Want to learn more about how fish stores should be quarantining fish: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FZfcbj3066o.html Here is how to buy healthy fish: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_iig_6ObP8E.html If you wan more info on some of the fish featured in this video take a look at these species profiles: Betta Care: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_st_6B96Tj0.html Angelfish: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8WXFfoVs_CQ.html Discus: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SR_09RUYq_o.html Rummynose Tetra: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uV9eGH9y0PU.html Neon Tetra: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FAtiM1gYFus.html Bristlenose Pleco: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RRt_tjOKY84.html Guppy: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0Lm7p21FJ7I.html Molly: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SjnIyxB-mJ8.html Do you want a subscription to the best fish magazine in the world? Check this out! www.amazonasmagazine.com/primetime Our new shirts can be found at: www.primetimeaquatics.com/merch Want to become a Prime Timer and see behind the scenes fish room videos? Consider becoming a member: ru-vid.com/show-UCYVN7EN0ALL6CE4U7NpMUTAjoin For the latest in the fish room check us out on Instagram primetime_aquatics If you want to see all the cool stuff Joanna does with other types of scapes check out her channel! ru-vid.com/show-UCPEZk1MpOTGiBVh6BtWjlRg
Great video Prime, I was expecting yet another obvious common pleco, Oscars, Red Taoil cat fish video. 1. I concur. 2. I concur. 3. I concur. 4.I concur, but would have had higher numbers on travel issues and keeping them alive. 5. Need to be bought 100% from private breeders that are really good. I concur again. 6. I concur, BUT MUCH HIGHER NUMBERS ON ALL! :-D 7. I concur, wilds are easier to keep. They are hardier. 8. I concur, I konow your proble, they breed them in saltwater because it is free from the sea. Then they slowly die, if you are lycky you get fry before all parants die. Always buy them private. 9. I concur and have an answer for you! I have a video about it. Neon Tetra Virus, I have finally found out how to keep them alive. That virus is untreatable. Watch my video if you want to know the truth. 10. I concur with all. Buy them private. Mollys same thing as with guppies.They are breeding them in sea water from the ocean, liver failure and tons of virus in them. Impressive video. Listen to Prime fishlovers, he is right and he is original with a top 10 for once!
Pea puffers kinds uncommon cuz there popular and sell quick and I never had problems with them unless thy get aggressive and kill each other I had thst be4
From the list: - Angel fish: I suspect that the juveniles are cheap not only because they are easy to breed, but also because, like I’ve seen in my tanks, the juveniles are not easy to keep alive. From my experience, you can’t just get that small white long fin angel, put it in your establish community tank, and all will be well. They will be sensitive to any strong curent, when you do water changes you can't just pour lots of water at once, and if there is any problem in your tank, that little guy/guys will be the first to die. Also, I suspect that the recommendation to get 6 juveniles if you want at least a pair, has more to do with the fact that most would not make it to adulthood, that with just increasing the chances of getting different sexes. Guppy: At this point, I can say that I hate guppies. I lack tanks, so I let them colony breed. I hate calling the individuals with birth defects, I hate the mysterious diseases they get, even though no other fish in the tank have any problems, water parameters are fine, nitrates are zero, rummy nose have their “noses” red, etc. I hate the constant hunt for “fresh blood”, that affect any line you want to keep. So, at this point, I’m waiting for them to die of, and I will not buy another. They breed, but something always happen to the parents, the babies reach maturity, they breed, something happen to them, and so on. I should mention that my water has a PH of 7.4, hardness over 20 dGh, they should be fine, but nope. I’ve heard they do better if some salt is added to their water, but that is not an option for me, as I have corys and a colony of mistery snails. Dispite keeping fish for over 20 years, I guess I’m not experienced enough to keep guppies alive…
Apistogrammas have been impossible for me to keep alive. I've had cacatuoides (numorous times), borellii (twice), agassizii (few times) and breitbinden (once). The longest I've kept them alive for is about six months I think. All my other fish have been fine, breeding and everything.
I'm glad to see mollies on this list as high as they are. I simply can not keep them alive. They get the Death Wobble every time. However, as you eluded to, I have always bought them from the two big box stores.
I've kept Angels, Guppies, Neons, Rummynose, BN Plecos, Bettas, and Mollies from your list. Agree 100%. I get tired of youtube videos and online forums talking about how easy and hardy these fish are. They are, if you can keep them alive past two months.
Hmmmm , same time as the Nitrogen cycle is just about to move & groove and do it's thing....unless it's interrupted ~~~~ & that's just rude , after all that hard work and effort to make it a success and a few trips back and forth to the fish stores and other questionable places and now look at what is blooming in the world of the impatient Aquarist. THE END
@@stoneysscapes7544 My experience is from adding a few fish to well-cycled tanks, and I test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates regularly. Please don't assume facts you don't know.
I guess it all depends on experience ive had nothing but success with rummynose tetras having adding them to a few tanks and never had any die from stress or within the first two months when death would be attributed to stress that based on my experiences i would not include them on this list, rummynose tetras and a few cory species are the few fish ive had nothing but good fortunes adding them to tanks and moving them from store to home
I have a theory about what weakens baby discus. I believe it is being raised in sterile breeding conditions that weakens them. My fry are bred and raised in tanks with substrate, rocks, plants and mulm - NATURAL. I often observe the parents escorting their young to the driftwood, rocks or plants and their fry pecking at it. I believe that this gut loads the fry with bacteria they need to stay healthy. When we remove this we are taking away their access to vital bacteria's and probably a host of other things that they need or benefit from having access to. I believe this foraging makes them strong - I have NEVER had to worm any of my baby discus or treat them for disease. Have I lost some? yes, a handful, in th first 10 days where the smallest often do perish. Nor have I wormed my adults or had to treat them for disease. They have never shown any signs of worms.
Great video, knowledgeable without an agenda. Some of the other fish tubers are all about click bait, selling products thru thier videos or just drama. Ur just fish content
The thing with bettas and tumors is completely true. Not much you can do in terms of treatment my first koi betta didn’t have them but my current special buy betta does and they are even starting to spread to her body unfortunately. The only thing that’s working for me to keep them in check is by adding seachem stress guard. You can go as far as adding some seachem paraguard but again might not do much.
Local bred guppies are the best. I also breed mollies and after 3 years I finally have them breeding after all the disease and deaths have died off by just getting a mix of black and marbled and sailfins. By doing this during the 3 year period they adjusted to Chicago water and the weak and disease died off and the mix and strong survived. My local aquarium shop was happy to get my overload because the ones coming in just did not survive for them.
This applies to shrimp as well. I bought 30 from a local guy here in the north suburbs of chicago and didn't lose a single one! I counted at least fifty babies after ~30-40 days. Some came berried.
From my limited experience this list is pretty accurate. I hate losing fish, but it happens. I’m getting better stock now and a better fishkeeper now, but it still happens.
I’m getting them from Dan’s fish…bread by folks who keep them in the US and quarantined. They also, which is not scientific look happy. I love a lot of imported fish but hubby and I decided to only buy US tank bred.
i dont seem to have very much luck with corydoras trilineatus. 3 out of 4 of mine have just withered away, gotten a reddish hue and passed. parameters are fine though
Love seeing your fifty lowboy with the mollies. Probably one of my favorite tanks on YT. Great informative video. Although I would specify that discus water parameters are tied directly to where they're being bred now as opposed to always trying to match the low PH soft water of their wild habitat.
I've never been able to keep rummynose tetras alive. Last time I tried, I bought 12, and 11 of them died within a week. The lone survivor has been living with some candy cane tetras for a year.
Definitely Agree about Molly's and Guppies. Both just great and popular fish. Both raised in Brackish water over seas in huge numbers and they simply don't do well state side unless you have pretty hard water. Even then it's a toss up unless you get baby's born in your tank.
Great video!! I feel a lot better about myself lol! I couldn’t figure out why I’ve lost some of these guys. I’ll add dwarf gouramis! Always something weird wrong with them!
*SORRY THIS IS LONG* I'd be interested to see a version of these videos about the most common illnesses. Highlighting the differences between bacterial vs fungal, how some illness lead into others, quarantine sick fish vs TREAT YOUR ENTIRE TANK NOW, medication and water changes, medications to use together and or salt baths treatment, rate of contagious-ness to other fish, and the cling of said disease on tank, survival of disease vs cull and euthanasia. To often I see posts stating BUT ALL THE OTHER FISH ARE FINE, or they think separating the sick fish in a breeder still in the same tank does something, or this fish looks like death so they did a water change. I can't stress enough how much I appreciate these videos and how often i got back to the profile vids. ♥️
New to the hobby of just about 3 months. I have a 30 Gallon with Rasboras, Albino corydoras and a Betta and for me it's been those Albino corydoras. Idk why but I'm struggling to keep them alive. I either find them dead and stuck in-between plants or as of recent just found 2 of them just sitting on the bottom in open water dead with no signs of disease etc.
Very interesting video, i'm a big angelfish fan, and i've notice with years, a little bit like the bettas, alot of genetic problems. Overbreeding and poor conditions have become a real problem. I've notice alot of random issues popping as they grow. Now i'm extra careful from where i'm getting my fish. Thank you for talking about this matter
I am so happy Mollies are on this list. I’ve NEVER been able to keep them alive no matter how perfect the water conditions are. I also didn’t know about the “death wobble”. If I decide to try again, I’ll be watching for that.
Yes, I've had mixed success with mollies even with relatively hard water. When I see the wobble (or "shimmy") I know it's time to change some water, asap.
That is strange, I got my mollies from Petsmart, aside from 1 died, the rest just grew and die HARD! They can even live in a tank with no heater. I only added little salt at the begining, then slowly reduced it with every water change.
Great info, your natural born teaching style comes through in your videos. Prime Time and Small Scape videos should be mandatory when buying certain species at the pet store. Or at least write an 'in-store' buyers guide manual for unknowing families that come in and buy impulsively. Thanks
I had trouble keeping Ottocinclus allive i learned letting them acclimate longer and having a decent amount of wood/caves pieces in the tank does help em thrive
I love my little otos! I have tons of plants, so that might be why they don’t care to use the caves and hollow logs. They’ll flop right in the shrimp dish and wait for the food to fall on them ❤
thank you for this list. I haven't purchased neons in years because I've never had luck with them. And bettas haven't been a good choice for me, either. They will seem perfectly fine for a matter of 5-7 months, and then suddenly, they've expired too. It's too bad, especially about the bettas because I just love those guys! Take care out there in Chicagoland.
Agree with you on the Bettas. Especially that breeders are coming out with some amazing new colors and patterns. It's tough finding and getting a unique color\pattern one and then losing that awesomeness a few weeks or months later.
IMO one or the biggest problems is buying fish from a brick and morter store that actually does buy good fish and actually keeps them in their store in GREAT water. I've found the stores that have long established tanks and that do proper water changes and that do those water changes with RODI water have the biggest problems with customers complaining about their fish dying shortly after getting them home. Problem is, 99% of casual hobbyists don't themselves use RODI water, they just use regular ole tap water dosed with Prime, Safe or whatever and I'm sure the number is even higher for the amount of people who don't do regular water changes. That being said, the fish are coming home from the actual good quality fish store where they were kept in pristine condition with perfect PH etc etc, to a tank that has parameters WAYYYY off track from what they were used to and die shortly after. Another problem is most people have no clue how to properly acclimate their new fish to their new home. They do the " set the bag in the water until the temps equalize and then just dump the fish in the tank........WRONG!!!!!! Anyway, just my 2 cents on the subject.
My local fish store here in Sweden breed his own Guppies at home and sell them at the store because they where dying in such high numbers when buying them from a breeder. But once he breed them himself in good conditions they where much more hardy fish. Also he says that Guppy are not good nano-tank fish despite being marketed as such. He recommends a minimum 20 gallon (90 Litre) tank for those and a minimum tank length of 80 cm (32"). He also recommends getting a good mixture between males and females because if you get it wrong the "bullies" of the group will cause a lot of stress in the tank. One more fish I would like to add to this list of fish that could be difficult to keep alive is Dwarf Gourami's. I had many of those die on me over the years.
It’s my personal opinion that no fish should be kept in a nano tank. All fish should have room to move. Even my bettas get a minimum of 5 gallons at the very least. I prefer 10.
I kept discus, reef , al kinds of fish. Discus in my experience more difficult than a reef tank. I used to do 75% water changes every other day I had success but maintaince made it so unenjoyable.
I literally saw one of the fish RU-vidrs in one of the chicago Facebook groups giving a new fish keeper a hard time because she couldn't keep Petco guppies alive. His advice was basically she should buy 50 dollars in medicine or she's a fish abuser. My thought is It should not be on the average person to medicate fish and get them healthy, unless you buy it knowing that you will have to buy meds. This lady wanted to have fun with a healthy fish that she bought for probably 2.50 a piece. She ended up being berated by a RU-vidr and I bet she probably didn't even want to continue after that. I stepped in and tried to explain this to him. It just didn't seem fair to put that on the average customer. ⭐️⭐️⭐️If you sell fish they should be healthy.⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thoughts on otocinclus? They seem to have a reputation for being delicate. I've kept them successfully but always tend to lose a few when introducing them to the tank. They seem to be hardy if they survive the first few weeks. I've read this is due to them being wild caught and/or issues with getting them to eat commercial fish food if you don't have enough algae and diatoms in your tank to support them.
I was hesitant to try otos, but after my beloved betta passed from old age, I dared not risk another betta for fear of my shrimp. I got 6 otos, and I lost the “runt” after about a month. The 5 survivors seem to be thriving. Got them from a reputable source, and they were already eating kelp wafers so I bought the same brand for them. Fingers crossed, cuz now I’m in love with them ❤
Thanks for the help - I took 2 years setting up a 20 long for neon's and in 6 months they were all gone. I've been scared to try again. But with your information I will go slow and try one more time with some tweaking 💘
So basically, if you have local access to good quality fish, buy from an ethical fish store, hobbyist or club. Otherwise ship from a good quality ethical site, or further about it ( you have to say it in fake NY accent). I have just gotten back inti the hobby because my 18 y/o son wanted to fix up an old 20g we had. Binged this channel, The Secret History Living in your Aquarium and Aq. Co Op. I think we got a really good schooling (pun intended)from you guys. Thanks!!
I had a bristlenose pleco that lived for over 15 years! It was one of the last fish in the tank. Also had one single neon tetra(was a big one) that lived for 8-9 years. Blew my mind. One problem I had with some black molly was the females being very large and their spine would bend in a weird way? I used to keep fish in the 90's but with work and everything I stopped refreshing my tanks with new fish. Some of them would not make it very long while others would live for years and years. I also had problems with platys but I figured that was because of the water perimeters being off.
Thank you for doing this video. I have started off with 3 electric blue rams in my 29 gallon (1 male, 2 females). Since I got them in August, at separate times, my females randomly passed away, I have been trying to figure out why. My remaining male seems to be doing fantastic. Temp is stable at 82*, nitrates almost undetectable due to the amount of plants I have. They are on the same diet my reputable LFS uses for theirs. My city water PH sits around 8, I would rather not chase it as I would rather have it stable. That being said, I do have some ember and green neon tetras, red phantom tetras, otocinclus, sterbai cories, espei rasboras and I have had a very high success rate with all of them.
Chasing the pH only applies to when you have a 5-6 pH fish and you have it in, an at max, neutral pH. You cant use the "chasing the pH' excuse if youre that high. Youre not gonna have rams that live past a few months at 8 pH
Agree especially the bristle nose! I bought a very small BN and only live 4min from my local pet store and it bellied up before I got home…went back and the replacement did the same thing! Third time was a charm but WOW never knew these little ones were so sensitive 😔
I have had terrible luck with store bought guppies. One big box store and two local fish stores. None of them ever do well for me. Surprisingly platies were the same way for me. Bought 7 seemingly very healthy platies, only one made it past two weeks to live long term. No idea why. But I still have the one in my community, doing great.
i’ve kept guppies for a few years and i highly recommend treating them all for internal parasites especially if you notice white stringy poop. also make sure to treat them twice in a row to kill the adults and the eggs that hatch about a week later. the entire process takes at least 2 weeks but you can keep treating for a 3rd week to be extra safe
Ive seen this issue so many times as well. In Canada, no dewormers are even sold in stores, you have to get them online or from a vet. Ive lost so many to worms, they just stop eating, get skinny and die :/ I ended up going and getting local endler guppies. I have some guppy babies that made it, and hoping to breed them to get a healthy line.
I worked at Petland for a few years a long time ago and I had cared for and observed the fish long enough that after my research and talking to my boss I got two Tinfoil Barbs. She told me I would be fine to start them in a 20 gallon since they were so small and that I could size up as they grew or i could take my time with that because they wouldnt outgrow their environment. So these fish really ate everything I offered them including what i didnt which were the live plants in the tank, lol. I loved those fish. They grew to around 4.5 inches. I had gravel and a few little decorations but nothing that took up much space. These 2 fish, both of them, suddenly started acting as if they were trying to jump out of the tank but there was a covered lid on it. They gave no prior signs of affliction. Anyway, they continued to do this so i took the lid off because i didnt want them to hurt themselves and they jumped right out of the tank of course. I put them back in the tank and they continued the behavior with the lid on the tank and they both died. Literal suicide. I still dont understand why this happened and so far no one has been able to tell me other than tank size, which is my assumption. Though they didnt seem too large for their tank, im at a loss otherwise.
Otocinclus. Bought 4, lost 3 in the first few weeks. If you don't have soft water, don't bother. As wild caught fish, they struggle to adapt. Also Cardinals. Bought 10, all got ich, got them through that, but 3 died subsequently.
Guppies...yes. *chuckles* I bough half a dozen of them to put in my 360g custom indoor pond with 3 Red eared slider turtles (pond has dividers in it) and...I have hundreds now that I do sell back to LFS. Not the same luck with Neon tetra unfortunately can't keep them..tried from different sources..nothing. Black, pink and my chinese neon seem to be going better. Platies...I have some in my 50 gal heavy planted tank...no luck with getting fry after a year and I seem to be losing those fish one by one now a month at a time. Angels are doing good, had 6 juveniles in a 45 gal. A pair formed recently and I rehomed the rest. Same with bristlenoses got 2 males as juvelines, they now have their own tanks and I'm looking for females to pair them.
I would love, Love, LOVE to keep a big, glorious buck Electric Blue Jack Dempsey. Like you, after investing close to $250, the best I've been able to do is get one to roughly 4 inches before it went belly up. It's such a shame because they are such remarkable looking fish. Worse, I don't think I've seen much improvement in the specie's viability, even after a decade.
I've kept most of these fish and locally the pleco, molly, neon and rummy nose were luckily very strong, but all the rest, especially bettas... oh my God! They claim they are resilient, they are not. I have tried everything - treatments, special water cleansers with fin care, all types of food and feeding. The genetics are just in the gutter. They even had a population that could not grow, I bred from the same stock and had the same babies - half the size of a normal betta and would not grow beyond. The Ram is the other offender. They just up and die for no reason.
And here I am wondering what I am doing wrong because I cannot keep baby angels alive. I've lost about 30 kois and 20 regular ones over the years, absolutely zero survivors. I have given up on them.
Great video! I can't keep a regular neon in my Michigan water to save my soul but Green Neons and the totally unbeatable Black Neons are from the multiverse!!! Thank you for the info!!
Livebearers in general, so many come with worms, or they just get skinny and die. Ive even tried quarantining and medicating for bacterial, fungal, and parasites. I started getting them local, because I got told the genetics are just so poor.
The frustrating thing is so many retailers were driven out of business by the big box stores, and high cost of shipping. So unless you live in a large city, your choice is either PetSmart, or Craigslist.
My first betta died after just one week! The first days he did great but after some days he started to lie on the substrate and it looked like he had hard to swim. We tested the water and it was fine. And a week later after the betta died i got a new one that I have had for over an year now.
I mainly keep guppies and love my guppies. Started with all female til one gave birth to 3 females and 1 male. This 1 male led me to build another guppy tank. Tried to get him buddies and every male I bought died even though I had perfect parameters, quarantined, medicated etc. Just couldn't keep them alive. This video w/ the guppy section made me feel less guilty like the deaths were my fault 😔
Had a bad Experience with Neon Tetras from a mom and pop fish store so expected healty fish and I'm sure they were but a few hours later came home to 4 dead tetras..smh i went back again and tested my water again and they told me my PH was to high
Quick question: are neon and cardinal tetras similar in hardiness (particularly travel related)? I ask this because I also had one of my cardinals die when I first brought them home.
You make amazing and helpful vids! Every time I search up a question about my fish tank and I see your videos I sigh in relief because I know I am in good hands! Thank you!
Guppies are only good if you buy high quality strains or locally. I bought a gorgeous strain (albino full red) from an lfs for $40. The first batch of fry was healthy, but after that, every single batch ended up sick with flukes. I would treat them for weeks, maybe 50-70% of the fry would survive and grow up. I would wait 1-2 months, breed them again, and the fry would get flukes again. The cycle continued maybe 4 times until I gave up. I've stopped breeding them and am going to sell them all once they get to a sellable size (Once they grow up they're bulletproof). Once they're all sold I'll dry out all the tanks and equipment, get a high quality strain from a breeder and try again.
Bought 10 Neon Tetras from my private owned LFS and within a month I lost 6 of them. Surprisingly, 4 of the 10 are still alive despite fluctuations of ammonia.
rummynose and ich , holy cow! had 20 for a month liked the school got 10 more and wiped out , only the rummynose and my 3 mth old clown loaches. nothing else got a small school of rummynose rasboras instead. 55g tank.
You are not wrong about betta. We'd lost 4 so far n the ones that are left dont seem to be thriving also. Maybe its the water, maybe its genetic, cant seem to keep them more than 3 months here😢 the platy n swordfish are doing great thouth ( they're house in different tank from the betta) and had had babies every month almost..
