Fishtank

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Fishtank, also known as fishtank.live, is an interactive gay dating show created by Sam Hyde and Jet Neptune. During its run, Fishtank is streamed online 24/7, allowing viewers to interact with contestants and the house in real time. Fishtank confines a number of contestants inside a house for 42 days (6 weeks) with only two rules: don't leave and don't smoke weed. The competition is unpredictable and humiliating challenges are conducted, while players endure constant manipulation from the staff, audience, and fellow contestants. As more fish are eliminated or choose to leave, the pressure is gradually raised until only one is left standing. This person wins the competition and takes home the prize.

The official website, www.fishtank.live, keeps all Fishtank content in a place that it is always accessible to Season Pass holders, without censorship. For more information on the Season Pass, see below.

Fishtank, the brand and series, is owned by Fishnet Inc. (formerly Bigg Topp Productionz LLC). After the live run of Season 1, they started a crowdfunding campaign through the platform WeFunder. The first round opened in October 2023 and investors raised $870,731 by its closure the following February.

In January 2025 the second round of investment opened on WeFunder alongside a roadmap for the show. Edited variants of Season 2, Vampire Bloodgames, and Season 3 were promised. Plans to launch season 4 and a "spaceship" in 2025 were also announced. The round was closed after one month with $495,861 raised by investors.

Season Chronology[edit]

List of Fishtank Seasons in Chronological Order with Dates
Season Broadcast Duration
(Live 24/7)
Edited Episodes
(Released Weekly)
Season 1 April 18 - May 30, 2023 (42 days) October 9 - December 18, 2023
Season 2 December 18, 2023 - January 28, 2024 (42 days) October 13, 2024 - October 27, 2024
(on hiatus until 2025)
Season 2.5 / Vampire Bloodgames June 25 - July 9, 2024 (14 days) N/A
Season 3 October 27, 2024 - December 7, 2024 (42 days) TBD

Series format[edit]

In Fishtank, contestants are placed in an isolated environment where they interact with each other in the absence of external stimuli (for example, a variation of "STAY INSIDE, NO WEED" is hung on the wall of the house). This creates an environment that is conducive to unfiltered, raw interactions between the contestants. The producers of the series, including Goldstriker (Sam's host persona), occasionally enter the house to make the contestants compete in challenges, some of which have stakes up to and including elimination.

As an interactive show, Fishtank offers viewers the opportunity to engage with the contestants through a variety of means, such as participating in polls, sending text-to-speech messages, or the use of items and "fishtoys": actions that physically interact with the tank or contestants, for example having the staff dump out a trash can in the house or the confiscation of a contestant's bed. All of these are possible through the spending of purchasable virtual tokens on the website.

Additionally, as contestants are eliminated and the numbers within the house thin, "freeloaders" are introduced to stay in the house temporarily to fill the void left by eliminated players, though they cannot win the grand prize. Some of these freeloaders are doppelgangers of other contestants, bearing close physical resemblance to them or having similar names, while others are more well-known Internet personalities, such as AirsoftFatty/Chris and comedian Alex Stein.

Seasons[edit]

Season 1 (Spring 2023)[edit]

Main page: Season 1

The first season of Fishtank was broadcast online in real time from April 18 - May 30, 2023. It featured eight contestants who stayed inside of the house.

Image Name Age Gender Place of origin Placement Elimination
Josie
Palmer
21 Female Arizona, U.S. 1st Winner ($35,000 prize)
Violetta
"Letty"
Palmer
23 Female Ontario, Canada 2nd Runner-up ($20,000 prize)
Vance
Latta
25 Male Auburn, Washington, U.S. 3rd Eliminated on May 25
Sylvia
Dream
23 Female Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. 4th Eliminated on May 18
Damiel
Bernaldo
27 Male San Francisco, California, U.S. 5th Eliminated on May 7
Jonathan
"Jon"
Curtis
24 Male Bend, Oregon, U.S. 6th Eliminated on May 3
Mauro
Cano
24 Male New Mexico, U.S. 7th Quit on April 26
Simmons
Zhu
29 Male Suzhou, China 8th Ejected on April 26

Season 2 (Winter 2023-24)[edit]

Main page: Season 2

The second season of Fishtank was broadcast online in real time from December 18, 2023 - January 28, 2024. It featured ten contestants inside of a 70s-themed house.

Image Name Age Gender Place of origin Placement Elimination
TJ 23 Male Coldwater, Michigan, U.S. 1st Winner ($50,000 prize)
Shinji
Kawasaki
23 Male Japan 2nd Runner-up ($20,000 prize)
Tayleigh 22 Female Stephenville, Texas, U.S. 3rd Eliminated on January 27
Trisha
Brielle
23 Female Ridgecrest, California, U.S. 4th Eliminated on January 22
Jimmy
Downey
27 Male Guilford, Vermont, U.S. 5th Ejected on January 9
Brian
Maloney
27 Male Mount Pleasant, Michigan, U.S. 6th Eliminated on January 4
Cole
Dennis
22 Male Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S. 7th Ejected on December 27
Megan 23 Female Sandusky, Ohio, U.S. 8th Quit on December 25
JC
Chiang
18 Female Oregon, U.S. 9th Quit on December 22
Summer
Pelkey
21 Female Kansas, U.S. 10th Ejected on December 22

Season 3 (Fall 2024)[edit]

Main page: Season 3

The third season of Fishtank was broadcast online in real-time from October 27 - December 7, 2024, and featured four major "acts". It featured twelve contestants in the upscale "Famous House". Fifteen new cast members were briefly brought on for the short-lived third act, detailed here.

Image Name Age

(During broadcast)

Gender Place of origin Placement Elimination
Burt
Appouh
35-36 Male New Jersey, U.S. 1st Winner
Bianca
"Binx"
Garcia
32 Female Miami, Florida, U.S. 2nd Runner-up
Payton
Bickerstaff
19-20 Female Tyler, Texas, U.S. 3rd Eliminated on December 1
Simbal
Karma
31 Male New York, U.S. 4th Eliminated on November 24
Marissa
"Mizzy"
Gill
29 Female Los Angeles, California, U.S. 5th Eliminated on November 22
Alexander
"Alex B"
Bernard
38 Male Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. 6th Quit on November 17
La'Ron
Sneed
27 Male Chicago, Illinois, U.S. 7th Quit on November 9
Alexis
Young
28 Female Saxton, Pennsylvania, U.S. 8th Quit on November 9
Stephanie
"Smaack"
Maack
32 Female Santa Cruz, California, U.S. 9th Quit on November 8
Ted 29 Male Pennsylvania, U.S. 10th Ejected on November 4
Ian 28 Male Hamlet, California, U.S. 11th Eliminated on November 2
Luke
Valentine
31 Male Weston, Florida, U.S. 12th Eliminated on October 31

Spinoffs[edit]

Vampire Bloodgames (Season 2.5, Summer 2024)[edit]

Running in between the second and third seasons, All-Stars Vampire Bloodgames features six returning contestants surviving outdoors. Unlike prior seasons Bloodgames featured heavy role-playing and game mechanics. It premiered on June 25, 2024 and ran for two weeks.

The Cell / Bitchtank (Summer 2024)[edit]

Two Fishtank spin-offs, The Cell and Bitchtank, premiered in July 2024, adjacent to Vampire Bloodgames.

Fishtank Streaming (Summer/Fall 2024)[edit]

A streamer hosting program on the Fishtank website that ran from August 26 - October 7, 2024, inviting associates of the show to host their own personal livestreams with access to Fishtank features and its audience.

The Fishtank (December 2024)[edit]

A livestream of a literal fish tank that ran from December 12, 2024 to December 17, 2024, adjacent to Season 3.

Virtual Cell (Winter 2024)[edit]

A livestream of virtual reaction of Bedroom 2 in Seasons 2.5-3 House, where users can fill it with virtual balls, premiered on December 17, 2024, adjacent to The Fishtank.

Stream Stars Championships (February 2025)[edit]

Season pass holders were allowed to stream directly to the site and compete for audience support/attention. It was an open call audition for season 4.

Season Pass[edit]

The Season Pass is how Fishtank is monetized. Although it is not needed to watch the cameras, the bi-annual 60 or 200 dollar subscription unlocks bonus cameras, the edited seasons, and access to the chat. During season 1, a season pass was needed to access the archival footage. [This section needs an update on the Season Pass and the archives system as of season 3.]

Subscription Tiers
Free Season Pass Season Pass XL
  • View chat
  • Watch clips
  • Basic cameras
  • Chat access
  • Bonus cameras
  • Edited Season Series
  • Save clips
  • Join Clans
  • 600 tokens
  • +10% Extra XP
  • 12 Slot Inventory
  • Chat access
  • Bonus cameras
  • Edited Season Series
  • Create Clans
  • 2200 tokens
  • +25% Extra XP
  • 15 Slot Inventory

Aesthetic, Features, and Interface[edit]

Season 1[edit]

The site's first iteration was marked by its simplistic and minimal appearance. Aesthetically it takes influence from surveillance art, web 2.0, and the deep web. Even the show's original concept can be traced back to "red rooms". An online urban legend, described as hidden websites that livestream the creation of snuff footage and allow users to pay a fee to spectate and/or participate.

The site layout holds three columns. The chat on the right, camera-grid in the center, and on the left a split section with settings/links above and the rooms listed below. The dreary red-green-yellow color pallet and a MS-DOS/Terminal style font, with analog sound effects (clicks, switches, static) were uniform elements, the same sitewide.

Selecting a one of the cameras from the grid expanded the feed to occupy the full middle section. Users could switch through cameras using the arrow keys, in-site arrow buttons, or by exiting full-screen and selecting the room name from navigation section. Any unavailable camera feeds were replaced with static noise until brought back on. Across the bottom of the page was a rolling ticker which was updated by production constantly. Sometimes it showed the current challenge/activity, the day count, or important announcements. It was also used to troll or joke with the audience.

Users profiles were basic and customization was limited to display name, profile bio, and a name color flair. There was no option for custom profile pictures but a small gallery available, some free and some costing tokens. There were no social features other than the chat.

Season 2[edit]

70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s 70s (repeated for spacing)

Season 3[edit]

The site continues Season 1's surveillance art, web 2.0, and the deep web influence, but expands on its simplistic and minimalist appearance.

The site layout consists of three columns: the chat on the right, the camera grid in the center, and a split section on the left that includes the inventory, missions, poll, and cameras above. There's an ad space near the bottom and links at the bottom of the left column. The site primarily uses a red-black-yellow palette but also incorporates other colors. Sound effects are limited to when you hover over the camera grid and when you close a window, producing static and an analog switch sound, respectively.

Selecting one of the cameras from the grid expands the feed to occupy the full middle section. Users can switch between cameras using the arrow keys, on-site arrow buttons, by exiting full-screen and selecting the room name from the camera grid, or by clicking on red zones leading to adjacent rooms. Any unavailable camera feeds are replaced with static noise until they are restored. Across the bottom of the page is a rolling ticker, reminiscent of a DOT-LED display, used by production to display site information.

Users profiles customization is limited to display name, profile bio, and a name color flair. There was no option for custom profile pictures but a small gallery available, some free and some costing tokens. Social features include chat and boards.fishnet.gg, a xitter-like site.

Gallery[edit]