我们如何衡量难以保存的海洋物种的成功？

“您是什么意思，蓝estrak清洁器很难保留？我曾经在半加仑的皮克坦克中有一个半年半，只喂食冷冻的盐水虾和薄片，它尽可能健康！”

如果您在这个爱好中花费了很多时间，您可能已经听到了关于臭名昭著的难以保守海洋物种的成功的主张 - 清晰的扭曲，缎带鳗，摩尔人的偶像，Dendronephthyaspp。珊瑚，海苹果和其他人 - 想知道他们是否有任何真相。

我毫不怀疑一些业余爱好者成功地使真正具有挑战性的物种保持活力和健康。实际上，我知道他们这样做。但是，适用于普通业余爱好者的轶事的麻烦是双重的：

1. They tend to create the false impression that the difficulties associated with keeping certain challenging species healthy for the long term are overstated (they usually aren’t).
2. 他们提出了一个问题：“如果某某某人在这里插入荒谬的动物名称]，我为什么不应该尝试呢？”

Here are a few reasons you might want to think twice before attempting to keep any species that has a reputation for confounding even the experts:

Success is the exception

Some hobbyists who succeed with really challenging marine species are just exceptionally dedicated and willing to go to any lengths to meet the species’ unique requirements—for example, providing a steady supply of live stony corals to obligate-corallivore butterflyfishes, or serving up live starfish to harlequin shrimps. But even in these ideal circumstances, success with these animals is still hit-or-miss.

在其他情况下，业余爱好者可能会很幸运地获得了一个恰好比典型物种更耐用和适应能力的标本，例如，一种刺蝙蝠鱼立即需要吃各种准备好的食物。但是，这种运气再次是罕见的例外，而不是规则。

True success is measured in years

One of the giveaways in my (admittedly exaggerated) example above is the length of time the fictitious hobbyist purportedly kept the specimen alive. Properly cared for, most marine fishes can live for many years in captivity—some for decades. In other words, a “success story” measured in months to a few years is nothing to brag about. I’ve seen starved fish cling to life for upwards of a year or even longer before finally giving up the ghost—and looking relatively healthy for much of that time.

What about corals and other sessile invertebrates? We can’t even really say how long they’re capable of living under the right circumstances. Could be indefinitely. Whatever their potential longevity may be, it’s safe to say that keeping a challenging species, such as a图巴斯特拉亚sp。珊瑚在水族馆里活着几个月到几年，这并不是庆祝的原因。

我们必须知道我们的极限

Before taking on the challenge of keeping any marine organism with highly specialized needs, we really must ask ourselves whether we have the willingness, ability, time, and resources to do whatever it takes to meet those needs for the duration of the animal’s potentially very long lifespan. If the answer to any part of that question is no, it’s best to leave the animal at your dealer’s—or, in some cases, in the ocean.