Fish to avoid!

This section contains fish which grow very large, will not tolerate tankmates, or require special attention to diet or water quality. They should only be kept by more experienced aquarists and those who have the finances and time to cater for their long-term needs.

Species	Notes: reasons for classing as a 'difficult' fish
Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula)	Can grow to more than 6ft (2 meters). Requires copious amounts of live daphnia.	The impressive Red-Tailed Catfish - suitable only for the largest of tanks The huge Pacu - another tank-buster
Irridescent shark/paroon shark (Pangasius catfish)	Grow very large. Can be prone to charging around the tank and bashing into the tank glass or other obstacles and injuring themselves. Unsuitable for anything but very large aquaria.
Red-tailed catfish (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus)	These fish can easily reach 3ft (one meter) in length, a recommended minimum tank size is usually about 8 x 3 x 3ft.
Pacu (Colossoma macropomus)	Another tank-buster, which can reach 4-5 feet (1.2-1.5m) in length! Even the slightly smaller Red Pacu is only suitable for very large tanks.
South American leaf fish (Monocirrhus polyacanthus)	A very demanding fish, which is difficult to acclimatise to aquarium conditions. They require copious amounts of live food.