Things to Consider Before Buying a Monster Aquarium Fish

Monster fish are awesome

Even when you do all the homework, provide a theoretically big enough tank, a compatible community of other fish, it can be super stressful. I tried for a small group of frontosas in a 125 gal, 6ft long tank. Bought 9 young fish and sold off males as they became apparent, but still ended up with just 2 females and 3 males--not a very peaceful group. Plus, the boredom part is real. Big fish can live forever! Or at least 10+ years.

Never keeped a monster fish, but lifelong aquarium keeper, in most cases it seems like keeping a pitbull in an apartment can it work, maybe, will it work, probably not….

I got my fahaka puffer when he was about 2" in a 75gal. That lasted him about 2yrs now he is in a 125gal and about 13". if he outgrows the 125gal I'll move him up to a 180gal

Look how easy these monster fish are easy to buy and that’s why Ohio fish has to save them later on

Good video

Thank you for the information.

What about selling/donating to big aquarium? Like if your life gets flipped upside down.

I think the biggest fish I’d consider getting is a Ranchu, I think they’re so cool and would love to own one or two someday.

Cmon Cory, this video is just cut from a livestream you did years ago. This isn't new content. It's just the livestream with random videos in the background

Is a 100 gallon tank good for a Oscar

I hate the idea of “big enough” tanks as well. Just because they can turn around in your aquarium, doesn’t mean you’re giving them a good life. They need room to actually swim.

Watching six guys clumsily move a huge tank around with no safety boots / shin pads on made me cringe. If that guy had truly slipped over, your medical bills could have taken out the co-op entirely!

Thank you for this video!
I am finally close to have my dream set-up for semi-monster fish (I plan to have a 190 gallon with 4-5 Oscars and a Bishir plus one 190 as a big South American community tank, plus 2-3 smaller tanks, one of them will be a Lake Tanganyika and the last ones... other stuff, I guess!

I still hope to have the capacity for a real monster in the future, most likely a silver Arowana and/or a Pacu, possibly a giant Gourami, but I don't know if I will ever have a tank big enough to be a forever home for them, and I will not buy any of them until I can provide that.

I love the look of monster fish but I don’t want to do the work. So no really big fish for me.

Haha I remember this live stream! Beautiful shots! I will stick with the nano fish :)

So I got a northern strain largemouth bass, male, and knowing these fish and this lake hell get to about 15-16 inches max, but fat and deep, just they’re genetics, is a 150 gallon ok? He’s about 9” right now and only a year old

Just bought fritz expel p off your website Cory! I hope it works better than metroplex
I’ve been treating for two weeks and lost two fish so far and haven’t seen much improvement
I have more faith in the fritz just because it’s what you use

Cory is a master of content

Basically I am one to believe that certain fish like the red tail cat are pond fish in the end

Good video bud, I agree they are not for everyone. What I suggest being a mfk guy that has a 1500 gal with only 7 fish, that the person figures out their "unicorn" fish that they truly desire and then create a supporting cast of tank mates given the fish is capable of such. I say that often and that is exactly what I landed up doing.

Not without a pond down south. I have the Mississippi river in a half mile from my house . Monster fish in there. I like zebras and guppies lol

Nice

In my mid 20s I had a 55 gallon and I worked part time in a local pet store. I loved big fish and owned a 55 gallon tank, and I’d read an article by a guy who’d built his own large tank (800+ gallons) out of waterproofed masonite and a large pane of thick plexiglass. I decided to get 8 2” tinfoil barbs and 8 2”bala sharks, telling myself that by the time they outgrew the 55, I would have built them the larger tank. They looked amazing, and the first couple of months it was awesome watching them school together, a living stream of silver flashing and flickering from one side of the tank to the other. Then, after a routine 50% water change, my beautiful 3” tinfoil barbs started to die. They were still beautiful, their colors and fins spread like normal, but the began to swirl aimlessly and drift to the gravel. Within 30 minutes they were all gone. It broke my heart. The balas were completely unaffected. I had no idea why, and honestly, I still don’t. But I realized how completely unprepared I was to properly care for them, so shortly after, I returned the balas back to the pet store. I didn’t give up the hobby, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes since, but mostly I’ve given the fish in my care a good home. I believe my biggest lesson then was when you bring an animal home, do your best to give it what it needs to thrive, and recognize when you can’t.

Yip good video. I've always wanted a red tail cat but only have a 125 gal as a spare tank and just feel I would be doing the fish a disservice in case I can't provide a 300 or 400+ gallon tank. I just keep 2 discus that were a breeding pair at one point in a 75 gallon they are big enough and beautiful and like there personality. But I have a decent set up for them.

In my opinion monster fish should be removed from the fish keeping hobby. Or at least have very strict permits. So many fish are out there suffering because people can't take proper care of them. Not having the time should be the first red flag to not keep a pet fish of any kind.

Idk whether arowana, oscar, flowerhorn and red parrot can be considered monster fish..but generally i dont like to keep them as pet..sure they look majestic and i many times considered to buy them...one thing that kept me from buying them is they can grow quite big and it is pretty uncomfortable in my eyes to see a few big fish in a now small tank...and also need to consider what if flood happened?? These monster fish are really hardy by nature, just this year, 2 arapaimas were caught in a lake near my house, one were found (1.9 meters) after flood hit my area earlier this year and few months ago caught in the same place a 2.3 meters arapaima and also the same lake had common pleco infestation

Always wanted to delve into this but the truth is I couldn't support this... already made the same questions to myself before you put out this vid, people that don't ask themselves these same questions are people that imo are less cared about fish than themselves.

Aquarium Co-Op has very informative videos. I’ve had a fish tank since middle school and I never plan on getting rid of my tanks. I have a 60 gallon tank with about 14 cichlids in there. Not the same breed. Long story short Im looking to buy a large growing puffer but don’t want to get rid of my cichlids tank. Any ideas where one could buy a larger tank? Used? New?

I personally own just about every monster fish you can think off and everything thing and I mean everything cory said is exactly right if you don’t have the time or the ability to have the insane amount of space needed for them you should not get them and Please Don’t Release Your Fish that’s coming from somebody who lives in florida that knows what can happen when fish get released

Great advice Cory, I moved country about a decade ago and had to find a new home for my community acquarium fish, that was stressful but eventually I found a pet store willing to take them who appeared well educated on the fish breeds so I could be confident they were in safe hands but monster fish especially would be super tricky to find a new home for.

I also own a pet store and do not sell anything that will get too big. Saying that I would love a red tail but know I could not give it the right environment. I see shops around me selling shoals of Pangasius to go in 4ft fishtanks and also shoals of Pacus. Love your work and honesty.

You think you could make a video about some fish that are similar to monster fish but more attainable to keep? Personally I’d really like to keep a largemouth bass, but I know that I won’t have the means for keeping one happy for many years.

I love my toothy, angry fish. That being said, they need hella specialized care and it is disappointing to see so many people not providing for them properly.

Pretty easy . Stop selling them.

First u tube I have ever subscribed to. I am going to try a fish tank. Have watched several other people, and have settled to stick with you. You appear truthful I know you have you products. Thanks for the information you provide.

I have a female red devil around 8 to 10 inches in a 75 gallon. I can keep two medium sized flowerpots for her to hide in but besides that it’s just an empty tank because she needs a lot of space to move. Still I love that fish she’s the most peaceful red devil I’ve seen and lives in a community.

Salute to Cory. A treasure to the hobby. 💯

My struggle is I want a flowerhorn or a couple Oscars in a 250gallon, but a nano fish-planted tank that size would be so cool!!

Looking at monster fish in captivity makes me feel uncomfortable.

Like a mermaid in a bathtub...

My brother recently got an 8x4x4 tank and the amount of time the water changes alone take is mind boggling

Can you show more info about the tank behind you... Beautifull archer fishes and other asian fishes pls more info! Cheers!

No matter how big of a tank you get you will always find a fish that is too big for it. I hate it when I see a bunch of 4 inch Arapaima in the fish store.

It’s probably cheaper to visit the local zoo a couple times per year. They have funds and resources to maintain huge aquariums and there they can display their natural behaviour and be around other animals and large plants. If you keep a large fish in a home aquarium it’s not going to be in an environment that looks like the natural habitat.

I’m late. Excellent video. 100% facts

This is why I'm so glad I bought my fish a new tank. I have a 50 gallon (100Lenght,50height,40width cm) and I bought (all babies) 3 Oscar, 3 Iridescent Sharks, 1 Clown Featherback and 1 Pacu, there's other fish but they are small and don't take much space like barbs and some Columbian sharks. I knew my monster fish would grow big especially those Iridescent Sharks and the Pacu so I just got a 120 gallon which is 150cm long, 60cm height and 50cm width. It's massive and my fish are still very small (I've had them for almost 6 months but as soon as I saw signs of fighting I knew it was time for another one. I also know 120gallons is not enough for my Iridescent Sharks and for my Pacu forever as those grow stupidly big but now that I have 2 tanks to separate all my fish it won't be as crowded and it will last me a good time before I get another upgrade. If anything I think I got it too soon because my current 50 gallon is very crowded so fighting was more likely to happen but I was very new and didn't know anything. Ignoring a pleco and the clown featherback which both are known to be very long, my largest fish is not even 20cm in length so if anything they'll be happier that they now have even more room to swim around.

This is a great message to a lot of people. It sadly also translates over to koi and goldfish as well…

i feed mine with C2 pellet its only 4-5 inch long i dont know how much i should feed my bichir anybody can tell me how mucg c2 i can feed?