As a current Petsmart employee, thank you for posting this. I enjoy and appreciate videos that help me sell fish/animals to healthy, loving, fitting homes. I will keep this information in mind when selling fish to people. ❤️
Oscars are really nice but you're gonna need a 100 gallon tank. Great if you do but that would mean you have some smaller tanks going as well. (This is in response to your post from a year ago. I just added to the page). I hope you are doing well.
I work at PetSmart and lemme tell you... it irritates me when customers come up to me and ask for an Oscar or any other cichlid for that matter and I ask how big their tank is and they always say 5 gallons and sometimes even 1 gallon! Customers hate me there cause I always refuse to sell them fish and other animals when they don't have adequate environments for them lol!
How We wish that the world would have more animal caring beautiful souls like you out there. Ever since when I was a teenager I read an expert stated that like in the fish natural waters, THE MORE SPACIOUS THE TANK,, THE BETTER. This became my guiding rule for separate housing small schooling fish like neons, danios, tiger terras, to fancy goldfish, to big cichlids like oscars, or angelfish. If we want to keep our fish happy and healthy, just study/google/ask experts in pet shops or other expert aquarists their living arrangements in nature and copy them as much as possible.
I have a 36gal tank what fish would u recommend I should get? And how many? Ide like to get a good amount and have all kinds of different types of fish. Is that possible?
You are the PetSmart employee that I wish I had at my local store. You are doing nothing wrong. Oscars definitely belong in larger tanks. The customer would find out the hard way at the fishs expense.
@@dbsti3006 I have no interest in getting oscars. I have 2 tetras, 3 guppies, 4 Corys (different types) and 2 frogs. I just want a lively tank with a lot of different kinds cool lookin fish
@@GunnyPA I have the same size tank, rn its doing very well I have 2 gouramis 1 male 1 female, 8 cory catfish, a gold pleco only gets to 4-6 inches long, and I have 2 killifish and 3 platys my tank thrives very well and everyone is happy, havent had any deaths or problems since I added my killi idk why but they get along great with my gouramis
My friend has a 29 gallon with 6 opaline gouramis 3 bala sharks and 12 tiger barbs. They didn't listen too me at all 😅 they say its working out well but wait a couple months when everything grows then they'll see
I have a dozen Rosy Barbs in with my tetras, no problems, theres enough of them so they keep the aggressiveness amongst themselves and leave everything else alone
So glad to see Bala Sharks on this list. They were the bane of my existence when I worked in a couple of the LFS's around here, as the boss always wanted to carry small ones but then 6 months later didn't want to deal with what they become. Great video overall!
🐡 My pea puffers have lived in a community aquarium for over SIX YEARS with blind cave tetras, paradise gouramis, angelfish, male and female bettas, microcorys, and dojo loaches and guppies.
I'd say roseline sharks are a great alternative to Bala sharks if you want the shark-like looks without the agression and enormous size. My four roselines are my favorite fish in my 75gal community tank and they've gotten along great with everyone, despite being the largest fish in the tank. They school together and are always exploring around. Their coloring makes them look like little fighter jets zooming around.
I had actually tried keeping pea puffers with neon tetras and ember tetras , and it turned out to be just fine. They were not much aggressive towards each other nor towards other fishes. For reference i had a 30gallon tank.
its almost like they are tolerating each other for now you know. almost like he said in the video that they can be fine with others for years but one little aggresion towards the puffer and all the others are dead
I made the BICHIR mistake every time the light went out another fish went missing. Eventually it was just him and the pleco and I loved that fish so much that's just how I kept the tank. 1 bichir 1 pleco and tons of plants. I moved the survivors to another tank.
I had a similar experience with weather loaches. LFS sold them as a great community fish... I've had them 7 months, and they're now 8 inches long. Nothing else lives in their tank.
Ive read Pleco's are not good to keep with Bichirs. They apparently latch on to them at times. Have you noticed anything? Look into the Brittle nose Plecos, those are safe or other types of algae eaters.
may I propose classic plecos? most people stick em in a 20 gallon and call it a day, despite the fact that they get like a foot long. they’re gentle giants with an emphasis on giant lol
We had 2 leopard Plecos and they were absolutely massive. They were gentle fish though and never had any issues with them apart from their massive size! Thankfully we kept them in a 40 gallon tank which did the job (surprisingly)
Kinda surprised my common pleco not really that big compared to many others I seen and he about 8 years old. While my sailing who only 2 already just as big as him XD
I don’t understand why as a sales person at a pet store you don’t just say like”you do know this fish can get up to a foot long” my husband bought me one and I had totehome it because I didn’t have a setup for its size but he didn’t know and they didn’t say anything
Common pleco is prob the worst offender that he didn't mention. People get them then dump them when they cant support anymore. Florda is overrun by the things. They get huge and are extremely resilient.
I have one common in my community tank that I was keeping for a friend but she decided she no longer wanted her and now I have a foot long monster that runs over everything but I feel bad that she was unwanted by the original owner
I breed very high end guppies but not in what many would think is the reason. I have worked in dna genetics for 22 years and exotic Veterinarian Medical for 15 years for two major zoos. Currently breeding rare Guppies in genetic testing but sell off the ones we do not need obviously cheap to help fund the progress. I do appreciate that you reach out to the public on not doing spontaneous buys as it leads to people releasing exotics into our water ways which is actually criminal and one can be arrested in doing so. It destroys the natural economy and resources while posing problems all around. With working in two zoos, this area had always disturbed me personally. So thank you for making this video sir.
Jason has some really nice Guppies so I encourage you both to check his first and if you like his, I encourage you both to buy his, if not I can provide you a list of strains but this is his channel and I would not respectfully sell on his channel. I encourage you both to post your own comment on both channels respectfully. But I will say Jason has some really nice ones if you check his website also.
@@supportyourtroopsathletes6460 they are just standard guppies lol they are not exotic in any way shape or form. Which is why you won't sell them, you literally tryed so hard to look cool but over guppies🤣😭🤣. Nice I see what you did. "I breed rare guppies and they sell all the ones we don't need cheap". So people ask you for some and you say "no Jason has nice ones ask him"🤣😭🤣so it seems you were trying to brag or showoff since you can't give any away like you said you do in your post. Rare guppies 🤣 you are important I bet.
Not sure what it's like in the states, but in Australia most stores (especially basic pet stores) on the tags of the fish prices they do regularly list the full size of the fish once fully grown. We sell things like Murry Cod here and those get HUGE so having the fishes total size on the tags help people know what they're getting into. Some stores have the big fish on display to show how massive they can really get and it's a good way to show that they're not beginner fish.
THANK YOU For your clear explanation of what are really bad beginner choices. I also loved the fact that you had similar options for these fish that WERE community friendly!
Good thing I found this video, though I was going to research about them but I had great interest on Pea Puffers for my community tank. They are sooo cute! Great video!!!
I enjoyed this video, Bob. I had to watch to see how much crossover there was with the "10 Terrible Community Aquarium Fish" video I did a couple years ago. It was interesting to see which fish our lists had in common and which fish you selected that I didn't. I hadn't even thought about Rosy Barbs being more aggressive at warmer temps. Great video. Looking forward to the next two installments.
The store I bought fish from during the 90's loved to trick us into buying fish not "suitable" for a community tank. They'd show us smaller fish, a centimeter or so and they would look so cute. They got us to buy 2-3 yellow catfish like fish, not sure what they were called, they had long "whiskers" and were really small and super active. But oh boy... did they grow. In a month they were big. Had to move them out of the tank because their appetite for *anything* was very high. They were quick too. They did fine with bigger fish however as long they couldn't eat them that is lol.
Earlier when I was new to the hobby I kept buying single bala shark and eventually each one would die, but now keeping a school of 7 in my 300gallon… they are healthy and thriving…
Man that was a great rundown, my dad loves fish and I'm more into mountain biking. He had it playing this morning and I just had to take the laptop from him and tune in myself! Lol Thank you very interesting👍👍
Nice. I for sure think red tail/rainbow sharks should make an appearance. They can be pretty brutal in the wrong setup, but absolutely gorgeous in the right one lol
Yes I looked thru comments to see if anyone mentioned Red tail sharks. We bought two at Petsmart when we started our tank and they nearly killed each other. We separated them 1 to our Son’s tank and kept the other. Both started bullying all the other fish in the tank, the one in our tank starting bullying the Balla Sharks, and the one in our Son’s tank started bullying every fish in the tank and killing a couple of them. We ended up getting rid of both of the fish and now for the most part the two community fish tanks are going well. The two Ballas chase around every once in awhile but otherwise thrive in our 100 gallon tank.
Love what you do Bob! Your love of fish, animals and the outdoors is heartwarming. I agree that many of the Gouramis for sale are too territorial for community tanks. Love the angelfish but they need a large tank and more numbers if you keep more than one.
I agree completely. I did the mistake with #7 as a kid too in the 90's. The ones I got had the exact same shape but were grey. They grew. Slow but yes, they will eat anything they can catch. They do well with bigger fish. The ones I had in a tank were lungfish and would go to the surface to breath and then go back to the bottom of the tank. They liked to hang out with each others, very chill and non aggressive. But anything smaller will be eaten eventually. I made a lot of mistakes buying fish but back then it was a learning process, we didn't have internet, I used to go to the library to read about fish. My favorite fish was probably the elephant fish. It had such a "personality" not the most peaceful fish out there, it loved bullying my pleco. It would swim around it and stroke it with the "trunk" which had no effect but then it would go underneath to the belly and that would really make the pleco angry.
If you need a small algee eater you can't beat otocinclus (think they also know as water monkeys). Those little guys are amazing and work so well in planted tanks
Hey i have dwarf hair grass in my tank they get algae so much and its no easy to remove ,i have two siamese algae eater but they dont eat them i guess please tell me are otto cinclus good for algae on Hair grass or i should buy a shrimp please reply
@@vikalawa5301 nope I'm afraid not. Try Putting tank in darkness for a week. No lights and wrap in bag to keep natural stuff out. That killed it off pretty fast when I had that problem. 👍
@@nobrainsnoheadache2434 that's sea monkeys mate. It may also be todo with location as that's what local shops have as common name in UK. I always just call em ottos tbh.
Some years ago I had Leopard Danios in a tank and got into a regular habit of introducing Harlequins into the tank as they mysteriously just disappeared.. one day I witnessed the Zebras attacking and killing the Harlequins.. no one believed me when I said but it’s true 😳🤷
When I was 23, I got a 55g tank and did everything wrong. Didn’t cycle, put all the fish in at the same time, and non compatible fish - guppies, mollies, swordtails, angel fish, convicts, Jack Dempseys, gouramis, a pair of bettas, and an Oscar. The guy who owned the store never said a word about his size. Surprisingly, not one fish died from my ignorance - until Oscar got bigger than everybody else and started eating them. It’s really a shame that some fish people withhold information like size, just to make a buck. I would have gotten other fish instead of Oscar. He still would have had a sale. He became the only fish in the tank, and I ended up giving the whole setup away.
Let me know what fish you think are bad for community aquariums below. Need some ideas for a Ten gallon? Check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/FR0YX5Uhj6c/v-deo.html
I had my pea puffer with 4 Molly's in 3 black skirt Tetris for 2 years and he hasn't did nothing he hangs out in some rocks that I have in comes out to eat and go's back the rocks
Here in Germany they sell little Ameiurus nebulosus / Brown Bullheads for aquariums. They look quite nice. Get amazingly tame. You can handfeed them and they let you touch them... And then they start eating every other fish in your tank as they grow :D
I work at PetSmart and I can't even tell you how many times a day I have to explain to people you cannot keep any of our fish in a bowl of stagnant, unheated and unfiltered bowl of water. The other day someone tried to buy a cichlid and wanted to put it in a bowl "because it's so pretty". The impulse buying of fish is so so bad at PetSmarts because people see them and go ooo shiny. They do absolutely no research and often will not listen to you when you give advice, and want to cut corners and go for the cheapest tank options. I've had people look me right in the eyes and say "I don't believe you" when I tell them how large goldfish get and how big of a tank they need. It is so rare I get someone who is ready to learn, takes my information seriously, or is prepared for the financial investment these animals are. The cost of keeping fish is something people are also not prepared for because "it's a $2 pet" but its proper and ideal home is $$$. It's hard because people think you're trying to upsell them because it's retail, but I'm trying to have the best interest of the animals in mind.
All beginner must watch this video, waiting for next ones in series.Wish all store owners give such information to their customers, but normally they don't.Many beginner people lose interest in hobby due such lack of information about fishes.
Unfortunately, they also lose interest due to the harsh criticism they receive if and when they make a mistake. Instead of people offering advice, they act like they are trying to make you feel stupid. It almost drove me out of the hobby. I understand criticism or a person not liking my aquarium set up. But there is a way to go about it.
Never had a problem with Tiger Barbs in my community tanks. They are always in a schools of 8-12 and they rarely ever go after anything except themselves. I do keep them in 75 gallon tanks though so having the extra room makes them even less likely to nip. Just my experience with them. Tiger Barbs are probably the most misunderstood fish:P
I loved my Oscar. Absolute beast. He dominated my biggest aquarium. Fun to introduce him to new friends (translation: live food). If you love a fish that will devour just about anything, this is the fish for you. Word to the wise, do NOT introduce him to you favorite Jack Dempsey. Yep ... that was a mistake. I had to separate them FAST. (I was cleaning tanks.) I quickly put that task off foe a day and went and bought a new small temporary tank with a cover. They didn't even like seeing each other's tank.
I actually kind of disagree with pea puffers, over the years I've experimented a lot and have kept many many pea puffers successfully in community tanks multiple times, but I've also had a couple who just didn't work in a community. It honestly just depends on the individual fish's personality, some are much more peaceful than others. When I buy pea puffers I watch for their behavior in the stores, ones that come up to the front of the glass and chase each other around tend not to do well in community tanks, while ones that then to keep to themselves often continue that behavior in your own tank adn do well with other fish, and they will usually thrive as long as they are kept well fed, are not outcompeted for food, arent kept with tankmates large enough to eat them, in well planted tanks to break their lines of sight and kept with others of their own kind to interact with. I've personally kept pea puffers with rainbowfish, short finned guppies, swordtails, platys, least killifish, mollies, plakat and longfin bettas, tetras, barbs, pencilfish, danios, rasboras, small gouramis, corydoras, baby and adult bristlenose, kuhli loaches, otocinclus, kribensis, apistogrammas, rams, gobies, small killifish, scarlet badis, neocaridina shrimp, amano shrimp, mexican dwarf crayfish, fire belly toads, and african dwarf frogs, with no problems.
My step dad has shown little interest in his puffers so I continue thinking about putting them in my community tank. The largest fish I have in there are 3 dwarf Gourami’s but I haven’t committed to the idea yet
Yes! I was about to reply about pea puffers. I put them in my community tank. And they’ve done really well. I added more plants for them so they can hide. I haven’t had any issues. They live with 3 Angel fish, 8 celestial Pearl danios, 20 cardinals, 6 cories and 3 ottos. Hopefully they stay peaceful but I’ve had them in several community tanks and haven’t had issues. I agree I think it depends on the fish.
I started my new hobby about 3 months ago. I bought some "little fish including 6 Zebra Danios. WELLLLLL, I had to buy a second tank and remove them. They chased and nibbled everything in the first tank. Little horrors! LOL. They appear to be quite settled on their own. I do enjoy learning from your videos, thank you.
I wish more people talked about this aspect of danios. They are little monsters, endless energy and all of it put towards worrying and chasing other fish. Zebras and giants, nipping anything with fins. Never again.
Thanks for trying to get this information out there, in shops there are so many fish that grow to huge sizes that only a small proportion of people will ever have an aquarium big enough for them yet there's often no information/advice on the sizes they grow to, which must lead to so many unwanted fish. My parents bought 2 Chinese algae eaters for their small community tank. Thankfully a shop took them off our hands.
Checking multiple sources - good ones, like this channel, Aquarium Co-op, Prime Time Aquatics, KG Tropical and more - for care guides and info on a species you're considering keeping is a good idea. And what I do is take the more conservative or difficult approach out of those recommended. If tank size suggestions range from 10-20g, I go with the 20. If minimum schooling numbers suggested are from 6-8, I get at least 8. And so on...
I think this is a great video other than the pea puffer thing. I've kept some for quite a while now and they just aren't typically aggressive. If u keep them with small schooling fish like danios, neons, or rasboras, they aren't gonna be aggressive towards them.
The common pleco. At the time I had a 29 gallon tank and was not told how massive they get. Unfortunately a year later I had to give him away because he was out growing my tank fast. It was a sad day because I watched him grow but I rather he go to a home in a bigger tank.
I found out the hard way about Chinese Algae Eaters. I was looking for another tank cleaner, and was talked into getting one for my community tank. When it was small, it was fine, but when it got older, it become violent to the other fish in the tank. When I called the pet store about the behavior, I was told to either rehome it or to add hiding places for the other fish since these fish can have attitude problems. So I bought more hiding places which worked pretty well, until I one day I saw the Chinese Algae Eater munching on one of my other fish. That is when I realized he was aggressive because he was hungry and didn't want algae. Another fish to be wary about are plecos. I currently have a common pleco that I got when it was only a couple inches long. It is now 13 inches and still growing. I only have a 29 gallon tank (he is the only fish in there) and will be upgrading here sooner rather than later to a 55 gallon. But when I got him I was told he would get maybe 6 inches or so but will not outgrow the tank. Yep, told nothing but lies lol.
I personally have a community tank and in there is- 4 bala sharks (2 biggest are 7-8 inch long), 3 angels, two parrots, 6 rainbow fish, 1 eel, 1 knife fish, two bigger fancy tail guppies and an albino pleco. They have done amazing together. Eventually, the balas and knife fish will go into a bigger tank I have on hold and the rest will stay where they are. I have 6 tanks. I have pea puffer tanks and I have tons of shrimps and baby guppies in the one and they don't ever bother any of their tank mates. I still have every single shrimp and guppy in there. There are two different types of pea puffers, I have both. The bigger ones with the perfect spots on them with the green like hue that need the more brackish water are the more aggressive and will eat anything in their path whole. The tiny pea sized puffers that are fresh water they won't bother tank mates- so far from my experience. You're lucky to get them to even eat the snails. People seem to get the two mixed up.
I have a community tank with Harlequin Rasboras, Tiger Barbs and Bronze Corys. I never noticed tiger barbs pestering any fish other than eachother while I've seen Rasboras Chasing Cories multiple times.
Just the other day, I was at my LFS and listening to someone oohing and aahing over the size of a pleco in one of their tanks. "Wow, I didn't know they got so big!" she said. I casually mentioned the full grown size as I walked by, and her jaw dropped. 🤣 (I did tell her there are some types that stay small, if she was interested in getting one.)
Another great video Bob!! I love all the fish on these lists!! But definitely a lot you need to take into consideration before not knowing and adding them to a community!! Someday, I would like to have a dedicated tank for these little pea puffers, so I can watch them do their little pea puffer things 🤣♥️ And Oscars💔 it's just so heartbreaking. Recently I talked to a family at a big box co store. They had no idea what they were getting into. The store associate of course didn't let them know what was involved with keeping these beautiful fish!! All they saw was a cute little fish!! Instead they ended up going with some platys and corys for their children to enjoy ♥️ I made this mistake also with Oscars in the beginning! Another fish that I added to a community tank when I was just a little girl was a blue gourami! I absolutely thought it was the most beautiful fish in the world but it became very aggressive and took everything out in the tank 😭 Another mistake I made was the Chinese algae eater, when I was first starting out, a lot of these stores do direct you to these fish!I'm so thankful for you and videos like this over the past year! I've learned more about them and many of the fish on this list!! Thanks for sharing this, hopefully it will help beginners not make some of the same mistakes that I know I did!! Have a great weekend Bob and I hope you have a wonderful day! ♥️🙏🌿🐟🌿
I must be very lucky. I’ve had 12 tiger barbs in my 75 in a very standard “community tank” for over a year and they only seem to bicker amongst each other. I have plenty of driftwood and plants in the aquarium so that when one gets tired, they have a place to retreat to. None of my fish have torn fins or signs of stress. Everyone’s tanks are different, just thought I’d share my experience with a very personable beautiful fish. Great video, Bob.
I'm guessing it may make a difference that you actually have a decent sized school of them. Have never kept tiger barbs, but I know when I first started, I got the bare minimum recommended number of schooling fish. Now that I've moved on to bigger tanks, and learned more, I keep fewer types of fish, in bigger numbers, and get to enjoy their more natural behaviours. Like my most recent addition (in 2 batches) of 16 pygmy cories in my recently re-scaped tank.
I once bought two platinum angel fish for my 15 gl community tank, soon I had to move out my community fish to another tank and separate the two angel fish because they were fighting everyone and each other. From 1 tank, it became 3 tanks. Nobody told me that I had to overcrowd the tank to prevent fighting. New fish enthusiast learning the hard way.
Regarding Bichirs, there are two types that I have kept. The ones with a narrower mouth are much more docile and not aggressive at all, even to smaller fish. But the ones with a wider mouth, these will eat just about anything, even fish their own size. I made the mistake and added the wide-mouth bichir to the tank, and it tried to swallow a fire-eel bigger than itself, and choked on it... Both died.... 😔. So the narrow mouth bichirs are definitely community tank material.
I had two pea puffers in a community tank 40 gal for years with not a single issue ever. Not a nipped fin nada. Had a very interesting community tank with a bunch of odd ball fish that somehow blended together perfectly🤷🏻♂️. From pea puffers to bubble bee goby’s also a pair to fresh water flounder to pigmy water frogs also paired and also several other species of small unique fish including some fresh water clams. Somehow everything gelled together perfectly. I miss that tank could sit and watch it for hours. I only fed diet of live food and mixed it up to get them all their nutrients, had a large fluvial canister filter then went under stand. TONS of good bacteria from the beautiful porous Mexican pot rock to the biological filter media to the fine sand I used. It was perfectly cycled the and had a good amount of live plants. But years and meticulously added to it slowly. Sometimes I would go back and forth looking for a fish to add over weeks to a month looking for just the right fish. But anyway yeah all these weird fish/frogs/clams etc all lived in perfect harmony. Maybe it was because the tank was set up just perfect? They all had their routine and area and weirdly everything seemed to know and respect it. Maybe it was because I purposely only picked species that were very small or grew very very slowly so there was lots of space. For size of tank I definitely never came anywhere close to capacity. Will see if I get lucky again as I am back into the hobby having the time again now, and want to try and recreate that tank that was my favorite tank back when I was into the hobby before
i had some long fin tiger barbs just got rid of them for some more rainbow fish because they nipped each others fins up and the fins on my angel fish, the tank(55gal) is a lot calmer without them being mean all over the place
Had a roommate years ago that would cut the tail off the tiger barb that nipped the others. Worked until the tail grew back. Rinse and repeat. It would hide any time net in water.
HIGHLY recommend golden bichir... but not for beginners and not for community tanks and not for small tanks. And yes, they'll get to 18"-22" if you take good care of them. (Careful, they have a primitive lung and will try to use it on occasion by jumping out of your tank).
Pretty accurate rundown on what fish not to keep in a community aquarium - Silver Sharks have a peaceful temperament, but they're easily spooked, are jumpers, and will outgrow the average aquarium, plus they're schoolers too, so you're going to need almost an industrial sized aquarium if you want to keep them! One leaped out of my tank when I wasn't there and landed halfway across the room; unfortunately, it was too late by the time I noticed it was missing and found it behind some clothes drawers. I had a lid and cover on the aquarium too. Tiger Barbs will dive bomb Cory Catfish and any bottom dweller mercilessly and will leave fish such as Angelfish and Pearl Gouramis in shreds - literally! So they should be kept in a species-only tank really. Thanks for uploading; very informative.
If I could have an infinitely massive tank. It would have a school of balas. I got baby ones and raised them until they were about 4 inches. Had to rehome them because of IRL stuff and I miss them. They actually had personality and look so cool swimming together. I miss you all :(
I've had all kinds of barbs for years now and not one species has been a fin nipper. they've been in my community tanks also so I recommend any barb for a community !
Used to have a pair of oscars that were in a community (all large fish) included two sharks, two freshwater catfish and two large angels and a couple bristlenose. super calm and friendly to each other but anything else fish wise was viewed as food. Was a very large tank though. 8foot long
I had a barb tank and my black ruby’s were by far the most aggressive fish. More so than any tiger variant. Only the red tailed shark could sort it out. And that was fine with everything else.
I made the mistake of getting a pea puffer as I am a fan of puffer fish and I didn't have to worry about a brackish or salt setup with the pea puffer. After he got acclimated, he started going after my 3 gouramis and my 3 female beta. I stuck him in a small tank but my little heater stuck on and cooked him. I do have a rosy barb flying solo with the rest of the tank and haven't had any aggression issues.
My bala minnow is the best community fish ever it has grown with my hobby from small community tank to now in a 150 with a tin foil barb they are best friends living with American cichlids
Awesome video. Senegal bichirs are super fast they can also turn on a dime have great control of their swim bladder. even small ones will kill much larger fish by holding on to the fin and wearing it out. Good content in this video just my opinion they are capable of great speeds
I try to avoid putting any kind of cichlid into a community aquarium, due to the fact that they not only grow to a size that's not comparable to the other fish, but that they will effectively take over part of the aquarium and become territorial toward any smaller fish. Even the likes of Angel Fish, you have to be a little bit careful with.
Siamese Algae eaters. They are like the sweetest fish. I had 3 once and they gave me such joy. Never bother other fish. BUT they grow to be about 4.5 inches.
I wish I could do a rosy barb pond, but I don’t think they could quite survive a Canadian winter 🥶 Maybe an indoor unheated pond in the basement... I should just make my basement a giant fish room lol
I tried to keep native fish in a tank but it's so hard. For them to "thrive" you really need to somehow simulate that winter and I couldn't do it as a kid in the 90's. I had some native fish for a few years until I sold them to local aquarium store. The fish I had were carps, perch and one pike. I caught them as fry. The scariest one was the pike. That was a nightmare *monster* lol. The carps were super friendly and they would let me stroke them in water, always coming up to the surface happy. I had them in a BIG tank. Loved it but even then I knew it wasn't right to keep them in such a condition.
I agree 100% about what you said about tiger barbs! I had few in the past but one in particular (female) was so aggressive. She stared attacking platies and other peaceful eating her eyes. I never saw something like that in my fish keeper hobby career ! I noticed what was going on when several (believe me) fish started appearing without eyes.
My rosy barbs attack and eat all of the red eyes balloon tetra's eyes, i thought it maybe happened after I installed the pink light into the tank, possible the red eyes looks like food to them?
My red tail female just died. 7 years. She was nice to my barbs, tetras, mollies and guppies... yes I have a 120 gal but she was nice just not to the shrimp lol
@@classychandu5090 The chief problem I've seen with clowns is that they's a schooling fish that will grow to about a foot long eventually. Otherwise all the ones I've seen have been pretty well behaved.
I have 6 rosy barbs at 25 deg C and are in a community tank and do not hassle or nip any other fish, ever, including themselves. Dont get between them and their peas though! But totally passive, they will nip your arms if you are rearranging the tank thinking its food.
I totally agree with all of these except the pea puffer. I have one in a heavily planted 30 gallon. Tank mates corys, guppies, tetras. I’ve had zero problems. It fun to look for him puttsing around the tank.
My clown loach has been doing quite well in my 55-gallon community tank for the past 10 years. Of course, he is in with silver dollars, a bushy nose pleco, Rafael cat and a Texas cichlid, and 3 giant Danios. Everybody does quite well but I do not think I would advise any of them for community tanks.
I think all types of African cichlids don't do well in community tanks. Oh mosquito fish (Gambusia), although they're just like Guppies they're actually pretty aggressive.
@[ 桂木優 ]KᗩTᔕᑌᖇᗩGI yep i actually put a pole on my yt channel to ask what fish i should add and one of my subscribers said an angel fish but then i explained and we agreed on platies
i remember Bala sharks. back in the 60's I was in jr high and working at a Tropical fish store. back then they were called Tri-color sharks. They were expensive b/c they were all wild caught. At that time they had not been bred in captivity. There actually came a point where they were not for sale because they were endangered. We had 3 in the store we kept for display.
"I made a mistake and got a bala shark, and instead of re-homing them or getting a bigger tank I just keep one in my 40 gallon with my tetras" - great plan!
Yeah, we've got one. Hes about 6" and we call him bruce, or the torpedo. His aggression is currently under control w protein crumbles, but im guessing were gonna have to eventually find him a new home. Maybe if we ever get that pond...
I have a mixed tank with about 40 fish generally small, and 7 tiger barbs included, it's a very peaceful place. Maybe I've just been lucky but have no problems at all once I took most of the Molly's out leaving only 2. The tigers have been breeding and although the eggs get eaten I have had a few survive, very cute
One of my first tanks I setup had an Iridescent Shark, Red-Tailed Shark, Serpae Tetra, Rainbow Shark. Bala Shark and a Common Pleco. I had one of each species in a 50 gallon tank. The weird thing was the Serpae was the bully of the tank and he was the smallest fish! All of these should be on your next list and I should get the worst Community Tank setups of all time. The tank ran for three years like that and then I quit the hobby for awhile.
I learnt most of these lessons the hard way. I had Bala shark (silver shark here in the UK) that were growing rapidly, puffer fish that were killing everything, and various wierd fish that kept dying. I've just ended up with an African cichlid tank now, although I am keeping cichlids that shouldn't really be together.
I bought the last one my fish store had and he has claimed a tiny section on the left side of the tank he will chase almost any tetra out of his territory but leaves the guppies, guppy fry, and Bolivian Rams alone. I've been waiting for them to get more in stock hoping he'll mellow out but he doesn't fin nip or hurt anything just chases them out if his area then retreats.
Had Oscars as a teen in our family aquarium, they got massive and so did our algae eater that we had with them. I read that algae eaters only grow to 4 inches but ours was massive, 8-12 inches, the Oscars never bothered him because he could tell them off.
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As a current Petsmart employee, thank you for posting this. I enjoy and appreciate videos that help me sell fish/animals to healthy, loving, fitting homes. I will keep this information in mind when selling fish to people. ❤️
Sup.
Lol
Good for you sweetie truely caring for the fish and customers
Oscars are really nice but you're gonna need a 100 gallon tank. Great if you do but that would mean you have some smaller tanks going as well. (This is in response to your post from a year ago. I just added to the page). I hope you are doing well.
I work at PetSmart and lemme tell you... it irritates me when customers come up to me and ask for an Oscar or any other cichlid for that matter and I ask how big their tank is and they always say 5 gallons and sometimes even 1 gallon! Customers hate me there cause I always refuse to sell them fish and other animals when they don't have adequate environments for them lol!
How We wish that the world would have more animal caring beautiful souls like you out there. Ever since when I was a teenager I read an expert stated that like in the fish natural waters, THE MORE SPACIOUS THE TANK,, THE BETTER. This became my guiding rule for separate housing small schooling fish like neons, danios, tiger terras, to fancy goldfish, to big cichlids like oscars, or angelfish. If we want to keep our fish happy and healthy, just study/google/ask experts in pet shops or other expert aquarists their living arrangements in nature and copy them as much as possible.
I have a 36gal tank what fish would u recommend I should get? And how many? Ide like to get a good amount and have all kinds of different types of fish. Is that possible?
You are the PetSmart employee that I wish I had at my local store. You are doing nothing wrong. Oscars definitely belong in larger tanks. The customer would find out the hard way at the fishs expense.
@@dbsti3006 I have no interest in getting oscars. I have 2 tetras, 3 guppies, 4 Corys (different types) and 2 frogs. I just want a lively tank with a lot of different kinds cool lookin fish
@@GunnyPA I have the same size tank, rn its doing very well I have 2 gouramis 1 male 1 female, 8 cory catfish, a gold pleco only gets to 4-6 inches long, and I have 2 killifish and 3 platys my tank thrives very well and everyone is happy, havent had any deaths or problems since I added my killi idk why but they get along great with my gouramis
Instructions unclear: I now have a 20 gallon high with 5 Bala sharks and 3 Jack Dempsey chiclids
You really need to add a common pleco too. 😆
thought of getting an arapaima?
Have you considered adding about 6 Eastern bottle nose and a couple alligator gar too?
Wait, was this not the "Best community fish" video?
Add pine needles to the aquas cape they calm the f ish down
I watch in horror as I have put the first 3 fish you describe into my community tank - being new to the hobby. Thanks for the great advice.
The nice thing about this hobby is nothing is absolute. You could get lucky with them and have no issues =)
Ur not alone buddy
My friend has a 29 gallon with 6 opaline gouramis 3 bala sharks and 12 tiger barbs. They didn't listen too me at all 😅 they say its working out well but wait a couple months when everything grows then they'll see
I have a dozen Rosy Barbs in with my tetras, no problems, theres enough of them so they keep the aggressiveness amongst themselves and leave everything else alone
I have tinfoil barbs 6 of them in with neons and guppys and mollys and oleckys platys gorammys
So glad to see Bala Sharks on this list. They were the bane of my existence when I worked in a couple of the LFS's around here, as the boss always wanted to carry small ones but then 6 months later didn't want to deal with what they become. Great video overall!
Do jo from sh
My bala sharks are in a 55 gallon and had them for years and the biggest one is 3”
🐡 My pea puffers have lived in a community aquarium for over SIX YEARS with blind cave tetras, paradise gouramis, angelfish, male and female bettas, microcorys, and dojo loaches and guppies.
This is a good video. These can be great fish when kept properly.
I'd say roseline sharks are a great alternative to Bala sharks if you want the shark-like looks without the agression and enormous size. My four roselines are my favorite fish in my 75gal community tank and they've gotten along great with everyone, despite being the largest fish in the tank. They school together and are always exploring around. Their coloring makes them look like little fighter jets zooming around.
I had actually tried keeping pea puffers with neon tetras and ember tetras , and it turned out to be just fine. They were not much aggressive towards each other nor towards other fishes. For reference i had a 30gallon tank.
Many many people keep them with tetras no issues. But I'm sure things happen. So they get a bad name for that
its almost like they are tolerating each other for now you know. almost like he said in the video that they can be fine with others for years but one little aggresion towards the puffer and all the others are dead
I made the BICHIR mistake every time the light went out another fish went missing. Eventually it was just him and the pleco and I loved that fish so much that's just how I kept the tank. 1 bichir 1 pleco and tons of plants. I moved the survivors to another tank.
Get more bichers and maybe 1 more pleco i have 3 bichers but for some reason my bichers are the nicest fish i own
I had a similar experience with weather loaches. LFS sold them as a great community fish... I've had them 7 months, and they're now 8 inches long. Nothing else lives in their tank.
Ive read Pleco's are not good to keep with Bichirs. They apparently latch on to them at times. Have you noticed anything? Look into the Brittle nose Plecos, those are safe or other types of algae eaters.
@@Sean3D2Y I did notice my pleco latching on my Bichir a few times but more like trying then just leaving it alone
Nothing is worse than the common Pleco. Thanks, Bob!
may I propose classic plecos? most people stick em in a 20 gallon and call it a day, despite the fact that they get like a foot long. they’re gentle giants with an emphasis on giant lol
We had 2 leopard Plecos and they were absolutely massive. They were gentle fish though and never had any issues with them apart from their massive size! Thankfully we kept them in a 40 gallon tank which did the job (surprisingly)
Kinda surprised my common pleco not really that big compared to many others I seen and he about 8 years old. While my sailing who only 2 already just as big as him XD
I don’t understand why as a sales person at a pet store you don’t just say like”you do know this fish can get up to a foot long” my husband bought me one and I had totehome it because I didn’t have a setup for its size but he didn’t know and they didn’t say anything
Common pleco is prob the worst offender that he didn't mention. People get them then dump them when they cant support anymore. Florda is overrun by the things. They get huge and are extremely resilient.
I have one common in my community tank that I was keeping for a friend but she decided she no longer wanted her and now I have a foot long monster that runs over everything but I feel bad that she was unwanted by the original owner
I breed very high end guppies but not in what many would think is the reason. I have worked in dna genetics for 22 years and exotic Veterinarian Medical for 15 years for two major zoos. Currently breeding rare Guppies in genetic testing but sell off the ones we do not need obviously cheap to help fund the progress.
I do appreciate that you reach out to the public on not doing spontaneous buys as it leads to people releasing exotics into our water ways which is actually criminal and one can be arrested in doing so. It destroys the natural economy and resources while posing problems all around. With working in two zoos, this area had always disturbed me personally. So thank you for making this video sir.
May I buy some guppies from you?
Are you selling some guppies now?
Jason has some really nice Guppies so I encourage you both to check his first and if you like his, I encourage you both to buy his, if not I can provide you a list of strains but this is his channel and I would not respectfully sell on his channel. I encourage you both to post your own comment on both channels respectfully. But I will say Jason has some really nice ones if you check his website also.
@@supportyourtroopsathletes6460 they are just standard guppies lol they are not exotic in any way shape or form. Which is why you won't sell them, you literally tryed so hard to look cool but over guppies🤣😭🤣.
Nice I see what you did. "I breed rare guppies and they sell all the ones we don't need cheap". So people ask you for some and you say "no Jason has nice ones ask him"🤣😭🤣so it seems you were trying to brag or showoff since you can't give any away like you said you do in your post. Rare guppies 🤣 you are important I bet.
@@rapscallion3421 .. I am selling a lot thank you and have a steady customer base locally.
Not sure what it's like in the states, but in Australia most stores (especially basic pet stores) on the tags of the fish prices they do regularly list the full size of the fish once fully grown. We sell things like Murry Cod here and those get HUGE so having the fishes total size on the tags help people know what they're getting into. Some stores have the big fish on display to show how massive they can really get and it's a good way to show that they're not beginner fish.
My experience with rosybarbs is that as long as you keep 5 or more and you have them in a larger tank they will keep the nipping between themselves.
THANK YOU For your clear explanation of what are really bad beginner choices. I also loved the fact that you had similar options for these fish that WERE community friendly!
Good thing I found this video, though I was going to research about them but I had great interest on Pea Puffers for my community tank. They are sooo cute!
Great video!!!
I enjoyed this video, Bob. I had to watch to see how much crossover there was with the "10 Terrible Community Aquarium Fish" video I did a couple years ago. It was interesting to see which fish our lists had in common and which fish you selected that I didn't. I hadn't even thought about Rosy Barbs being more aggressive at warmer temps. Great video. Looking forward to the next two installments.
I believe I watched that video when it was released. 🙂
The store I bought fish from during the 90's loved to trick us into buying fish not "suitable" for a community tank. They'd show us smaller fish, a centimeter or so and they would look so cute. They got us to buy 2-3 yellow catfish like fish, not sure what they were called, they had long "whiskers" and were really small and super active. But oh boy... did they grow. In a month they were big. Had to move them out of the tank because their appetite for *anything* was very high. They were quick too. They did fine with bigger fish however as long they couldn't eat them that is lol.
Earlier when I was new to the hobby I kept buying single bala shark and eventually each one would die, but now keeping a school of 7 in my 300gallon… they are healthy and thriving…
Very enlightening. This has been a helpful, informative video. Much appreciated.
Man that was a great rundown, my dad loves fish and I'm more into mountain biking. He had it playing this morning and I just had to take the laptop from him and tune in myself! Lol Thank you very interesting👍👍
Got about 30 fully grown Bala sharks in my pond, absolutely love them! But yeah, too big for a tank.
Would love to see that
They get huge!
Could you post a quick vid of them? I’d love to see them
How do you heat it?
@@kingssuck06 I live in a place that’s not cold.
Nice. I for sure think red tail/rainbow sharks should make an appearance. They can be pretty brutal in the wrong setup, but absolutely gorgeous in the right one lol
Yes I looked thru comments to see if anyone mentioned Red tail sharks. We bought two at Petsmart when we started our tank and they nearly killed each other. We separated them 1 to our Son’s tank and kept the other. Both started bullying all the other fish in the tank, the one in our tank starting bullying the Balla Sharks, and the one in our Son’s tank started bullying every fish in the tank and killing a couple of them. We ended up getting rid of both of the fish and now for the most part the two community fish tanks are going well. The two Ballas chase around every once in awhile but otherwise thrive in our 100 gallon tank.
Love what you do Bob! Your love of fish, animals and the outdoors is heartwarming. I agree that many of the Gouramis for sale are too territorial for community tanks. Love the angelfish but they need a large tank and more numbers if you keep more than one.
I agree completely. I did the mistake with #7 as a kid too in the 90's. The ones I got had the exact same shape but were grey. They grew. Slow but yes, they will eat anything they can catch. They do well with bigger fish. The ones I had in a tank were lungfish and would go to the surface to breath and then go back to the bottom of the tank. They liked to hang out with each others, very chill and non aggressive. But anything smaller will be eaten eventually. I made a lot of mistakes buying fish but back then it was a learning process, we didn't have internet, I used to go to the library to read about fish. My favorite fish was probably the elephant fish. It had such a "personality" not the most peaceful fish out there, it loved bullying my pleco. It would swim around it and stroke it with the "trunk" which had no effect but then it would go underneath to the belly and that would really make the pleco angry.
If you need a small algee eater you can't beat otocinclus (think they also know as water monkeys). Those little guys are amazing and work so well in planted tanks
Hey i have dwarf hair grass in my tank they get algae so much and its no easy to remove ,i have two siamese algae eater but they dont eat them i guess please tell me are otto cinclus good for algae on
Hair grass or i should buy a shrimp please reply
@@vikalawa5301 nope I'm afraid not. Try Putting tank in darkness for a week. No lights and wrap in bag to keep natural stuff out. That killed it off pretty fast when I had that problem. 👍
I tried keeping Otocinclus a few times. They never lasted very long and just kept dying
'water monkeys' are brine shrimp
@@nobrainsnoheadache2434 that's sea monkeys mate. It may also be todo with location as that's what local shops have as common name in UK. I always just call em ottos tbh.
Some years ago I had Leopard Danios in a tank and got into a regular habit of introducing Harlequins into the tank as they mysteriously just disappeared.. one day I witnessed the Zebras attacking and killing the Harlequins.. no one believed me when I said but it’s true 😳🤷
Odd, my leopard danios are nice. Favorite fish once matured especially.
Wow never knew danios could be like that
I had Zebra Danios and they were obnoxious with the other fish.
When I was 23, I got a 55g tank and did everything wrong. Didn’t cycle, put all the fish in at the same time, and non compatible fish - guppies, mollies, swordtails, angel fish, convicts, Jack Dempseys, gouramis, a pair of bettas, and an Oscar. The guy who owned the store never said a word about his size. Surprisingly, not one fish died from my ignorance - until Oscar got bigger than everybody else and started eating them. It’s really a shame that some fish people withhold information like size, just to make a buck. I would have gotten other fish instead of Oscar. He still would have had a sale. He became the only fish in the tank, and I ended up giving the whole setup away.
Let me know what fish you think are bad for community aquariums below.
Need some ideas for a Ten gallon? Check out this video: ua-cam.com/video/FR0YX5Uhj6c/v-deo.html
I had my pea puffer with 4 Molly's in 3 black skirt Tetris for 2 years and he hasn't did nothing he hangs out in some rocks that I have in comes out to eat and go's back the rocks
Thoughts on rainbow sharks?
I have the golden algae eater in a community outdoor aquarium for over a year now. It does eat algae and has not caused any problems till now.
Here in Germany they sell little Ameiurus nebulosus / Brown Bullheads for aquariums.
They look quite nice. Get amazingly tame. You can handfeed them and they let you touch them...
And then they start eating every other fish in your tank as they grow :D
Beta fish!
I work at PetSmart and I can't even tell you how many times a day I have to explain to people you cannot keep any of our fish in a bowl of stagnant, unheated and unfiltered bowl of water. The other day someone tried to buy a cichlid and wanted to put it in a bowl "because it's so pretty". The impulse buying of fish is so so bad at PetSmarts because people see them and go ooo shiny. They do absolutely no research and often will not listen to you when you give advice, and want to cut corners and go for the cheapest tank options. I've had people look me right in the eyes and say "I don't believe you" when I tell them how large goldfish get and how big of a tank they need. It is so rare I get someone who is ready to learn, takes my information seriously, or is prepared for the financial investment these animals are. The cost of keeping fish is something people are also not prepared for because "it's a $2 pet" but its proper and ideal home is $$$. It's hard because people think you're trying to upsell them because it's retail, but I'm trying to have the best interest of the animals in mind.
Jesus Blessed you with some amazing mental endurance.
God bless 💯💯💯
All beginner must watch this video, waiting for next ones in series.Wish all store owners give such information to their customers, but normally they don't.Many beginner people lose interest in hobby due such lack of information about fishes.
Unfortunately, they also lose interest due to the harsh criticism they receive if and when they make a mistake. Instead of people offering advice, they act like they are trying to make you feel stupid. It almost drove me out of the hobby. I understand criticism or a person not liking my aquarium set up. But there is a way to go about it.
Ikr? I learned a lot from this as a beginner in fish keeping.
Never had a problem with Tiger Barbs in my community tanks. They are always in a schools of 8-12 and they rarely ever go after anything except themselves. I do keep them in 75 gallon tanks though so having the extra room makes them even less likely to nip. Just my experience with them. Tiger Barbs are probably the most misunderstood fish:P
When I was a teenager I made a mistake of buying African Cclides and they ate everything I had... they were so territorial and angry lol
That's racist man.
lol
I had a few Cicklids and all they did was fight, never again!!!!
@@donaldewert2402 why can no one spell cichlids lol
@@timmykkgb I only had one letter wrong but I guess I failed, still don't like 'em. I was afraid to try spelling it again HA!!!
I loved my Oscar. Absolute beast. He dominated my biggest aquarium. Fun to introduce him to new friends (translation: live food). If you love a fish that will devour just about anything, this is the fish for you. Word to the wise, do NOT introduce him to you favorite Jack Dempsey. Yep ... that was a mistake. I had to separate them FAST. (I was cleaning tanks.) I quickly put that task off foe a day and went and bought a new small temporary tank with a cover. They didn't even like seeing each other's tank.
I actually kind of disagree with pea puffers, over the years I've experimented a lot and have kept many many pea puffers successfully in community tanks multiple times, but I've also had a couple who just didn't work in a community. It honestly just depends on the individual fish's personality, some are much more peaceful than others. When I buy pea puffers I watch for their behavior in the stores, ones that come up to the front of the glass and chase each other around tend not to do well in community tanks, while ones that then to keep to themselves often continue that behavior in your own tank adn do well with other fish, and they will usually thrive as long as they are kept well fed, are not outcompeted for food, arent kept with tankmates large enough to eat them, in well planted tanks to break their lines of sight and kept with others of their own kind to interact with. I've personally kept pea puffers with rainbowfish, short finned guppies, swordtails, platys, least killifish, mollies, plakat and longfin bettas, tetras, barbs, pencilfish, danios, rasboras, small gouramis, corydoras, baby and adult bristlenose, kuhli loaches, otocinclus, kribensis, apistogrammas, rams, gobies, small killifish, scarlet badis, neocaridina shrimp, amano shrimp, mexican dwarf crayfish, fire belly toads, and african dwarf frogs, with no problems.
Mine are with a badis badis
My step dad has shown little interest in his puffers so I continue thinking about putting them in my community tank. The largest fish I have in there are 3 dwarf Gourami’s but I haven’t committed to the idea yet
@@andyalvarez5908 dope i have a pair of puffers living with a scarlet badis cherry shrimp and rocket killies in a 7 gallon and theyre all doing great
Yes! I was about to reply about pea puffers. I put them in my community tank. And they’ve done really well. I added more plants for them so they can hide. I haven’t had any issues. They live with 3 Angel fish, 8 celestial Pearl danios, 20 cardinals, 6 cories and 3 ottos. Hopefully they stay peaceful but I’ve had them in several community tanks and haven’t had issues. I agree I think it depends on the fish.
@@andyalvarez5908 I have a pair of puffers with a blue gourami and a dwarf gourami and they get along swell, granted they are in a 60 gallon
I didn’t know Pea puffers were related to R. Kelly genus as they tend to “pee” around 😂.
Awesome vid 👍🏽
I started my new hobby about 3 months ago. I bought some "little fish including 6 Zebra Danios. WELLLLLL, I had to buy a second tank and remove them. They chased and nibbled everything in the first tank. Little horrors! LOL. They appear to be quite settled on their own.
I do enjoy learning from your videos, thank you.
I wish more people talked about this aspect of danios. They are little monsters, endless energy and all of it put towards worrying and chasing other fish. Zebras and giants, nipping anything with fins. Never again.
Thanks for trying to get this information out there, in shops there are so many fish that grow to huge sizes that only a small proportion of people will ever have an aquarium big enough for them yet there's often no information/advice on the sizes they grow to, which must lead to so many unwanted fish. My parents bought 2 Chinese algae eaters for their small community tank. Thankfully a shop took them off our hands.
Think you're about to stop me making some serious mistakes, I am definitely following this channel
Checking multiple sources - good ones, like this channel, Aquarium Co-op, Prime Time Aquatics, KG Tropical and more - for care guides and info on a species you're considering keeping is a good idea. And what I do is take the more conservative or difficult approach out of those recommended. If tank size suggestions range from 10-20g, I go with the 20. If minimum schooling numbers suggested are from 6-8, I get at least 8. And so on...
This is a super important topic. Thanks for your insight!
I think this is a great video other than the pea puffer thing. I've kept some for quite a while now and they just aren't typically aggressive. If u keep them with small schooling fish like danios, neons, or rasboras, they aren't gonna be aggressive towards them.
The common pleco. At the time I had a 29 gallon tank and was not told how massive they get. Unfortunately a year later I had to give him away because he was out growing my tank fast. It was a sad day because I watched him grow but I rather he go to a home in a bigger tank.
I found out the hard way about Chinese Algae Eaters. I was looking for another tank cleaner, and was talked into getting one for my community tank. When it was small, it was fine, but when it got older, it become violent to the other fish in the tank. When I called the pet store about the behavior, I was told to either rehome it or to add hiding places for the other fish since these fish can have attitude problems. So I bought more hiding places which worked pretty well, until I one day I saw the Chinese Algae Eater munching on one of my other fish. That is when I realized he was aggressive because he was hungry and didn't want algae.
Another fish to be wary about are plecos. I currently have a common pleco that I got when it was only a couple inches long. It is now 13 inches and still growing. I only have a 29 gallon tank (he is the only fish in there) and will be upgrading here sooner rather than later to a 55 gallon. But when I got him I was told he would get maybe 6 inches or so but will not outgrow the tank. Yep, told nothing but lies lol.
I personally have a community tank and in there is- 4 bala sharks (2 biggest are 7-8 inch long), 3 angels, two parrots, 6 rainbow fish, 1 eel, 1 knife fish, two bigger fancy tail guppies and an albino pleco. They have done amazing together. Eventually, the balas and knife fish will go into a bigger tank I have on hold and the rest will stay where they are. I have 6 tanks. I have pea puffer tanks and I have tons of shrimps and baby guppies in the one and they don't ever bother any of their tank mates. I still have every single shrimp and guppy in there. There are two different types of pea puffers, I have both. The bigger ones with the perfect spots on them with the green like hue that need the more brackish water are the more aggressive and will eat anything in their path whole. The tiny pea sized puffers that are fresh water they won't bother tank mates- so far from my experience. You're lucky to get them to even eat the snails. People seem to get the two mixed up.
I have a community tank with Harlequin Rasboras, Tiger Barbs and Bronze Corys. I never noticed tiger barbs pestering any fish other than eachother while I've seen Rasboras Chasing Cories multiple times.
The common pleco in my opinion. They grow way to big for your community tank. Unless you have like a 120? Hahaha
120 is small for a 2ft fish
Just the other day, I was at my LFS and listening to someone oohing and aahing over the size of a pleco in one of their tanks. "Wow, I didn't know they got so big!" she said. I casually mentioned the full grown size as I walked by, and her jaw dropped. 🤣 (I did tell her there are some types that stay small, if she was interested in getting one.)
@@pjp9383 that's what she said, lol
@@HungQDang Not my type of humour, but I do get the joke. Have a great day.
me with a golden chinese algae eater: oh crap...
Yeah I have 2 and they are starting to harass my Golden Panchax.
Another great video Bob!! I love all the fish on these lists!! But definitely a lot you need to take into consideration before not knowing and adding them to a community!!
Someday, I would like to have a dedicated tank for these little pea puffers, so I can watch them do their little pea puffer things 🤣♥️
And Oscars💔 it's just so heartbreaking.
Recently I talked to a family at a big box co store. They had no idea what they were getting into. The store associate of course didn't let them know what was involved with keeping these beautiful fish!! All they saw was a cute little fish!! Instead they ended up going with some platys and corys for their children to enjoy ♥️
I made this mistake also with Oscars in the beginning!
Another fish that I added to a community tank when I was just a little girl was a blue gourami! I absolutely thought it was the most beautiful fish in the world but it became very aggressive and took everything out in the tank 😭
Another mistake I made was the Chinese algae eater, when I was first starting out, a lot of these stores do direct you to these fish!I'm so thankful for you and videos like this over the past year! I've learned more about them and many of the fish on this list!!
Thanks for sharing this, hopefully it will help beginners not make some of the same mistakes that I know I did!! Have a great weekend Bob and I hope you have a wonderful day! ♥️🙏🌿🐟🌿
I would also like to one day have a dedicated tank to watch pea puffers do their little pea puffer things. One day... 😁
@@pjp9383 I love watching pea puffers do pea puffer things🤣💚🥰🐟
I must be very lucky. I’ve had 12 tiger barbs in my 75 in a very standard “community tank” for over a year and they only seem to bicker amongst each other. I have plenty of driftwood and plants in the aquarium so that when one gets tired, they have a place to retreat to. None of my fish have torn fins or signs of stress. Everyone’s tanks are different, just thought I’d share my experience with a very personable beautiful fish. Great video, Bob.
I'm guessing it may make a difference that you actually have a decent sized school of them. Have never kept tiger barbs, but I know when I first started, I got the bare minimum recommended number of schooling fish. Now that I've moved on to bigger tanks, and learned more, I keep fewer types of fish, in bigger numbers, and get to enjoy their more natural behaviours. Like my most recent addition (in 2 batches) of 16 pygmy cories in my recently re-scaped tank.
I once bought two platinum angel fish for my 15 gl community tank, soon I had to move out my community fish to another tank and separate the two angel fish because they were fighting everyone and each other. From 1 tank, it became 3 tanks. Nobody told me that I had to overcrowd the tank to prevent fighting. New fish enthusiast learning the hard way.
LoL. Separated my angel fish today from others today
Regarding Bichirs, there are two types that I have kept. The ones with a narrower mouth are much more docile and not aggressive at all, even to smaller fish. But the ones with a wider mouth, these will eat just about anything, even fish their own size. I made the mistake and added the wide-mouth bichir to the tank, and it tried to swallow a fire-eel bigger than itself, and choked on it... Both died.... 😔.
So the narrow mouth bichirs are definitely community tank material.
Might wanna rethink on the whole "the more the merrier" for pea puffers as they can be most aggresive towards other puffers if not in a harem
In the wild they are in giant shoals. More the merrier.
I have mine 8 peas which are in a group and they have been doing well since august last year in a 30g tank heavily planted tank.
I had two pea puffers in a community tank 40 gal for years with not a single issue ever. Not a nipped fin nada. Had a very interesting community tank with a bunch of odd ball fish that somehow blended together perfectly🤷🏻♂️. From pea puffers to bubble bee goby’s also a pair to fresh water flounder to pigmy water frogs also paired and also several other species of small unique fish including some fresh water clams. Somehow everything gelled together perfectly. I miss that tank could sit and watch it for hours. I only fed diet of live food and mixed it up to get them all their nutrients, had a large fluvial canister filter then went under stand. TONS of good bacteria from the beautiful porous Mexican pot rock to the biological filter media to the fine sand I used. It was perfectly cycled the and had a good amount of live plants. But years and meticulously added to it slowly. Sometimes I would go back and forth looking for a fish to add over weeks to a month looking for just the right fish. But anyway yeah all these weird fish/frogs/clams etc all lived in perfect harmony. Maybe it was because the tank was set up just perfect? They all had their routine and area and weirdly everything seemed to know and respect it. Maybe it was because I purposely only picked species that were very small or grew very very slowly so there was lots of space. For size of tank I definitely never came anywhere close to capacity. Will see if I get lucky again as I am back into the hobby having the time again now, and want to try and recreate that tank that was my favorite tank back when I was into the hobby before
i had some long fin tiger barbs just got rid of them for some more rainbow fish because they nipped each others fins up and the fins on my angel fish, the tank(55gal) is a lot calmer without them being mean all over the place
Tiger Barbs were the most aggressive fish I ever had. Had to return them to the pet store because they were biting the other fish and hurting them.
Had a roommate years ago that would cut the tail off the tiger barb that nipped the others. Worked until the tail grew back. Rinse and repeat. It would hide any time net in water.
HIGHLY recommend golden bichir... but not for beginners and not for community tanks and not for small tanks. And yes, they'll get to 18"-22" if you take good care of them. (Careful, they have a primitive lung and will try to use it on occasion by jumping out of your tank).
Lets not forget the Common Pleco! They should not be sold unless you have a tank big enough!!!
Pretty accurate rundown on what fish not to keep in a community aquarium - Silver Sharks have a peaceful temperament, but they're easily spooked, are jumpers, and will outgrow the average aquarium, plus they're schoolers too, so you're going to need almost an industrial sized aquarium if you want to keep them! One leaped out of my tank when I wasn't there and landed halfway across the room; unfortunately, it was too late by the time I noticed it was missing and found it behind some clothes drawers. I had a lid and cover on the aquarium too. Tiger Barbs will dive bomb Cory Catfish and any bottom dweller mercilessly and will leave fish such as Angelfish and Pearl Gouramis in shreds - literally! So they should be kept in a species-only tank really. Thanks for uploading; very informative.
If I could have an infinitely massive tank. It would have a school of balas. I got baby ones and raised them until they were about 4 inches. Had to rehome them because of IRL stuff and I miss them. They actually had personality and look so cool swimming together. I miss you all :(
For algae clearing I recommend Otocinclus; they don't get over 2 inches and they are ravenous algae eaters. Get at least four.
I've had all kinds of barbs for years now and not one species has been a fin nipper. they've been in my community tanks also so I recommend any barb for a community !
My tiger barbs chase each other around from time to time, but not once in 3 years have I seen them mess with any of my tetras/zebra danios/cory cats
I had one rosy barb , and it was a crazy fish
I keep barbs with all sorts of fish and have 0 issues I think people run in to issues when they have 5 or less barbs in with other fish
Agreed
Funny enough I have 1 Bala 4 Barbs.. two tigers one golden one green barb..two African cichlids and a Pleco..two years
Used to have a pair of oscars that were in a community (all large fish) included two sharks, two freshwater catfish and two large angels and a couple bristlenose. super calm and friendly to each other but anything else fish wise was viewed as food. Was a very large tank though. 8foot long
I had a barb tank and my black ruby’s were by far the most aggressive fish. More so than any tiger variant. Only the red tailed shark could sort it out. And that was fine with everything else.
I made the mistake of getting a pea puffer as I am a fan of puffer fish and I didn't have to worry about a brackish or salt setup with the pea puffer. After he got acclimated, he started going after my 3 gouramis and my 3 female beta. I stuck him in a small tank but my little heater stuck on and cooked him. I do have a rosy barb flying solo with the rest of the tank and haven't had any aggression issues.
Ruby Barbs have been a staple in my community tank for years now! Love those guys and happy to see them in here!
My bala minnow is the best community fish ever it has grown with my hobby from small community tank to now in a 150 with a tin foil barb they are best friends living with American cichlids
I'd also add the Pacu . Wonderful fish but it grows way bigger than an Oscar - HUMONGOUS ! :)
I've seen these giants in ponds in every pet store I've been to. All donated because they got too big.
Your description of pea puffers had me wheezing: "These little RAGE MACHINES...."
Instructions unclear sofa cushion did not fit in the 5 gallon tank.
You need a smaller sofa
No just try a smaller tank instead.
Thank you so very much for this information I can actually further help myself at my job and help customers this was very helpful useful information
7:02 good save
LOL, was looking for this comment.
Awesome video. Senegal bichirs are super fast they can also turn on a dime have great control of their swim bladder. even small ones will kill much larger fish by holding on to the fin and wearing it out. Good content in this video just my opinion they are capable of great speeds
I try to avoid putting any kind of cichlid into a community aquarium, due to the fact that they not only grow to a size that's not comparable to the other fish, but that they will effectively take over part of the aquarium and become territorial toward any smaller fish. Even the likes of Angel Fish, you have to be a little bit careful with.
Nothing wrong with dwarf Cichlids in a community tank.
@@ddc2957 I never had any luck with Kribs or Rams. Even angel fish can be a bit tetchy with fellow tank mates, especially if they decide to breed.
Siamese Algae eaters. They are like the sweetest fish. I had 3 once and they gave me such joy. Never bother other fish. BUT they grow to be about 4.5 inches.
I wish I could do a rosy barb pond, but I don’t think they could quite survive a Canadian winter 🥶 Maybe an indoor unheated pond in the basement... I should just make my basement a giant fish room lol
I also love rosy barbs. I used to keep them with green tiger barbs, diamond tetras, dwarf neon rainbows and giant danios.
I tried to keep native fish in a tank but it's so hard. For them to "thrive" you really need to somehow simulate that winter and I couldn't do it as a kid in the 90's. I had some native fish for a few years until I sold them to local aquarium store. The fish I had were carps, perch and one pike. I caught them as fry. The scariest one was the pike. That was a nightmare *monster* lol. The carps were super friendly and they would let me stroke them in water, always coming up to the surface happy. I had them in a BIG tank. Loved it but even then I knew it wasn't right to keep them in such a condition.
I agree 100% about what you said about tiger barbs! I had few in the past but one in particular (female) was so aggressive. She stared attacking platies and other peaceful eating her eyes. I never saw something like that in my fish keeper hobby career ! I noticed what was going on when several (believe me) fish started appearing without eyes.
My rosy barbs attack and eat all of the red eyes balloon tetra's eyes, i thought it maybe happened after I installed the pink light into the tank, possible the red eyes looks like food to them?
Clown Loach, Black Ghost Knife Fish and Red Tailed Sharks should defiantly have been added to this list. But cool Video 😊
A lot of people have had success keeping red tail sharks in community tanks.
Yeah I haven't had a problem with clown loaches or Red tail sharks in my community tank.
My red tail female just died. 7 years. She was nice to my barbs, tetras, mollies and guppies... yes I have a 120 gal but she was nice just not to the shrimp lol
@@classychandu5090 The chief problem I've seen with clowns is that they's a schooling fish that will grow to about a foot long eventually. Otherwise all the ones I've seen have been pretty well behaved.
Never had a problem with clown loaches. Great aquarium fish!
Bala sharks are amazing when you just have 4 or 5 of them and nothing else bigger than shrimp. The noises they make make them the best petco fish imo.
Why not just keep Rosy Barbs with other schooling fish like danios, cherry barbs, white clouds, etc.?
I have 6 rosy barbs at 25 deg C and are in a community tank and do not hassle or nip any other fish, ever, including themselves. Dont get between them and their peas though! But totally passive, they will nip your arms if you are rearranging the tank thinking its food.
me watching this after getting 2 alae eaters and a ball for my 20 gallon: 👁👄👁
I totally agree with all of these except the pea puffer. I have one in a heavily planted 30 gallon. Tank mates corys, guppies, tetras. I’ve had zero problems. It fun to look for him puttsing around the tank.
Clown loaches get big as well shouldn't be because they are schooling and get massive
Thats a really good one
@@SteenfottAquatics alternative, angelica and yo-yo loaches :)
My clown loach has been doing quite well in my 55-gallon community tank for the past 10 years. Of course, he is in with silver dollars, a bushy nose pleco, Rafael cat and a Texas cichlid, and 3 giant Danios. Everybody does quite well but I do not think I would advise any of them for community tanks.
I think all types of African cichlids don't do well in community tanks. Oh mosquito fish (Gambusia), although they're just like Guppies they're actually pretty aggressive.
Another dig on the albino oscar! Speaking of bullying!
😶🤫
Hey, wait a second.....that’s MY name. Joe (the other one)
4:50 John's Oscars 🖤
I'm confused, why are fish stores still selling chinese algae eaters when everyone 'hates' them? Is there even profit from that fish?😅
@[ 桂木優 ]KᗩTᔕᑌᖇᗩGI U see, this is what I mean and its wouldn't be considered a 'special' or 'pretty' fish
@[ 桂木優 ]KᗩTᔕᑌᖇᗩGI i would be so triggered if that happened to my betta. you wouldn't want to know what would happen to that algae eater after. :)
@[ 桂木優 ]KᗩTᔕᑌᖇᗩGI also i bet only the people who are ignorant and don't research buy whatever fish and put them together.
@[ 桂木優 ]KᗩTᔕᑌᖇᗩGI same not gonna lie. i had a betta in a 2.5 gal
@[ 桂木優 ]KᗩTᔕᑌᖇᗩGI yep i actually put a pole on my yt channel to ask what fish i should add and one of my subscribers said an angel fish but then i explained and we agreed on platies
i remember Bala sharks. back in the 60's I was in jr high and working at a Tropical fish store. back then they were called Tri-color sharks. They were expensive b/c they were all wild caught. At that time they had not been bred in captivity. There actually came a point where they were not for sale because they were endangered. We had 3 in the store we kept for display.
Exodon Tetras. Ea .Bucktooth tetra they will tear small holes in all your other fish until they die.
But they are a blast to feed
"I made a mistake and got a bala shark, and instead of re-homing them or getting a bigger tank I just keep one in my 40 gallon with my tetras" - great plan!
Chinese Algae Eater is a bad choice for any aquarium IMO. Good list.
Yeah, we've got one. Hes about 6" and we call him bruce, or the torpedo. His aggression is currently under control w protein crumbles, but im guessing were gonna have to eventually find him a new home. Maybe if we ever get that pond...
I have a mixed tank with about 40 fish generally small, and 7 tiger barbs included, it's a very peaceful place. Maybe I've just been lucky but have no problems at all once I took most of the Molly's out leaving only 2. The tigers have been breeding and although the eggs get eaten I have had a few survive, very cute
One of my first tanks I setup had an Iridescent Shark, Red-Tailed Shark, Serpae Tetra, Rainbow Shark. Bala Shark and a Common Pleco. I had one of each species in a 50 gallon tank. The weird thing was the Serpae was the bully of the tank and he was the smallest fish! All of these should be on your next list and I should get the worst Community Tank setups of all time. The tank ran for three years like that and then I quit the hobby for awhile.
I learnt most of these lessons the hard way. I had Bala shark (silver shark here in the UK) that were growing rapidly, puffer fish that were killing everything, and various wierd fish that kept dying. I've just ended up with an African cichlid tank now, although I am keeping cichlids that shouldn't really be together.
Emperor tetras. The dominant male goes after everything. Definitely not for the community. 👍
I bought the last one my fish store had and he has claimed a tiny section on the left side of the tank he will chase almost any tetra out of his territory but leaves the guppies, guppy fry, and Bolivian Rams alone. I've been waiting for them to get more in stock hoping he'll mellow out but he doesn't fin nip or hurt anything just chases them out if his area then retreats.
@@silverbuyer I never had any problems with my Emperors, but then again I only had a male and 2 females (it was a tiny tank).
@@malusignatius thanks for the reply. I was able to add a couple more emperor's and he's mellowed out now. 👍🏻
@@silverbuyer Not a problem. It's good to hear they're behaving now, Emperors are stunning fish, one of my favourite tetras.
Had Oscars as a teen in our family aquarium, they got massive and so did our algae eater that we had with them. I read that algae eaters only grow to 4 inches but ours was massive, 8-12 inches, the Oscars never bothered him because he could tell them off.
Oscar's are great
my first aquarium was an 8 gal with 8 goldfish, 4 angels, and 2 plecos. you can imagine the disaster already.
AHHHH
What a great video mate, so easy to watch and listen to 10/10
Common pleco
I almost put that on the list, but i saved it for next time.
Any big pleco for your planted tank
That's wild had my pea puffer 2 years and he's super shy and doesn't bug anyone