These Fish SHOULDN'T Be In Aquariums!

Good list! Another rule of thumb. If it was ever featured by Jeremy Wade on River Monsters (e.g. Pacu, Arapaima), then it will probably not work in your home aquarium!

There's a public aquarium near my home that houses a 9 foot Arapaima along with some other bruisers. Aquarium size? 250,000 gallons. You can float a small boat on the top of that aquarium. The decor includes bogwood ... in the form of two complete sunken trees. This aquarium is a civil engineering project. Probably the only aquarium I've ever seen that can house the Arapaima and a dozen adult Pacus, AND keep them all happy. Oh, and the filtration system is literally industrial scale. Forget Eheim. Their primary filter is 7 feet tall and 4 feet in diameter. It costs them £2,000 per week in electricity to run it. I dread to think what the heating bill for that aquarium is, but I suspect the monthly cost would buy you a Mercedes. That puts things into perspective nicely I think. :)

I used to run a large scale fish store and I had a 1500 gallon bow front aquarium that i put customers overgrown fish in. I had oscars, midas cichlids, a wolf cichlid, some weird catfish i was never able to identify, a clown knife, an african lung fish, and of course pacus. It was the first aquarium you would see when you walked in the store. I used it as a warning for customers to avoid buying these fish.

I've been saying for years that larger fish should be available as pets with a special order only. That way the folks with bigger aquariums can stil get them and the general public cannot.

I’ve had the honor of meeting Bruce the Arapaima. So if anyone wants one remember Bruce is housed in a 58,000 gallon what used to be an indoor pool. So yes Big Rich is the only person who should have one. Pretty sure there are 3 in that pool

Great list, I'd also add the Arowana as well. Not only do they grow just as large if not larger than the first 3-4 fish they are also capable of jumping 6 feet out of the water.

It was over 20yrs ago and boy was I surprised. A local fish store (no longer in business) sold me a "cute little" catfish. This fish grew exponentially to a horrifying size in my 72. Research informed me that I had a Blue catfish. I had to use an actual fishing net to remove from tank.

I remember watching 'River Monsters' and seeing Jeremy Wade get hit in the chest by a jumping Arapaima. Wade staggered and for a while afterwards his team had to monitor his heart rate as the strike knocked his heart out of rhythm. Ward's show about the Pacu was interesting. Pacus have been released in Southeast Asia for some reason. Fisherman were being bit in a sensitive area of the male anatomy quite frequently. There is a fish store nearby in Glen Burnie, Maryland that has a massive Giant Gourami in a HUGE tank just you enter the store. I cannot remember her name but she is 20 - 30 years old. It is the only place I buy my fish.

I know Jeremy Wade did an episode of River Monsters about the pacu. Apparently someone let about 14,000 of them into a new habitat. They castrated some guy and have destroyed the ecosystem.

I won't deny I'm smiling as I watch this. It brings back memories of my favorite fish that I saw, fell in love with, and bought for my little 20 gallon tank as a child... the cutest tiny little 'common pleco' (at least that's what it was purchased as). Actually, it turned out to be a sailfin pleco, as best I could identify. It was gorgeous. Then it moved to a fifty gallon tank. Then it moved to a hundred gallon. Then it had to move to someone else's house, to live in their large indoor heated pond... I really miss that fish. So beautiful, with a huge dorsal fin! It was fascinating to watch it change colors - it was dark brown with vivid tan-yellow webbing all over when it thought no one could see it, and as soon as it saw someone looking, would visibly fade to a dull, mottled light brown all over.

I'm in the UK and one of my kids is asking for fish now. Glad I found this video because Bala Sharks are everywhere in fish stores in the UK.

It's the same in herps, some of the worst pets are the cheapest and most accessible - green iguanas, sulcatas, red-eared sliders. Right now, my local Petsmart has dinosaur bichirs for sale for $8 : (

I wish sellers would be require to say "pond only." I have been lucky enough to have had ponds on properties I've owned. Also, there are "hardiness zones" for plants; why not fish? I am USDA hardiness zone 6A for plants. The USDA should regulate big fish just as they regulate plants. I can legally grow a cotton plant in my state, MA, and I have; the flowers are pretty. However, my cousins in VA cannot legally grow an ornamental cotton plant! Aren't fish one up from plants?

My dad donated his giant gouramis to the local Zoo, at first they didnt want it but the dude managing the aquarium section took it in, apparently the guy was working in that LFS where my dad got them all those years ago 😅

I've seen nearly every episode of River monsters, and I can confirm that Pacu do attack humans. The episode was in Nugine,spell checker off, the pacu was somehow introduced, and quickly took over. They started running out of food and began attack the privates of the natives.

I’ve seen every single one of these at my local fish store for sale at one time or another. Arowanas too. People still believe the myth that fish only get as big as their tank though.

I agree that there should be more precaution around these fish, perhaps they should be marketed as pond fish for tropical areas only

I'd also add the common pleco to this list. They are in virtually every pet store. Pretty much every pet store I've seen them in claim they stay small, but they are capable of getting gigantic.

I know someone who could probably house an Arapaima, just in an enclosure he made out of an old above ground swimming pool that he built several large windows into and built a massive patio around. He's in a region that doesn't really get cold so the heating setup doesn't break the bank, but he's only interested in keeping a massive Koi school right now.

My dad once brought home a giant gourami and I can't remember what species of catfish, but it was big. Being a little kid the size of them scared me lol. He said that his friend was downsizing and selling his home and couldn't take his two fish and couldn't find anyone that could take them. Well he told my mum that it was an aquarium with two fish but didn't specify the size, so she was thinking like a meter long at max. Well we came home in the evening the day it was brought over and boy were we in for a shock. The tank was on the floor and almost up the ceiling and took up most of the dining room, like the tables and chairs had to be removed that's how big it was. No idea how they got it inside. It was a beautiful setup but my mum was understandably furious. The gourami was huge (so was the catfish) and they would both follow you and come right up to the glass because of them learning that it was humans that fed them. Apparently the catfish species was known to be tank busters and at night you would hear it, apparently it was how the fish used to pester the owner for extra food but it would worry my mum because even though the glass was apparently thick enough for the catfish not to bust through she always had the fear. Anyway my mum didn't want to keep them so we had them for a few months, she had never had fish like this and felt bad that she may not be caring for them properly (plus we didn't have a dining room anymore because of the size). She knew a guy who she knew was into large aquariums and was really into the hobby. She told him about the fish and he offered to let her see his set up and give tips on caring for them. She checked out his home and he already had huge aquariums and basically had his whole home dedicated to his fish. So she asked him if he would like the fish and the tank for free or if he knew anyone that would take them. He excitedly took them in thankfully, my mum said as long as he arranged pickup he could take them. I remember seeing how excited he was when he came to get them. He kept asking if she was sure she didn't want money for them because fish the size they were were usually quite expensive, as well as the huge tank. She said as long as they went to a good home and were looked after properly that's all she wanted in return. I was around 6-7 at the time and I know he still had them when I was a teenager. We saw them once and they seemed very happy and healthy. Thankfully these guys ended up with someone who could look after them, can't imagine all fish that grow to be large are as lucky though :/