What fish was more fun to keep than you expected and what fish was disappointing?

[Gannon]

For me, denison barbs and my electric blue acara were my biggest suprises in my hobby. Both are my favorite fish to watch interact with their environment. They're wonderful big fish that very inentionally swim around and inspect everything and its very entertaining to watch. Denison barbs are also the best schoolers I've ever kept with periods where they stick together incredibly tightly. Plus both have some of the best coloration fish in the hobby have to offer. 

The most disappointing fish for me were boesmani rainbows and sparkling gouramis. Sparkling gouramis were really cool at times, but most of the time were very territorial despite the densely planted tank. I'm just not one who likes watching fish that don't get along it makes me feel guilty. My bosemani rainbows over a year never became all that brilliant in coloration and were not terribly interesting to watch. Maybe they just weren't a good fit for my tank. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Gannon

[Mitch_ScruffyCityAquatics]

Green Cories. They looked so plain in comparison to many of the other species that I almost didn’t take some freebies. 
 

I am very glad I did! They are always busy in the tank, a lot of fun to watch, and I’ve been able to raise up fry. 

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:06 AM, Mitch_ScruffyCityAquatics said:

Green Cories. They looked so plain in comparison to many of the other species that I almost didn’t take some freebies. 
 

I am very glad I did! They are always busy in the tank, a lot of fun to watch, and I’ve been able to raise up fry. 

Are these the ones that get very large and used to be labeled as brochis?

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/1/2022 at 4:54 PM, Gannon said:

For me, denison barbs and my electric blue acara were my biggest suprises in my hobby. Both are my favorite fish to watch interact with their environment. They're wonderful big fish that very inentionally swim around and inspect everything and its very entertaining to watch. Denison barbs are also the best schoolers I've ever kept with periods where they stick together incredibly tightly. Plus both have some of the best coloration fish in the hobby have to offer. 

The most disappointing fish for me were boesmani rainbows and sparkling gouramis. Sparkling gouramis were really cool at times, but most of the time were very territorial despite the densely planted tank. I'm just not one who likes watching fish that don't get along it makes me feel guilty. My bosemani rainbows over a year never became all that brilliant in coloration and were not terribly interesting to watch. Maybe they just weren't a good fit for my tank. 

I'd say that splash tetras are the most fun things I've kept, and I was expecting them to be kinda boring, like the glass sharks I used to keep. Looked cool, didn't do much else!

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:15 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

I'd say that splash tetras are the most fun things I've kept, and I was expecting them to be kinda boring, like the glass sharks I used to keep. Looked cool, didn't do much else!

never heard of either of these! Are splash tetras some kind of killifish, they look so much like those. And i don't know what glass sharks look like, it is a hard one to google haha. I just get pictures of glass shark statues and sharks in glass aquariums. 

[Mitch_ScruffyCityAquatics]

On 11/1/2022 at 12:10 PM, Gannon said:

Are these the ones that get very large and used to be labeled as brochis?

I don’t believe so. This is my largest female. 3” or so. 

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:20 AM, Mitch_ScruffyCityAquatics said:

I don’t believe so. This is my largest female. 3” or so. 

I might be mistaken but I think this is a bronze cory! Different from what I was thinking of and I do prefer the look of these. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/1/2022 at 5:19 PM, Gannon said:

never heard of either of these! Are splash tetras some kind of killifish, they look so much like those. And i don't know what glass sharks look like, it is a hard one to google haha. I just get pictures of glass shark statues and sharks in glass aquariums. 

No they aren't killis (I've yet to keep some...maybe in the new year??)

And glass sharks are of the Kryptopterus genus

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:26 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

No they aren't killis (I've yet to keep some...maybe in the new year??)

And glass sharks are of the Kryptopterus genus

Ah i have seen those then. Very cool

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/1/2022 at 5:26 PM, Gannon said:

Ah i have seen those then. Very cool

Impossible to breed though, which makes them too pricey!

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:29 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Impossible to breed though, which makes them too pricey!

I've spent too much on archerfish and denison barbs in the last year, I know all too well. My wallet would be struggling if I wasn't so careful spending everywhere else. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Gannon

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/1/2022 at 5:32 PM, Gannon said:

I've spent too much on archerfish and denison barbs in the last year, I know all too well. My wallet would be struggling if I wasn't so careful spending everywhere else. 

Was it worth it though?

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:34 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Was it worth it though?

Oh for sure. Archerfish are such an interesting fish to keep, if a little stressful. They are easily spooked so you have to be careful not to startle them. And denison barbs are the best schooling fish ever, at least in my tank. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/1/2022 at 5:35 PM, Gannon said:

Oh for sure. Archerfish are such an interesting fish to keep, if a little stressful. They are easily spooked so you have to be careful not to startle them. And denison barbs are the best schooling fish ever, at least in my tank. 

I would really love to do an archerfish tank one day...it would just be so much fun!

Any pics going?

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:37 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

I would really love to do an archerfish tank one day...it would just be so much fun!

Any pics going?

Here is my biggest

I also have one of these archerfish that when he gets a minor injury or loses a scale he gets a bit of swelling tissue. Its very odd and scared me a lot the first couple times but turns out to be just fine. I speculate some kind of granulation? Weirds me out that it's only the one individual fish of the bunch. Deep in my post history you can see one of the first times I ran into that and was very concerned. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Gannon

[mynameisnobody]

@Gannon depending on where you purchased your boesmani from will depend on how it turns out. The “aquarium strain” of this species can be very lackluster. However, if you can locate reputable breeders to buy from or if you can locate locale’s like Aves Creek, Lake Ajamaru, Aytinjo, etc. Good luck

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:48 AM, Jazz Pizza said:

@Gannon depending on where you purchased your boesmani from will depend on how it turns out. The “aquarium strain” of this species can be very lackluster. However, if you can locate reputable breeders to buy from or if you can locate locale’s like Aves Creek, Lake Ajamaru, Aytinjo, etc. Good luck

I figured it would be something like this. Yeah I'll get some better quality ones next time thanks for the heads up! Any idea as to why the commonly traded strains of this species are so lackluster?

[mynameisnobody]

@Gannon Unfortunately fish farms contribute to this simply because they don’t cull their lackluster fish. From my understanding, it’s basically a free for all, hence so much hybridization. I’m usually pretty casual about where I get my fish (no big box stores, usually aquabid and other breeders), but with rainbows I am a purist. They are expensive and the pay off can be breathtaking or the underwhelming feeling you received. Whenever you’d like to purchase some great rainbows, feel free to PM me and I can possibly guide you in the right direction. I don’t sell or breed them, I’ve just done a ton of research on the subject is all. 

[Fish Folk]

Siamese Algae Eaters. Got a group for . . . eating algae . . . but they're hilarious. Plus they get along fine with Discus!

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/1/2022 at 5:57 PM, Fish Folk said:

Siamese Algae Eaters. Got a group for . . . eating algae . . . but they're hilarious. Plus they get along fine with Discus!

Can't get enough pics of that tank😍

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Most rewarding was mbunas. They bred and they were carrying their babies around in their mouths.  It was cool looking into their mouths and seeing all the little eyeballs peeking out.  

Most disappointing was ghost shrimp.  Couldn't see them. Never knew where they went or what happened to them (??)

On 11/1/2022 at 12:57 PM, Fish Folk said:

Siamese Algae Eaters. Got a group for . . . eating algae . . . but they're hilarious. Plus they get along fine with Discus!

Tagging @sweetpoison on this photo - she loves discus.

Beautiful fish, @Fish Folk! 😍

Edited November 1, 2022 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[eatyourpeas]

Most fun: Chinese Algae Eater and Pea Puffer. They are both very playful and act like puppies.

Most disappointing: Kuhli Loach (never see it, but see the dead Pygmy cories after being injured by its big whacks), and CPDs, too aggressive.

[Odd Duck]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:24 AM, Gannon said:

I might be mistaken but I think this is a bronze cory! Different from what I was thinking of and I do prefer the look of these. 

Same cory, Corydoras aeneus, different common name.  One of the more prolific and easy to coax into breeding species.  Cool water change, especially with a weather front coming through within a day or 2, and you’re almost guaranteed cory eggs.  No water change, random zoomies = cory eggs.  Weather change = cory eggs.  Food - cory eggs - well, seems like it sometimes.  My group in my 100 gallon nano tank are very prolific egg layers and if I didn’t have egg eaters in there I would be overrun with bronze cories.  Beautiful cory and definitely a very busy species - much busier than my other species of cory, even the trilineatus in the same tank.  The tri’s are typical “cory busy” but never quite as much as the bronzes even though they hang out together in the tank.

You’re probably thinking of emerald cories, Corydoras splendens, used to be Brochis splendens.  The easiest, most reliable way I know to tell them apart is the higher dorsal fin ray count on splendens.  Aeneus have less than 10 rays (7-9) and splendens have more than 10 (10-12).  It’s easy to spot once you’ve counted a couple times.  Plus splendens have a longer, flatter face/head and aeneus have a much rounder looking face - they don’t look stubby like the short-faced families, but they also don’t look “long” like splendens look.

[mynameisnobody]

Most fun: Rainbowfish and Multies

 

Disappointed: Betta and Fancy Goldfish

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 11:57 AM, Fish Folk said:

Siamese Algae Eaters. Got a group for . . . eating algae . . . but they're hilarious. Plus they get along fine with Discus!

I wonder if siamese algae eaters would get along with denison barbs, ive heard mixed things on this. Would like to get 1-2 for my minimal BBA in my 125. 

On 11/1/2022 at 11:52 AM, Jazz Pizza said:

@Gannon Unfortunately fish farms contribute to this simply because they don’t cull their lackluster fish. From my understanding, it’s basically a free for all, hence so much hybridization. I’m usually pretty casual about where I get my fish (no big box stores, usually aquabid and other breeders), but with rainbows I am a purist. They are expensive and the pay off can be breathtaking or the underwhelming feeling you received. Whenever you’d like to purchase some great rainbows, feel free to PM me and I can possibly guide you in the right direction. I don’t sell or breed them, I’ve just done a ton of research on the subject is all. 

Makes sense. I don't have room for any rainbows atm, but if and when I do and don't know where to look ill certainly ask you!