I really enjoyed this video. It's sad to see how some humans treat fish. My sailfin pleco is 15" now. I gave him a very large home. Most of my fish are surrenders or trades. Some have been with me since I got back into the hobby after keeping reptiles for 10 years. Interesting animals to research indeed.

It's unfortunate that big box stores don't actually warn people before purchase...But we're not taught to research animals before going to the store.

You are one of the rare ones. I swear, every time I'm in petsmart I see the employees bagging up and selling certain fish to people who have no business owning them. Idk if petsmart employees have any type of training on aquariums and products, but the advice I hear come out of their mouths is horrible and only makes the company look bad. I've been very tempted to pull people aside after they talk to the employees and tell them to forget everything they just heard.

My PetSmart fish people are very knowledgeable, smile when they see me coming as though they are thinking 'oh good, these fish have a chance to live', and they will still quiz me about stocking choices and tank size, which I appreciate.

@@pbking442my local PetSmart employees are smart about fish, but management unfortunately tells them not to refuse a sale unless the tank size is ridiculously small. For example, an employee told a customer that an Oscar needed more than a 40 gallon, but since that was technically the minimum that PetSmart corporate allows the employees to sell Oscars for, they have to do it anyway. It is frustrating.

I did that too. I would straight up refuse pleco sales. But if they had at least a 20gal then I might suggest a clown or rubber lip.

I work at a box store and always shut down common pleco, Óscar, bala shark, or anything that would be thrown in a dinky tank by some impulse buyer. I actually don't sell fish to people till they have cycled their tanks. That usually pisses many people off because they done want to wait.

This!

Omg I love clown plecos. They have the prettiest markings.

I have 2 clowns in my 55 long, my favorite fishies. Lots of plants and driftwood, lots of hides, lots of shrimp and bloodworms for snacks, low light, happiest little campers ever. Pleco's are the best, just know what your getting into, and how long they live, before you buy. And their beautiful! Don't think so? Fight me LOL :)

Lol cuz a 4inch pleco is cute in a 20g nano tank lol an other american using logic

I hear you, I have an outdoor planted pond that is approximately 4,500 gallons. It has two koi and a school of minnows. I love seeing dedicated koi ponds with lots of koi, however that takes a huge amount of work, knowledge and maintenance. I'm more into the tranquil look myself, so I don't overstock, ever. I don't do forums or anything, because I don't like or want people's goldfish that they don't want anymore. I'm the same with my aquariums, I like the tranquil look. My 75 gallon has six fish, geophagus, a Bolivian ram, and an electric blue acara.

“It’s just a fish” seems like an appropriate reaction to me with short lived species, but can’t koi live for hundreds of years? I feel like it’s more than “just a fish” when it can out live you.

I currently work in a pet store all the staff are decently to extremely knowledgable about the fish we sell (im the dog trainer and can confidently talk and educate about every fish we sell) and most people i find who come are extremely uneducated but also very receptive to learning about fish keeping, i think its just the way you try to educate ppl they will be open to it, no one wants to abuse fish they just dont know any better

You've done what you could, and plan on doing even more, so that's fantastic! :D Please give an update, maybe a pic? I love pleco's, but I have two 10 gallon tanks, so they're not possible right now. :3

@@BreakerIncYeah, I’m trying. I just wish I could’ve given more now. But for now, all I can do is give my best. And well, from a 75gal and up, you could go for a bristlenose pleco :) they can still grow up to become 8”, so, that’s still a commitment, but much better than 20”! And, I have no idea how to show a picture or give an update with a picture/video 😅..

I’d say that too!

Actually a lot of animal abuse a lot of it is staged which is even more disturbing 😢😮

TikTok is pretty much, the brainless, entertaining the brainless.

You have an absolute point. The big - box stores (PetSmart, PetCo) do not always have staff who are well - educated in the care and keeping of fish.

@@willowravenwright5518 I made this mistake early early in my fish keeping path with a Raphael Cat. Never purchased fish from one again. In fact other than $1/gal sale I’ve never bought anything outside a mom and pop store! Except of course KGT

Yes they should be rare fish that are only sold to experienced aquarists with huge tanks in specialised shops

My PetSmart even sells bichirs, it’s insane

It drives me crazy when they sell these kind of fish and they don't even sell a tank big enough for them to live in.

Team Bristlenose ftw!

Wafers are definitely good though, but you might want to also turn the lights out in the aquarium at night before you drop in wafer or two because other fish will attack the wafer. Also, I might suggest some cucumber, they love cucumber.

@@jeffreyburney6161 yeah he's nocturnal and feeds on the wafers at night

What meat do you feed them?

@@tinyonvibrationtrainermach8729 I feed sinking carnivore pellets; krill flakes; freeze dried tubifex, brine shrimp, and daphnia. The pleco seems to like the tubifex the best of the freeze dried foods. I also feed Repashy when I am not too lazy to make it.

What’s the tank size? Do you have a bunch of decor taking up all of its laying space? A dwarf pleco could be in a 20 gallon

Don't panic, there are many different types of pleco and several of them do stay small. What size tank is he in, what is he eating, did the store say anything more specific about the species than dwarf? Chances are you're fine, but remember that plecos are messy critters so stay on top of your water changes. If it looks like he's going to outgrow the tank, well, that's a great excuse to buy a new tank.

@@christianleeperrr7641 I have live plants and a small driftwood but it’s a 10 Gallon tank. So now I have a new 37 Gallon tank that is cycling now to move him into. Thank you so much for your reply.

@@KhaeLikesCoffee no they didn’t say anything about him. I have bottom feeder tablets, blood worms, and brine shrimp to feed him. And this started as a tank for my Granddaughter who is 7 and stays with us at Holidays and 2.5 months in the summer. And shame on me I didn’t do any research to start, bought a fish bowl at Walmart - 1 Gallon and thought we could put a Goldfish in there, went to PetSmart to get the fish and found out NOTHING can live in there - so went 5 gal (which now has no fish in it) … then I fell in love with fish/tanks …so the Pleco is in a 10 Gal, with some Velvet Wag Swords, and 2 Mystery Snails, and it’s not big enough so I have a 37 gal tank cycling now to move the Pleco (and I think I should have gone bigger but space is limited 😂 …and I think if I think if I buy one more tank (this is the 4th 🤣) I’ll be Divorced 🤣🤣. Thank you for the info I really appreciate it.

Would get larger tank for common can get to 2ft and get more small schooling fish.

My first thought was that the video was made mid- water change and cleaning, and that's when she found the bones. The conditions in the tank aren't great, I won't deny, but I don't think it's usually that shallow.

The video was mid water change as I do a 50% water change every week. These fish are both special needs fish with chronic swim bladder and deformities. I got stuck with this aquarium after I got out of an abusive relationship with my ex so I've been caring for them as best as possible. They have a bigger and better set up aquarium for special needs koi fish now🙃 none of these fish would do well in a pond they would be picked on and stressed by other healthy fish. When I was finally able to get this aquarium and fish back after my ex left it abandoned in an apartment with no power for months they were near death. The small one had scoliosis and chronic swim blatter. The big one has chronic swim bladder and fin deformities. This video was made by my ex before he abandoned them when he had access to my tik tok. So I really don't appreciate the harrasment I've received from this video when this KZfaq user had no clue of the situation. This is an older video video as well, and how my ex set up the tank. They were all going to be killed at a local pet store before they were acquired because they can't sell fish with health issues. My ex had the tank at this point and hadn't seen the pleco in a few days. I got the fish back a month after this video and I'm surprised they weren't all dead due to his neglect