nN98hrM

[@erikawilson1154]

@@ReefDork thanks im a total newby. Never had a marine tank before. Are marines harder to keep than discus? (I was unsuccessful) but have successfully kept other cichlids with ease.

[@ReefDork]

From what I hear, Discus are a nightmare. If you just want to keep saltwater fish, they're not much harder than freshwater tropicals. Corals can be tricky but there are plenty of easy to keep corals to try out.

[@erikawilson1154]

@@ReefDork Amazing thanks. Do you have a facebook page i can follow and bug you more when the time comes when i get my marine tank. Erika

[@travisrichardson1515]

Kinda wish I had seen this vid before buying the sixline that I have subsequently nicknamed "The Wrassehole". Still probably the most colorful addition to my reef though :)

[@ReefDork]

🤣

[@fellowreefer]

Absolutely love this info and have made me feel that I have definitely done my research to pick up what I should and shouldn’t have in my new 180 coming up soon.

[@lilolmecj]

Salim Parmar one fish he didn’t mention for schooling is flame fish. They are generally peaceful, although I would get 2 or 5. And they are ridiculous jumpers so a secure tank lid is a must. I do have a blue Tang, it was at Petco and suffering from tail rot. I got it for a give away price, quarantined for a month and now four months later it looks great. Now that is a pretty short time. I also have a Lavender Tang, I call it a girl. Her name is Trixie, and her colors are not bold, but she is beautiful, and she swims constantly when the lights are on. She adds a cool element to my 120 gallon tank.

[@opethmike]

I think that they only time I'd get a sixline wrasse would be for pest control in a frag grow out tank.

[@ReefDork]

I'd love one for that

[@annebartells777]

I have the rare six line wrasse. It leaves it's take mates alone

[@alexanderbouwens2772]

As a schooling fish I would like to sugguest the Zoramia leptacantha, no aggression and live long.

[@enzoalmeidadasilva5513]

I don't know if I got lucky, but my orchid dottyback is the most peaceful fish in my system, and it's quite a small tank 25 gallons with 5 fish. He attracts the attention of all visits and eats bristleworms every once in a while. Not to say they're always peaceful, but IMO it's the only dottyback that's always worth a try.

[@ReefDork]

Orchid dottys are actually quite peaceful - I should have said it's not all dottys 🙂

[@enzoalmeidadasilva5513]

@@ReefDork Do you think an orchid dottyback is compatible with a royal Gramma? I imagine the similar colors may cause agression.

[@ReefDork]

@@enzoalmeidadasilva5513 I think they'd probably be OK in a reasonable sized tank (say 4 foot). They both have similar behaviour though - cave dwellers so in a small tank, I wouldn't risk it.

[@ronbeatty516]

An Orchid Dottyback is a great reef fish, but it is the exception in the dottyback family, of course.

[@quartercajun71]

I went with the flame hawkfish. Little bastard killed everything. Thanks dork.

[@atmoz_]

I tried the pyramid butterflyfish... they both died very fast. Another store told me they are pretty difficult to keep as well.

[@animetronic6689]

I think that a Pink streaked wrasse is an awesome alternative to six lines!

[@zafishguy5166]

I have a yellow coris wrasse a great fish to have but a note of their ability to disapear for 2 to 3 weeks when you add larger fish.

[@shelbytejera1680]

Me screaming at how cute it was for that fish to dive into the sand and flip around like that

[@EDKsurly]

Thanks for the info. I'll research these alt fish. Especially the butterfly

[@hendrix38659]

The naoko wrasse is one of the most aggressive fariy wrasse. If you add it you are pretty much never able to get another fairy wrasse.

[@77blacktrip]

Red head Solon fairy wrasse are perfect. They look amazing. Swim round all day. Don't bury in the sand. And don't bother anyone else.

[@chrishardy8937]

Just found your channel. Thanks for the knowledge. Im looking at switching a 100l tropical to marine so getting as much info as possible. Want a pair of clowns(shock) cardinal and watchman goby to see how i get on with marine

[@maddoctor99]

I miss my flame hawkfish. If I ever get back into the hobby it would be the first fish back in my tank. So much personality.

[@willleslie2745]

My flame hawkfish ismy fabourite fish ive ever had! He's also extremely strong and survived VALVET disease

[@lunes-1]

I had a purple dottyback and took over attacking everyone for two weeks. Mysteriously disappeared, i guess the others fish couldn't take it anymore and eat the dottyback on the night

[@andyprem]

WOW a potential coup detat?

[@falcolf]

Thanks for this video, it concreted my plan to get a Royal Gramma instead of an Orchid Dottyback!

[@reefkeepingandeverythingelse]

I would add to the list the kleinii butterflys They may eat all your aiptasia But also they are quite unsafe with coral.

[@klowranc]

Wow glad I clicked on this video, thanks!

[@TimChump]

8 fish I regretted buying and what I replaced them with 😉

[@ReefDork]

🤣

[@atmoz_]

I have a red sea 750 and have a blue tang (yellow belly) got him as a baby tiny fish. He is growing super fast, not sure what aggression but he is the softy of the tank and by now outgrown his then much bigger purple tang. He and my Naso tang (so much personality) are the biggest softies in my tank. I needed to get ride of my yellow fox face, he was an absolute terrorist. Got now a smaller Fuji Fox Face but he is also dominant but nothing like the much smaller dwarf angelfish (not eating corals) just a bully to all new fish.

[@rednamalas5079]

I know the horrid reputation of the copper and butterfly should have made me not want one, but I still got one and I have to admit, I think I’m part of the 10% because he’s been living great for two years! He eats mysis and brine readily and is absolutely beautiful, however I am aware that most shouldn’t be kept and I am but a small minority. Great video though!

[@ReefDork]

Stunning, stunning fish and that's why so many people try their luck! Well done for getting it right - must look awesome 🙂

[@Solar-Busters]

You forgot the greatest Tang of all time, the Lipstick or Naso Tang for bigger Reef tanks

[@TheDesertraptor]

My 6 line is pretty calm. The most aggressive fish in my tank are the blue/green Chromis and sleeper goby who just has to take from from the mandarin when feed her

[@davidreeves644]

I would do angels in a tank with weedy corals such as xenias if I were to try them.

[@t.regnerus301]

Flame Hawkfish can turn very aggressive. Mine tried killing my female clownfish. Buyer beware.

[@shineheretic]

Pacific blue eye rainbow fish is a good marine peaceful schooling fish I’d suggest

[@russellguyver7746]

Love the flame angel and were affordable last year but my lfs has 2 each at £230 ! I'll have to wait on those lol

[@arsenioseslpodcast3143]

I'm so happy to live in Thailand. Green Chromis are just $3 and Tangs could be anywhere from $11 to $40 for the massive ones

[@guzzisan21]

As an alternative to Chromis I suggest fusilier damsels. They look almost anthia like and are peaceful schoolers

[@danielmathabe9248]

These are perfect alternatives

[@mittro7097]

i think the pyramid butterfly fish is a great substitute for powder blue tangs than the copperbanded butterfly

[@zendlern]

Six line wrasse are cleaner, wrasse, make sure you do not mistake cleaning behavior with aggression. My six line wrasse will nip on fish that are inviting it to clean them, and otherwise it stays to itself cleaning rocks. I have two, one in each tank, and neither of them are aggressive.

[@petercashell4834]

Hi, Why can we see your wallpaper through the tank? Why no black background? What’s the thinking behind clear glass on both sides please? Peter

[@jeffjeff5895]

My first 3 fish i got: 2 damselfish and 1 of that purple with yellow tail. The purple one claimed my only rock and is bullying one of them and keeping him in a corner and it seems like the other damselfish is a good buddy with this purple one but they still do fight a bit

[@BigGuyAl007]

Nice video Alex. You choose all the lovely fish that's not reef safe lol. Your tank is looking good and a empire would look good! Keep going and what's next !

[@atfinthehouse8631]

Nice job! We definitely end up narrowing down our fish choices and tanks with fish all end up having same fish! Lol

[@ronbeatty516]

I agree with you general statement about dottybacks being little terrorists. However, the Orchid Dottyback is an exception of the family. I have had several over the years that have fit well into community reefs.

[@hendrix38659]

Your right, if you go with captive bread they are every more docile.

[@SanMartan]

I know 3 people who's got a clown trigger in a community tank...as long as the landscape is well glued and you don't mind replacing the odd crab and shrimp they leave corals alone...and the key is getting a very small clown trigger

[@Peterrdee]

I have a flame angel, got him with a potters angel and they are doing amazing for me I love them 100%

[@meanmicro]

I have 2 tanks with a copperband in each I’ve had them both for about 2 years no problems at all

[@keithstie]

You have a nack at busting my chops! Some of the obvious ones I knew, like the angels, and the dory (that I'm going to try small, with my 140, but plan on selling when it gets too big), but the damsels were a surprise. And what do you have against tangs?! 🤨 I've heard that the order you load your tank helps with shy or territorial fish. Awesome, helpful video!

[@Fishslayer04]

sailfin tang is a great one, not too expensive and is a good algae fish

[@donknotts2880]

I agree with dottybacks. Although, i have 1 that has been very nice to the other fish

[@cordyceps7531]

I've had good luck with both the flame angel and blue tang. Agreed on damsel fish though, bullied the hell out of my royal gramma to the point it that it hid under the filter unless it was feeding time.

[@arsenioseslpodcast3143]

yup. Damsels are shit

[@kevinclasher3160]

I have a dotty back orchid and there not aggressive to other tank mates at all and reef friendly. They love playing in the rocks and always curious of everything.

[@ReefDork]

Yeah, I should have said it's not all dottys - the orchid is fine 🙂

[@gunschl1715]

My orchid dottyback is a model citizen. He does stick up for himself, but totally ignores all the gentle fish.

[@novemharrison4524]

Pyramid butterfly is easy to keep and reef safe no caution both the yellow and black pyramid butterfly fish

[@farukyonder7318]

Very useful video, thank you very much

[@phoenixamaranth]

This is a good, no bs list of fish to not keep. We all want those beautiful ones like the angels or the blue tangs but yeah, they just don't work in smaller tanks and reef tanks.

[@arsenioseslpodcast3143]

tangs absolutely work in reef tanks. what are oyu talking about?

[@phoenixamaranth]

@@arsenioseslpodcast3143 Did you miss the "smaller tanks" part? Blue tangs get quite large and should not be kept long in small tanks as they outgrow them quickly. Sure lots of people don't care and have no issue torturing fish, but that's not me. It may not have been clear from my sentence structure but I meant small reef tanks as well. Was trying to distinguish both fish only and reef tanks of small size.

[@jonpinkerton5401]

Great job offering some alternatives

[@Birdofthetacklebox]

I was wondering I’ve heard a lot of people say snowflake eels are good beginner fish, and in my opinion snowflake eel are my FAVORITE fish so do you think there good beginner fish?

[@ReefDork]

I have no experience with them I'm afraid

[@moistrobot7901]

Emporer angelfish didn’t eat coral and we had him a good 2 weeks or 1 month but then ick got in our aquarium and it was wraps for the angel

[@sdavey10]

Very useful, thanks Alex

[@johngalactus4014]

Mandarin Dragonet has to be one of those fishes to avoid (unless tank bred/raised)! They are challenging and I mean really challenging to get them eating unless you feed them live food such as copepods/brine but even so, they rarely eat until 'satisfied'. They usually lose their body fats & and die after a few months. I tried a couple but failed to get them eating. I even tried using the Paul Baldassano feeder method but the fish just refused to eat.

[@Peterrdee]

I’ve had 4 flame angels and my 4th is alive and it’s doing perfect with my potters, they do pick at eachother a bit but they aren’t dominant so it’s not a issue, I also have had a yellow tang for 4 years, and a fox face for 2

[@Peterrdee]

They are all still alive tho, I’m not saying they died 💀💀😂😂😂🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠

[@ReefDork]

Beautiful fish - I'd absolutely love one 😍. The potters is a beaut too 👍

[@leerose6257]

Dont agree with the damsels you can group them all together as there are a few that mind there own

[@420lovless]

Damsels are savages... I swore I'd never put another in a tank of mine..

[@leerose6257]

@@420lovless ive had no problem with mine dont bother any one just keep to there self even mr saltwater had added some to hes sps tank

[@nicolec3126]

@@leerose6257 My damsel stressed out my clown so much that he got ich :[ You're so lucky!

[@420lovless]

Lee Rose I find each fish is different. Some are passive and some are utter savages. I have a huge domino damsel that I wouldn’t dare put a smaller fish in with.. I said I’d never have anymore but I do like them under the right circumstances. Haha

[@martyg374]

I have had blue tangs with no problems in my 90 gal.

[@gungbojog6030]

Any wrasse suggestion that won't eat my shrimps or feather duster worms? Yellow wrasse wouldn't be a good suggestion

[@ataphelicopter5734]

Actually if you want a schooling fish, I recommend Guppies, they’re very small but stick together and breed really easily

[@KerpooHater]

blue green chromis are great as pairs from what i've seen and are lovely in lagoony looking scapes and i'm an absolute sucker for damsels in general (other than -glyphiodon damsels, those are utter garbage)

[@paulcohen2394]

Great video! You are very funny! 😂

[@keirab5191]

Never had trouble with my flame Angel

[@Jessyp303]

I don’t even have a fish tank or any intension of getting one so not sure how I ended up here, but I enjoyed your video none the less 😆

[@ReefDork]

🤣 Glad to hear it. Go on, get yourself a tank - they're awesome 😁

[@harlanmichael7088]

Thanks for the video!

[@el_guapo1318]

My six-line is actually the peacekeeper in my tank. My Midnight Clown (Female - I call her "The Darkness") is always getting aggressive with my Frostbite Clown (Male - "I call him "The Ghost"), and sometimes it gets to the point where she won't let the Frostbite leave one of the corners. When the Six-line (whom I am considering naming Doc Holiday) notices, he immediately places himself in between the two and pushes The Darkness away from The Ghost, and stays there for a while constantly getting in The Darkness' face until he is satisfied that she will behave for a while, and then goes about his day. If anyone else can come up with a good name for a peace keeping Six-line Wrasse, feel free to suggest it.

[@ReefDork]

That's amazing! I love that sort of behaviour in reef tanks 👌

[@bigadventure3797]

Ha! My Sixline does a similar thing when my Anthias are fighting. Him and my Bartlet will get in the middle of the trouble and break it up. I love watching it.

[@el_guapo1318]

@@bigadventure3797 kinda makes you wonder. Are Six-lines really bad fish like peeps say, or is it that they are actually just tired of other fish's bs and proceeding to put their metaphorical foot down.

[@bigadventure3797]

@@el_guapo1318 I think six lines get a bad rap because so many people have purchased them and just by the law of numbers there's going to be people that have had bad experiences. For example the Midas blenny is beloved by reefers but but when I tried to put one in my tank he terrorized all of his tank mates and I had to painstakingly remove him 3 days later

[@gwild8712]

I think sixline are great, until you want to add another wrasse

[@abhishekkumar-nd9ps]

This is a great informative video,but if you could make a video on comple stockings ideas of diffrent capacity of tanks ,i mean which fish i could keep together in a red sea maxs 400/500/650 ,etc,please make a video on this topic ,it will help so Many first timers,thanks in advance.

[@verdantgrottobarbell5279]

How about Banghai Cardinals for a schooling fish ?

[@harrisonvader8166]

2:06 blue green chromis are ok if you only have 1

[@whokilledmercy1497]

I would be careful with Halichoeres wrasses, I had multiple specimens and everyone of them ate my cleaner shrimps