Top 7 WORST Beginner Fish! (BEWARE)

[@KeepingFishSimple]

With gouramis, I was more trying to emphasise that you should avoid keeping them together. Didn’t come across that way in the video so sorry if you got confused! ❤️

[@TheEsat66]

I have 4 kinds of gourami's, without problems....

[@fjkhamdan]

Nice honest intro man 👍🏻

[@conalowens3441]

I have 4 pearl and 2 moon gouramis togther and there fine together. Definitely can be kept in groups if u have a good female to male ratio.

[@jessicagraham4268]

I respect your opinion, but if I was a honey gourami I'd sue you for slander ❤️

[@mrfish.-]

I felt hurt when he said honey gouramis are aggressive 😭

[@meredithgrubb7027]

We had a cichlid that lived to be 33 years old. He killed every single tank mate he ever had. Ironically, his name was Sweety.

[@gethighonlife11]

He was no "sweety"! He was "salty"!

[@masidre1988]

Ahhh,,,soo sweet, sweety🤣🤣

[@chrisbraiske3162]

33 years......lord

[@trejay2345]

That fished lived longer than some of my cousins and friends who passed young. That's crazy

[@AqifSaifi]

@@trejay2345 Sad.

[@liveyourbestlife143]

I am amazed at my common pleco Houdini. He is 13 years old and literally feet long. He is huge. Noone warned me when I first purchased him just how big he would get. I went through a lot of tanks before just ordering a one that takes up my entire living room wall. He is very happy with all of his space

[@randomraavi]

my moms friend brought over this super murky fishtank and pawned off a pleco on my mom. we had NO IDEA how big it was! we had him for awhile before giving him to my uncle who had adequate space. fascinating fish, put good god do they get big

[@thatstonerr7738]

That’s why I got albino plecos! They only get like 7-8 inches in comparison to the standard pleco at a foot long and they start out like a whitish beige color and as they age they turn the same color as standard plecos pretty cool

[@fuzzymelon1261]

thank you for not releasing him in the wild. they are very invasive bc not many things can eat them

[@liveyourbestlife143]

@fuzzymelon1261 you are welcome. To be honest he is family at this point. Lol. There is a pleco that no kidding is like several feet long that lives In one of our local lakes. He is HUGE.

[@stevenschnepp576]

@@thatstonerr7738 Those are probably bristlenose plecos. Albino commons still get huge.

[@Iguana5k]

100% Agree on the guppy. They just die for "seemingly" no reason. Its just discouraging people that wanna get into the hobby. When you get guppys these days, best bet is to get a pregnant female and hope it lives long enaugh till it gives birth. The Babys that are born in your tank are then almost indestructable.

[@briannaharter4411]

It's cuase they almost owes have parasites and not easy to treat ones either.ones that require extermely harsh medcines that the avrage preson isn't going to know where to find.

[@Iguana5k]

@@briannaharter4411 In some cases the medication is impossible to get for normal people. Im from germany and here you only get "mild" medications in the pet store due to strict laws. So you have fish that are kept alife in asia with hardcore medication. And ones you have them in your tank their parasites laugh at the stuff you are able to put against them...

[@briannaharter4411]

@@Iguana5k I live in the US and meds needed to treat camallanus worms is hard to find. Fenbendazole is the one we are most likely to find cuase it's a common dog deworner but if someone wants some specificly made for fish it is only found online. Levamisole while possible to find online us extermely hard to find. I think we should just boycott guppies from these countries at this point and only buy local cuase these worms are ridiculous and one of the worst diseases I have ever seen in the hobby.

[@Iguana5k]

@@briannaharter4411 Yeah, that crap kinda destroys the hobby. i used to have a big tank but it stopped being fun due to all these super diseases... Now I only have one small 30 liter tank with a betta. Not much but it stays alive and is healthy. So that one really common fish to me is more fun then a tank with a bunch of fish cause stuff doesnt die...

[@berndmayer1765]

@@Iguana5k Hint- ebay 😉 Betta are beautiful! I only keep them. ( since 35y)

[@davisn456]

This is so helpful for new tank owners. The chain pet shops rarely have anyone that can advise you on fish (or anything else), and it's so easy for people to go into a shop and get totally sucked in by the variety of fish. Thank you for being so thorough and honest about these things. Much respect!

[@Someoneonthisplanet1979]

In my humble opinion there are a lot worse beginner fish out there. What most people forget is that they have to research EVERY fish they will ever buy. I'm 25 years in the hobby and I still do this for every fish I have never kept.

[@maliachambers5367]

I’m having a pea puffer for my first fish and my brother is having a parrot fish for beginner I’ve obviously had goldfish when I was younger one of them lived for seven years and one dies with lots of black spots but I was only 6-7 at the time

[@tobiasgriffin2289]

Great advice

[@TedH71]

@@maliachambers5367 Goldfish are perfectly capable of living to 50 to 100 years old under the right conditions but people tend not to do their research.

[@Kira-kg4kl]

Red tailed sharks were ones that were suggested to me when I first started 😆

[@isabellecasier5702]

I agree. Before I began an asuarium I did 3 to 4 month of research. I have cardinals and guppies. The thing with guppies is you need 2 tanks or only males if you don't want babies. But I knew that trough research. I have bred because I knew my bought ones where not high quality, through carefull breeding I have mutch hardy guppies and they live longer. So do your research and do the work.

[@stevenhall8964]

I once put an Angel fish in a 50 gallon tank that I also had a small Bluegill and an Oscar about the same size as the Bluegill. At the time the Bluegill kinda bossed the Oscar around ( chasing him out of favorite resting spots and kinda bullying him at feeding time) but the Angel Fish that was smaller than both immediately became boss of the tank!

[@andystokes8702]

I definitely agree with guppies not being particularly suitable as beginners fish but for entirely different reasons. Most beginner have no idea just how productive they can be. One female guppy might drop a litter of maybe 30 fish every month, that's roughly one fish per day. If you're not careful you can quickly become overwhelmed. I dropped 4 large adult females and 2 males into a 40 gallon tub on my patio for the summer. When I drained it out 5 months later I had over 400 in there.

[@IamHomeless692.0]

That's actually a good thing if you ever plan to make fish hell I might buy an extra 10 gallon for breeding guppies

[@psycobasschick]

It's like that for a lot of live bearers. I love mollies and platies, but males don't do well in a bachelor tank and females aren't as pretty. I'm planning to set up a live bearer tank after the beginning of the year, but it's main inhabitants will be clawed frogs, which will eat the babies, so solving that problem

[@jiyounkim7702]

Me who keeps males only: 🗿

[@Rob_uno]

I have Mollies platys tetras and guppies all in one tank and I’ve only had 2 tetras die

[@ChicagoMel23]

Ugh yes I had a tank of them and wound up with so many that I was using them as live food for bigger fish

[@DarkSektori]

Haven't kept fish in a long time but when I was younger I used to keep both tropical freshwater and saltwater fish. Yeah I can agree with this list for the most part, you wouldn't think goldfish would be included but yeah they're not good for beginners at all. Couple others worth mentioning though. 1. Clown Loach: They look beautiful but require a large aquarium when they're young they're small but can grow up to a foot in length (30cm) So a large aquarium is required. 2. Puffer Fish, for experienced keepers who know what they're doing, these fish can be great to own, they are intelligent and can be very playful, and even have their own distinctive behavior, but require very specific care, there are both freshwater and saltwater species but other then that consideration the same rules still apply. 3. Pleco fish: Algae eaters that can grow up to 20 inches in length, unless you have an aquarium in the 150 gallon range at minimum, don't even try it, they can also live up to 15 years, so these fish require a long term commitment. 4. Bettas (Siamese fighting fish) damn these fish are beautiful and damn they're also aggressive. We've all seen these kept in little bowls at the store by themselves with no filtration, heater or room to swim, do not ever keep a fish in such horrible living conditions please. 5 gallons is a decent size tank but do not keep them in a community tank and please for the love of Neptune, don't keep 2 males together in the same tank unless you want to see the aquatic fish version of a UFC or MMA bout. Keeping females together is fine, but I hate to say they don't have the vibrant color patterns the Males are known for. They're also not known for their parenting skills, after mating you should separate the Male and Female, the male will build a bubble nest for the eggs but afterwards when the babies hatch they're on their own because neither will care for the babies when they hatch, they'll be on their own. 5. Barbs: more specifically Tinfoil Barbs, their bigger then other common Barbs (around 10 inches larger) and they thrive in groups so they can't be kept in smaller aquariums like their other relative Barb species keep that in mind.

[@ericka.5434]

Best comment here tbf

[@theblooper9631]

I'm just gonna say that while other gouramis may be more aggressive, honey gouramis are amazing community fish and I would totally recommend them to beginners. The only thing is that thick lipped gourami often gets mislabeled as honey gourami and if you accidentally mix the two species the honeys will get bullied by the bigger and more aggressive thick lipped gourami.

[@fataxolotlpie1998]

I have red honey gourami and a thick lip gourami and they do quite well but that might just be mine or red honey gourami are chill I don’t know

[@DefNotAThe1nth]

@@fataxolotlpie1998 red honey gourami are thick lipped gouramis

[@Arcane662]

Im thinking of getting a Honey Gourami with some ember tetras or Pearl Danios or maybe even some guppies. Do you think the Gourami will go well with them?

[@CharlesParez]

I was warned that my dwarf gourami would be semi aggressive but he's so peaceful and gets along very well with my skirt tetras, kuhli loaches, and platies etc.

[@Yuckfou132]

Dwarf gourami aren’t extremely aggressive either and can be in community tanks

[@PatCarpenter-b7g]

The fish that got me into fish keeping was the common pleco. She started out in a 75 gallon and then after she got a little bigger I moved her to my 135 gallon tank with anglefish. She sadly recently passed at about 10 years old.

[@MsBethanyClaire]

Honey gouramis are very peaceful fish. I have a pearl in a community tanks and no problems at all.

[@bajablast3612]

yeah wut? honey gouramis are definately peaceful don't know why he said they are aggressive.

[@c4trolling298]

No I had one and was a monster

[@charleschung660]

@@c4trolling298 just like bettas every one has different personalities

[@henk4700]

Same

[@henk4700]

@@c4trolling298 i had a 2 females and 1 killed the other but now she is realy peacfull

[@westwonic]

You should include Tiger Barbs on the list, highly active and beautiful, but so aggressive to each other.

[@RobertRoman]

My tiger barbs were fighting everyone in the tank. Unfortunately I had to get rid of them because they were too agressive. I kept the green barb's though

[@ArbitraryOutcome]

I thought their notoriety as fin nippers was common knowledge.

[@Yehoshuama]

My friend keeps tiger barbs a d angelfish together in a 200 liter aquarium with no problem. I don't understand how not.​@@ArbitraryOutcome

[@livingportside]

I agree with you Gouramis can be aggressive but you got something completely wrong in saying Honey Gouramis are the most aggressive. Actually they are the most peaceful ones.

[@bajablast3612]

agreed

[@papasmerf6453]

Totally agree. I usually love his advice but when he said honies are aggressive I lost it. My honey is so peaceful. In fact sometimes I wish he could was a little more aggressive. My BN pleco loves torturing him chasing him around the tank.

[@celticbarry9877]

I have a 125 litre tank with 12 corydoras, 12 ember tetras, 5 platys, 1 bristlenose and 2 honey gouramis and agree they're peaceful fish who do well in that kind of community tank.

[@HannahFlower79]

My male honey was extremely aggressive and killed my female

[@nurrr2041]

@@HannahFlower79 after breeding perhaps? it is recommended to keep the female away since he protects the nest. My male absolutely adores his mate, they are always together.

[@Mrchrisrobbins1]

Mum started a tropical tank about ten years ago. The sales person suggested a common Plec. Sadly It was the only fish to survive Mum's tank and she gave the hobby up. I took the tank, a little 3ft tank bought a big external filter and started to look after the Pleci. Ten years later, several tank size upgrades and now it's nearly 14" long and living on it's own (It'll kills any other fish I put in there) in a 6ft 2ft 2ft tank, with a full external filter system.It's still very healthy and thriving and apparently it could out live me over the next 20 years. We'll worry about that when the time comes. As you say unless your prepared to look after this fish, it's a no no for a first time buyer. But I'm still shocked when I hear the sales people recommending this species of fish to first time buyers.

[@MrThinnny]

This is the best fish keeping YT channel

[@JDTiling]

I wish i'd known about the issues with guppies before getting into the hobby, i was very disheartened when they kept dying to diseases and infections. Thankfully i stuck to it and eventually got different fish instead

[@TedH71]

Did you cycle your tank before getting the guppies?

[@rainman7794]

I had the opposite problem mine just kept breeding and I couldn’t control it

[@Abbanellie]

@Ted H Cycling has nothing to do with diseases and infections :/ the cycling only prevents ammonia/nitrite poisoning, while the constant diseases and infections would just be because eif infections spreading between the fish as they breed faster than it can be treated...

[@stevenschnepp576]

@@Abbanellie Plot twist: Yes, it does. Fish stressed by an uncycled tank are more susceptible to infections that they might have otherwise fought off.

[@chick201]

Need to deworm and do more research on youtube

[@Wormwoodification]

I secretly think Angelfish are evil aliens. Look at the way they hover like UFOs. Dude. Your' description is accurate.

[@Iguana5k]

I think you mixed up honey gouramis with gold gouramis. Honey gourami: very small and usually very chill. Gold gourami: gets to a decent size and tends to be territorial.

[@Lucid_Spuds]

Oath 🙌🙌🙌 Gold gouramis by god assholes, like stunning love them but on their own in a species tank not in a community because I've personally had alot of problems with them trying to yeet other fish

[@Adamn19]

Yeah my honey are very chill, like a lamb

[@8enable]

Really informative and yes, some of your suggestions will cause umbrage with people, yet the reasons are absolutely correct. Would have had Angel Fish higher - they always want a fight!

[@jessicajones641]

My kids won goldfish at a school fair. I went from a 3 gallon tank (filters, not a bowl) to a 36 gallon tank in the 2.5 years we had them. They are really dirty fish (but they were pretty). Thankfully I found someone who has a pond who took them off my hands. Now I am getting that 36 gallon tank ready for some nice tropical fish. I enjoyed the goldfish but I had no idea how big they could get and how fast they dirtied the water.

[@wjp255]

Best of luck with the 36 gallon. Here are a few small suggestions: (1) Cherry barbs are a good fish. Zebra Fish Most of the small Tetras go together pretty good. Stay away from snails. (2) FILTER A hang on the back filter is fine. For a 36 gallon tank, use a filter for a 55 gallon. A little extra filtration is always good. Use test strips weekly. (Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia and PH. Water hardness is VERY hard to control. No need to worry about it. PH about 7.0. Do a 25% WEEKLY water change and vacuum the bottom of the tank. I use SAND as it is a lot easier to keep clean. The sand must clean itself when you first add it. Takes a few days, and you will have to clean the filter frequently as the water clears, but it is worth it once it settles in. Then add fish.

[@dcast781227]

Thanks for putting goldfish at number 1!! I built a pond in my parents place, just to keep the giant goldfish I kept getting donated and returned when I worked at my local fish store lol

[@seedlesspumpkin3654]

You know it’ll be a good fish video if there will be controversy over the content

[@alanabratz9458]

I’ve had good luck with gourami community tanks but the key is to heavily plant. I have a dwarf and four pearls with tetra and emperors

[@cryssanie]

I had four blue gouramis in my first tank and they were pretty peaceful during the almost 10 years they lived with me. They had their favourite spot in the tank around one big plant where all of them chilled together most of the time, and they only chased off other fish if they wandered under their plant, which was never a problem since there was enough of space in the rest of the tank, so other fish just learned to avoid that particular spot. So I'd say a lot of the aggressivity issues stem from people not having big enough tanks for all their fish to settle.

[@kaylawojo8863]

My blue gourami is the chillest in my tank! He freaked me out at first because he chills on the bottom of the tank

[@DissentingDogLevi]

Yeah I had a 36 gallon and I never had trouble with aggressive gouramis. Sometimes my big blue one would chase the little fish from the algea tab. Other than that though.

[@mart1n4s]

When I was very young I bought two bala sharks and two angel fish from a fish store and put them in a 15 gallon tank. On the second day, I fed them and went to sleep, but when I woke up only the two bala sharks were left in the tank and my child brain was so upset.

[@amj.composer]

Thanks for mentioning guppies! Another big problem people don't realize is the breeding. They can overpopulate your tank in a matter of months. (I made the mistake)

[@amplify3304]

We had this we brought the tank came with 2 and a some other fish by the end of the year we had 6 then 11 so on for maybe 2 years we gave them all to a fish shop for free in the end must of gave away 30+ had to buy a whole new tank for them

[@seachangeau]

Wow mine would eat all but the offspring if i don't weed them out the night they get born. Yah even with loads of guppy grass.

[@tstahler5420]

My first tank was a 55L, I did a lot of reading about fish before buying any. I started with 4 quarter sized Angels, a couple of marble hatchets, a small pleco. I let them hang out for a few weeks before adding more.

[@elijahblechman8633]

I had Balla Sharks, Oscars, convicts, placo and dalmatian mollies in tanks as a kid. I had no clue why they kept dying as a child.

[@ringosfruitreview3376]

@Sekoj 2 no you baked potato, they died because that’s the worst possible combination of fish, convicts are mean cichlids, bala sharks get giant and are kinda mean, oscars get huge and are very aggressive, pleco get giant, and mollies will get picked on

[@InternacionalBoxing]

Bro i had Oscars, Sharks and Bettas in the same tank as a kid lmfaooo

[@supremeleaderarmy9164]

@Sekoj 2 Fool

[@simpleman5688]

@ringos fruit cake: Numbskull

[@darthdoggie0031]

Did things randomly disappear or was it a water problem I think I know the answer but the wordings kinda confusing me.

[@sammy-the-crab4107]

I have two goldfish and a common pleco. The pleco was a gift and I got the goldfish on a whim when they were tiny. I originally had them in a 5 gallon, but quickly realised that this wasn’t close to enough so upgraded to a 20 gallon. You’re absolutely right, it’s a nightmare. They’re all massive now and the tank is really hard work to keep clean. I plan to get a larger tank at some point, but I don’t have space for one right now. So yeah, stay away from goldfish and plecos, unless you know what you’re getting into. 😅

[@lazchurchyard1229]

Back in the day cichlids were an advanced fish to get and keep. Now they're in petsmart / big box stores, and it's so weird to me. 😅

[@rachelmlesperance9815]

Thank you SO much for posting this video!! I've ALWAYS wanted a Pterygoplichthys Multiradiatus also known as Pleco Catfish, but it can grow up to 23 inches-2 feet long, and I can't have a tank more than 10 gallons in my apartment. So thank you for suggesting the Bristlenose Pleco cuz they look VERY similar to what I've always wanted, but they grow up to 3-5 inches! WHOOHOO! YOU just made my day!

[@390CBH]

I had a 15-gallon fish tank in college and stocked it with a pictus catfish, red-tail shark, and common pleco knowing that I would have to update the aquarium because the pleco was going to get so big (don't know why more people don't use this really awesome search engine called Google). I updated to a 40 gallon breeder (would like a 75 gallon, but I move around a lot) and my pleco is still doing great at 13 years old (the catfish and shark both passed away but they lived to 7 and 5 respectfully). Research is the key to making any fish a good beginner fish. When my pleco does pass on I do not plan to get another. Although he is healthy (he is just as big as the one at the Boston Aquarium so I must be doing something right) I do feel bad that I can not provide him with more space. I plan to get one or two fancy goldfish (since I'm so used to cleaning up after messy fish) and a rubbernose pleco because I hate cleaning algae.

[@korrin5422]

MD Fisht Tanks recently did a video on having a planted goldfish tank; it takes specific plants, but it can be done. It also probably helps if they're well-fed to begin with, but having a planted tank would help at least a little with all the waste they produce

[@farhanchowdhury9520]

My first fish tank when I was 8, the shopkeeper conviced my mom to buy 2 angels 2 golfish and a pleco for my 10 gallon aquarium. Needless to say how it went down.

[@iwantfood-koda9583]

I’m worried 😂

[@darthdoggie0031]

I think the lives of those fish were probably more important than the profit made. Did they not know anything about fish or just want to make money.

[@thomasholden500]

I've never understood why some LFSs will sell inappropriate fish to a new aquarist. Sure they made a sale, but they probably turned the beginner off the hobby and lost future sales

[@zamiaramirez1390]

@@darthdoggie0031 of course they just wanted to make money. Its sad how often pet shops dont care about the actual care of the animals.

[@TheHurdyGurdyMan.]

@@darthdoggie0031 I feel like a lot of the time it’s just for the money. Petco for example never told me about tank cycling when I was younger or about the proper chemicals to dose the tank with to dechlorinate the water. So my dad bought me a 10 gallon tank with a bunch of fish with no heater, filter or anything and they died after that night 🙁 I remember I was so sad the next morning

[@RoccosVideos]

Good list. I might add some more cichlids and any fish that get bigger than people realize. I’ve never had any luck with guppies so I can appreciate them being in the list.

[@MustangBecca]

My Angelfish adores my Guppies. He schools with them and sleeps with them.

[@smaccafe3186]

and swim with them. drinking water with them and having beer

[@robingagan6288]

I have 2 angelfish which I had to separate due to fighting with each other. With all the other fish in both of their tanks they are very peaceful. It’s with other angels that they are very aggressive

[@NamekFreakazoid]

Thats cute

[@kinglyzard]

@@robingagan6288 Males?

[@robingagan6288]

@@kinglyzard yes

[@thenawmpa3394]

Thanks, I'm getting redtail catfish for my beginner pet.. maybe arowana too

[@Matagot90]

We got a few angelfish a year ago. They grew up and started sucking mystery snails out of their shells, and killing guppies. Yikes! We've had far less trouble with our peacock cichlid tank.

[@DavoVro1738]

Bought a common pleco when I had a 10 gallon tank to go along with my goldfish tank, a year later he grew about to about 4 inches, switched to a 49 gallon tank and he is now 10 inches and 8 years old

[@KushyCouch]

A very unknown but amazing pleco that I would recommend or even a 10 gallon tank is the clown pleco. They’re smaller than bristlenoses without the weird tentacles, and they have a very nice pattern.

[@ClashOfClansFan-yf3yr]

Agree, just need lots of wood for them, as I believe they eat wood or something, when I was a kid I had like 5 clown pleco’s.

[@jiayaw]

They look very pretty and stay small but you almost never see them as they always hide in the wood haha.

[@alexapotts2832]

Highly recommend bristlenose plecos for those interested in that look in catfish! They are a beautiful fish and easy to care for well!

[@rubenl.r.1256]

This video is very accurate. When I started keeping fish, I had all of this fish. I didn’t have luck with this fish. I had them in a 10 gallon 😬 6 years later I have a 36g planted tank with nano fish. I can say, I’ve come a long way. Videos like this are very helpful to new people to the hobby and refreshing for people who are already in the hobby :)

[@Kira-kg4kl]

I always had pearl gourami in community tanks and never had issues, but was given a baby sailfin pleco when I was 12 lol he's now in a 10ft monster fish tank with a gar and some other large fish that people have needed to rehome due to size and aggression

[@chelseyHami]

I just bought a school of guppies for my daughter and I realized after I bought them no matter what I did they got very skinny and eventually died off. I'm so glad I saw this video and realized it wasnt something I did.

[@Chaoitcme]

I bought a common pleco 5 years ago when I got in the hobby. Just gave it away after it grew over 18 inches and was not happy in its small tank.

[@rkw957]

Can you do a video on medicine for your fish in Australia? What’s available to general public and what it’s for etc.

[@danimationd8886]

just use methylene Blue, or use cattappa leaves. since cattapa leave is most cheap but the medicine takes longer than the methylene blue

[@fataxolotlpie1998]

From personal experience bristlenose plecos are quite a nice addition but they are quite scared sometimes if you approach quick

[@apsaquatics4402]

Had the same problem with my angel fish. At first they weren’t very aggressive but eventually I noticed that they would chase and bully the smaller fish in the tank. Witch would usually stress out or kill the smaller fish.

[@richardconroy1434]

Yeah I'm considering taking my angel back. He's absolutely beautiful and active and a real show piece on a budget but he's made life pretty tough for all the other fish in the tank

[@ImTooRaw]

Begginer fish keeper here, I own blue gourami and pearl gourami and they are not aggressive 🤣 they are great for community tanks if you acclimate them and keep your fish generally the same size

[@Klank13]

Gourami’s are definitely nightmares. Even in my dwarf cichlids tank... I would add Neon Tetras to this list. They have always proven difficult to me as well.

[@user-ot4wm2fh8g]

Ironically neon tetras get called the beginner fish but they inhabit black waters and so often require special set ups!

[@billyschannel997]

@@user-ot4wm2fh8g I have no special set up for mine, going on 10 or 11 years now.

[@lordhawkridge4116]

Cardinals are a much, much better alternative!!

[@user-ot4wm2fh8g]

@@lordhawkridge4116 agreed. Cardinals are a much simpler fish and require much more average conditions than Neons!

[@camjam219]

@@michaelmachos8969 ikr

[@thebadmime4800]

I was basically born into fish keeping - there are numerous fish that dont get enough justice in the community - especially for beginners. The amount of times I've rescued large fish from tiny tanks (example: someone had 2 pet koi that were a foot each in a 40 gallon tank) or had to correct people who sell fish at a chain-store (Bala Shark, Pleco, Kissing Gouramis, Oscars, Eels, etc) is heart dropping. I agree to the list but if anyone is getting into the hobby- do your research and if you have questions before you start- don't be afraid to reach out to groups on FB or videos on KZbin. A VERY common problem within the community and beginners is NOT preparing. You need to cycle your tank and check parameters. are you going for a predatory tank or peaceful tank? how many fish can you have in your size of tank? Are you using hard scape or soft scape? You don't want to kill any fish, so research is key.

[@MrGrombie]

"Sharks" in aquariums are technically carps. You just bought a fancy goldfish. Lol

[@brendanhall9346]

Not carp but they are catfish still definitely not sharks, sharks dont have scales lmao

[@brendanhall9346]

The bala sharks definitely do look like a carp though

[@brendanhall9346]

@J D you are correct but in most cases "sharks" are just catfish like my rainbow shark

[@Nepo35]

@@brendanhall9346 your rainbow shark are not catfish either. They still belong to the Cyprinidae family which are the family of barbs, carps and minnows...

[@randomcarnotaurus1416]

@@brendanhall9346 True, bala sharks are actualy releated to goldfish, koi, carp and curucian carp.

[@mihirponkshe9408]

Absolutely agree with the plecos...I brought a big one to clean up algae but he pooped so much that the nitrate levels in my small tank messed up to the extent where the pleco itself died taking one guppy and one tetra with it

[@judyNewEdenJD]

My guppy was so skinny until I realized there was a bully sailfin that was scaring every one away from the food. I put him separate and the thin one now looks big and bold. You have to really watch them interact.

[@monkeyface6139]

Every single item on this list is correct, great information for beginners. This should be playing in big pet stores.

[@armouredjester1622]

I got a little defensive when you said guppies, but I'm glad you explained yourself. I got wild guppies from a semi local river. They were tank bred here in the city, and I got half a dozen from a feeder batch. I've had a great time with them.

[@RabinGhimire123]

Totally agree with pleco. When I started the hobby I had 4 plecos bc the it is labeled as easy care/ beginner fish and unfortunately they all died within 4 days .

[@Xenda]

I'm sorry but I'm in total disagreement about Honney Gouramis. I think you needed to do a bit more homework, because they're hands down the most peaceful of all Gouramis. The Gourami you must have heard of is the Dwarf Gourami, which is a different species. I have both in a community tank and they do well with the other inhabitants, but Dwarf Gourami's can be hit or miss.

[@CobyCollins0215]

Also disease. Importers killed them sadly.

[@marcusfreedmad1435]

I loved this video I just got a 50 gallon tank thinking about getting a bala shark

[@benjaminsilvert1880]

Yeah I can understand where you were going with some of the fish. The thing I learned from angelfish is provide a big enough tank, and either keep 1 or a whole bunch. Also a pleco was my first fish and I always have kept one in the tank. That being said I keep one because I really like the way the pleco looks. I actually almost never recommend getting one (even small species). With their heavy bio-load plecos are definitely wet pets, not a good clean up crew.

[@sophiabilodeau1691]

do you have any recommendations for clean up crews? I have a goldfish who produces a ton of waste that i keep with a community. never had any problems, just looking for some help at the bottom of the tank and w/ algae.

[@benjaminsilvert1880]

@@sophiabilodeau1691 for algea I found more frequent water changes and reducing lighting often helps with algea. As far as bottom, if you have fine gravel or sand small loachs like kuhli loaches are good. A group of corydoras could also be good and they are less picky about gravel size.

[@GameGuy667]

I know they dont help but every time I;ve made a tank from being a kid to now I always get a plecko just cause of how cute they look ;-;

[@sophiabilodeau1691]

@@benjaminsilvert1880 thanks!

[@nevadawest]

My guppies are so funny. I’ve had them for 9 months and I trained them like dogs to eat when I tap a couple times on the bowl. Now they get super excited to see me and I love them

[@SkepyourOwn]

MD fish tanks proves that the Honey gouramis are very peaceful with each other. He kept 5 in like an 8g tank and then moved them into his 150 gallon and they’re perfectly fine with other fish too . I think that’s a myth. Gourami can be aggressive but honey ones arent

[@scoty_.g1772]

Love MD Fish Tanks

[@CobyCollins0215]

The dwarf I think he mixed up with the honey. I’ve heard of problems

[@yaboijdizzle227]

With honey gourami, I believe it boils down to the Individual fish personality. I had one that was super chill, bothered no one. Now the red honey gourami I currently have. He will try nipping at my corydoras, ottocinlus, and my snails. He can be an asshole sometimes but interacting with him is cool. I can basically pet him

[@clarco7361]

I was very lucky to have a store actually teach me the right way to raise goldfish and had two for about 5+ years until one died and eventually gave the other one too the shop that tought me how to care for them and took a break from the hobby but recently started looking back into it specially for micrograms aquaponics and breeding seeing now I'm not a literal child and know I can do more with it and always found it very positive for my mental health and that's been something I've been needing the past few years very happy too have found this channel

[@coledonahey1944]

I have 6 dwarf flame/honey gouramis and there awesome in a tank with zebra danios. I haven't seen aggressive behavior once but definitely did with the bigger gouramis. I have to agree with you on guppies and mollies too. They are more difficult to take care of then the 4 afican cichlid tanks we have. Learned my lesson on the pleco. He's almost a 1 1/2 foot now and a hugh pain in my butt lol.

[@johnathan2261]

I recently got a 40 gallon and my firdt ever fish was a blue gurami, I got a golden one next and the blue bullied the gold alot, we later got the 40 gallon and an angel with two guppies, a Molly, and snail and a baby lobster. Since then there's absolutely no issue! We just needed the bigger tank and gave them friends to school with. They havnt attaced since

[@MrOskarlol]

Am i the only one who has kept alot of gourami of various species and they have been the most peaceful fish ever?

[@Someoneonthisplanet1979]

no you are not. I always make sure that I only have one male in a tank with 2-3 females and they are great.

[@879-07hjkmkl]

Really wish i could get a giant gourami but cant afford hundreds of gallon tanks, i settled with green terror she a sweet pea.

[@brunosausagescrusoeandfrie8300]

Me too

[@beausebastian]

They are very peaceful imo

[@yui_rose5302]

yeah i have a paradise gourami and he’s very chill; he got badly bullied by some tetras that a friend gave me a while back lmao (my gourami is in a tank with four corys now and we quickly got rid of the aggressive tetras before they could tear up the gourami’s fins anymore)

[@kinglyzard]

I'll agree with your top two whole heartedly. I might add Arowannas and African Clawed Frogs to that list. Arowannas are another cute little 3" fish that get to be monsters, to the tune of 6 feet! Clawed Frogs, though not fish, are tempting as hell, until they grow and eat every fish in your tank! They are sold at a cute quarter size, but get bigger than your fist and eat all they can stuff into that huge mouth. Not to be confused with African Dwarf Frogs, which are peaceful and do well in smaller tanks with just about any compatible fish like Bettas, Ember Tetras, Rasboras, etc.

[@thehardestyt]

me who has 4 Goldfish and 2 common Pleco in a 54 gallon tank: *chuckles, im in danger*

[@Ricardo_Veteran]

So a beginner needs a 54 gallon tank to start?

[@thehardestyt]

@@Ricardo_Veteran im still new, only a few months into the hobby, i saw a 54 gallon for a cheap price and i just had to take it, even tho i have 3 other 10 gallon tanks XD

[@chiefpanda7040]

@@Ricardo_Veteran depends on fish but yes for 4 goldfish and pleco cause they get so big

[@Tool970]

Yeah if you give them enough space goldfish and plecos will get massive

[@makayla5194]

@@Tool970 they will get massive either way unless they get stunted and you misshape them

[@deceptivecon07]

I bought a common pleco for glass cleaning, fully intending to trade him back in when he sized up a bit. They do instore credit and a replacement. Couldn't bring myself to trade him in and upgraded to a 90... He lives happily with his own dedicated clean up crew of ammano shrimp. Plecasaures Rex is now about 8-10 happily cruising along with his swim fin up, or hanging out on top of his driftwood. Oh and he murders almost every plant ive ever tried planting in the tank with him.

[@kyleightaylor7442]

I have guppies and neon tetra don’t have any problem with them with my other fish and they are in my 35 gallon tall

[@winstonelston5743]

I had a female _Callichthys callichthis,_ an armored catfish related to _Corydoras._ She had come in with a shipment of hoplos at one of the upscale pet stores. She quickly grew to over eight inches in the 29-gallon tank, but was still pretty small when I got another _Callichthys,_ this one a male. He checked out the female and immediately began to build a bubble nest. Never got any kittens, but it wasn't for lack of ambition on his part.

[@safarijoe5677]

Honey gouramis are really peaceful, but other gouramis like blue gouramis are nightmares for me

[@charliechristoph3531]

What do u guys think about hillstream or kuhli loaches. It would be for my 15 gallon fluval flex tank and I was wondering if they’d be a good keep?

[@tanneeravalos7551]

Ive always kept gouramis and i think its either go big or go home when it comes to them i have a pair of pinks two male blues a female pearl a female gold 6 gold honeys and a bunch of danios and tetras as long as you add hiding spots and have enough to disperse the aggression you should be perfectly fine might be case specific they all do have different personalities

[@scottgrafelman2390]

thanks for your video. I have a question: We have an outdoor water fountain, about 100 gallons. What fish would you recommend we put in the fountain to keep it clean, eat up the algae, etc. Thanks.

[@ryanwatson6217]

I've kept goldfish for years, some are hard to keep for beginners and fancy ones come with their own set of problems. I don't agree that you can't have a planted tank, mines planted you just have to select the right plants.

[@MooKau_]

agreed! I had real plants in the tank with mixed goldfish for years

[@RafaelChiong-u1y]

I have 2 Plecos, 21 BA Tetras, 16 Glo Tetras, 8 Tiger barbs, 10 dwarf cichlids and 2 Angel fish in a 55 gallon tank and all get along together perfectly fine. Would you recommend adding 20 zebra Danios to the tank? Genuinely curious.

[@charlenecrowe6610]

I loved my angels. They had babies and they grew up. So beautiful to watch the transition from birth. At one point I thought they couldn’t possibly be angel fish because they were long and slim babies and then morphed.

[@redhotdevilwoman03]

one that I think you should have incuded with the guppies for the same reasons are mollys. i have run into the same health problems with mollys that you mention with the guppies. thanks for giving good clear reasons why you have each of these types on your list. ive had most of them with mixed results. my favorite 2 ive had in my life have been a common plecko and a tiger oscar. i had good luck with both and found them to have personality and they communicate via body language with you. i had to give them up due to a long haul move but one day I will own both types again. good helpful list. thank you especially for having number 1. it could save a lot of kids some heartache

[@macksir8938]

Your honesty and truthfulness is to be commended. And I do agree with you also keep up the great work buddy.

[@alexanderbuys2051]

I love how you forgot to add Discus in this list...

[@879-07hjkmkl]

Yeah for sure

[@simonthibodeau7082]

Beginners don't really go for discus, they're too expensive anyway

[@evil1by1]

I was waiting to disagree but this is spot on. I've ever made a few of these mistakes, like getting a sail fin pleco. It was gorgeous and I loved him and had a 75 gallon tank but he still outgrew it. Had to re-home him. Angel fish sucked, gouramis sucked, and now I know why my guppies kept dying

[@mickeblu214]

Maybe you are talking about gold gourami, those 3 spots (blue, gold, opaline, all of them) are very territorial when they get bigger or when they mature in a tank. Honey and pearl gourami are actually a bit peaceful, dwarf gourami can be a bit aggresive as well. Gouramis are hit or miss, best to keep just one in a tank for starters.

[@OskarYT900]

Love this one, I can confirm all of the problems. It is great video and great info, I would add to the keeping guppy, it is very easy fish to breed, and I always have the same problem with them, you end up with ton of babies and then population will crush and all the problems will appear because you'll end up with overcrowded aquarium

[@xXCutieOfDarknessXx]

Goldfish are actually one of the hardest fish to keep imo, especially fancies. They get big, they produce a ton of waste, and there’s so much bad breeding that they just die no matter what. I love fancies, but due to the looks they’re bred to have, they’re practically doomed from the start. I’ve actually had way better luck with keeping discus, lol.

[@JTScottOfficial]

I have fish in my community tank, (mostly a mix of Tetras) that are supposed to be "aggressive" but generally don't, like my tiger barbs, which kept getting bullied by my guppies. Only one thats slightly aggressive is my red tail shark, which is still pretty tame.

[@drivennale8551]

Another reason to avoid Balas is that they're schooling fish, that can become aggressive if alone. have three and thankfully there doesn't seem to be one dominate one...yet

[@stacyswiss307]

I have a leopard pleco and he’s been amazing, lived through all my mess ups and forgotten feedings, not to mention there’s a documentary about them surviving harsh conditions by burrowing into mud and drying out only to be revived when the water falls again. I would highly recommend but I’ve only had the one and a gold fish so maybe it was a fluke.

[@BlakesAquatics]

Honey gouramis and other dwarf gouramis are pretty peaceful, gold and blue gouramis though are a bit of a different story id agree with you on those

[@thepurpleenigma]

My first fish were a couple of comet goldfish 😂 (lived to be 20 years old!) second fish was a convict cichlid named “Bubba”… he had such an attitude but didn’t require a lot of maintenance- whatever I did I must have done right and he lived to be 12… but he had the entire tank to himself and loved moving gravel back and forth. Loved and miss my very first fish.

[@loading..192]

My beginning fishes were a huge pleco, a koi, many glo fish, many gold fish, a cichlid, a small pleco, guppies and angelfish, it was like the hunger games in there, today a lot of the goldfishes and glofishes remain, the koi fish died peacefully, but the angelfish were eaten, and the cichlid died for some unknown reason, everyone else remains.

[@ErickAvila-z2y]

That sounds awfully violent

[@loading..192]

@@ErickAvila-z2y i know the cichlid was always trying to eat the others and it stopped when the cichlid died

[@jakecarmean2599]

I agree, had two Dwarf Gouramis, bullied eachother, gave away the newer one. Put two angelfish in with gourami in the 29gal, and they’re all inseparable, the gourami thinks he’s an angelfish. I think it’s really depends on the fish, I only see aggression right before feeding when I’m standing over the tank.

[@Kukus.i.dzieciaki]

Hey. I come from Poland and I have had an aquarium for 7-8 years. I always had guppies from the beginning, there were about 25-30 of them in a 200 liter aquarium and some times I decided to buy 5 moskow blue in a shop. unfortunately I made a mistake and kept them in quarantine for too short a time and it turned out one of them had a parasite. it killed the whole aquarium ... I took a half-year break and decided to restart the aquarium, so I cleaned it, I thought, arranged it again with a new substrate. I bought 25 guppies from a friend who looks after them professionally. after letting guppies into a mature aquarium, after about 2-3 weeks, I noticed that the guppies are starting to lose weight again and yesterday I noticed one is dead and the hustoria begins to repeat. tell me how do you deal with parasites, if there have ever been one in your aquarium. sorry for english but i use google translator

[@kevinkleinsasser1438]

I have 6 paradise gouramis with one Ole gourami. They get along great with 6 bronze catfish a huge common pleco and 4 sailfin mollies.

[@carlosmanuelgonzalez5238]

As someone who’s dedicated 95% of my time to the hobby for over 20 years, I don’t agree with the fact that honey gourami’s are aggressive, let alone “the most aggressive”; it’s quite the opposite. They are peaceful if not, the most peaceful type of gourami. Gold, opaline, and blue’s are the most aggressive type. Everything else in this video is pretty accurate. Guppies are a disaster to work with cause they are so finicky and sensitive, bala sharks are extremely skittish and paranoid and have cracked one of my tanks years ago, plecos are extremely dirty fish and grow too fast, goldfish need extremely clean water and tons of oxygen allllll of which a beginner will not know to maneuver and handle.

[@humpy936]

Literally everything you have said is complete bullshit.

[@TofinoRider]

I'd add Bleeding Heart Tetras and similar if you're tank is under 40gallons. They're Very Hardy fish and hard to kill, but they are large fast swimmers. They need a lot of fetch to burn off the speed. Also lots of inter conflict as they like to be in a school which takes a lot of space.

[@xXdutchieeeXx]

Fun fact: my local PetStock has stopped selling guppies because they die all the time

[@Someoneonthisplanet1979]

sad fact you mean?

[@xXdutchieeeXx]

@@Someoneonthisplanet1979 eh. I don’t care, I don’t really like guppies anymore.

[@neillomas2717]

Find somewhere else to get fish, if they cannot keep guppies alive they clearly do not know what they are doing. Only problem with guppies is keeping population down as they breed so much they make rabbits look infertile

[@xXdutchieeeXx]

@@neillomas2717 I think they meant they die during shipping. But also aquarium industry’s, witch is where they get their fish could have a bad line of guppies, and because they breed so easily it causes that bad genes to spread.

[@Feen4]

I had Bala sharks, an Oscar cichlid, and a large pleco all in a 60 gal ironically together at the same time with a jack dempsey and tiger cichlid and they all loved each other lol. 10 plus years somehow

[@brotherbulldozer6430]

I’ve kept guramis And they aren’t aggressive they are just so hard to keep alive

[@brotherbulldozer6430]

@@garry3294 Yeah I made the mistake of getting a honey Gurami And the other one was killed bye a zebra Danio

[@brotherbulldozer6430]

@@garry3294 it was my first time picking out fish but now more Knowledgeable about buying fish And I winded up giving him back to the store He was just a random mean fish

[@brotherbulldozer6430]

@@garry3294 Ik

[@brotherbulldozer6430]

@@garry3294 My favorite fish I own is a angel fish named Luna

[@brotherbulldozer6430]

@@garry3294 they have great personalities it’s adorable 😊