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

[cavdad45]

For all the bad press, a Convict tank was a lot of fun. I actually had two nesting pairs that took up stations on opposite ends of a tunnel. They always watched the entry, but didnt care about the other pair behind them.  All in all, a fun, prolific breeding fish.

[Gannon]

On 11/1/2022 at 1:10 PM, Odd Duck said:

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.

Yup thought by green cories it was refering to corydoras splendens. 

On 11/1/2022 at 1:11 PM, Jazz Pizza said:

Most fun: Rainbowfish and Multies

 

Disappointed: Betta and Fancy Goldfish

my multis have also been quite fun! Trying to get more of their babies to survive atm!

On 11/1/2022 at 1:16 PM, cavdad45 said:

For all the bad press, a Convict tank was a lot of fun. I actually had two nesting pairs that took up stations on opposite ends of a tunnel. They always watched the entry, but didnt care about the other pair behind them.  All in all, a fun, prolific breeding fish.

My uncle just kept a pair of convicts when he went to college, said they were very fun.

[BlueLineAquaticsSC]

On 11/1/2022 at 12:29 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Impossible to breed though, which makes them too pricey!

I’ve been wanting to try these for a while now. From what I understand they can be breed, but only in a paladarium because the jump out of the water and lay eggs on leaves overhanging the water.

Bolivian Rams. Bought one to take care of guppy fry in a community tank. Never ate any fry, but quickly became my favorite fish in the tank, lots of fun to watch dig around.

[Mitch_ScruffyCityAquatics]

On 11/1/2022 at 12:24 PM, 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. 

These are Corydora aeneus and are the same species as Bronze. You see some are more bronze and some are more green. So the common names are reflective of their color. 

[Odd Duck]

Most fun has been cories of any kind.  Such busy little water puppies!  Also bristlenose plecos.  Bold for plecos, which as a group, are notorious for hiding.  Come in multiple colors that are very bright and beautiful, especially for plecos.  Great algae eaters and I’m pretty sure they’re keeping the nerite eggs cleaned off the wood and glass.  Come in stunning long-finned varieties.

Disappointed in pea puffers - I don’t like bullies.  They do have fascinating behavior, but I’m not sure it’s worth the extra hassle they bring.

Slightly disappointed in Kuhli loaches in my 100 G nano tank.  I think I’ve provided them with so much cover they don’t feel the need to do Kuhli zoomies, which I was soooo looking forward to seeing. Keeping Kuhlis “back in the day” it was usually only 1-3 in a small tank (ignorance is bliss) and I would see zoomies all the time.  Now I wonder if some of that was the fish’s way of trying to grab the attention of others to school with because they were lonely for others of their kind.  I’ve put 10 in the tank but have no idea how many are still in there. I’ve seen as many as 6, but they are quite successful at hiding.  I light them up regularly when I’m trying to check on my clown pleco that I’m still trying to figure out how to catch out of that tank so I can move him over with his new buddies he hasn’t yet met in the angelfish tank.

I’d be disappointed in clown plecos if I hadn’t been forewarned that I would probably never see him.  They certainly aren’t visible regularly like the BN.  If they were bolder, they would be immensely popular because they’re very pretty with gold and brown stripes/markings, stay small, and supposedly eat algae very well (I’ve never seen them do that because I rarely see them 🤷🏻‍♀️).  I’m hoping I might see them more often with a nice group in the angel tank.  So far I catch more glimpses of the ones in the angel tank but it’s not as heavily planted as the nano tank.

[AquaHobbyist123]

Well, I was disappointed with the Dwarf Gourami, but that was just because it died of DGD. I loved the fish itself, though it was a little mean. I was (and still am) pleasantly surprised with mystery snails. I don't exactly know why. but they are extremly fun to watch and more active than I'd expect of a snail.

Amen on the clown pleco, but I did know they were shy. They are beautiful, but every time I want to see it, I have to move my power filter because he always hides behind it.

On 11/1/2022 at 2:27 PM, Odd Duck said:

Most fun has been cories of any kind.  Such busy little water puppies!  Also bristlenose plecos.  Bold for plecos, which as a group, are notorious for hiding.  Come in multiple colors that are very bright and beautiful, especially for plecos.  Great algae eaters and I’m pretty sure they’re keeping the nerite eggs cleaned off the wood and glass.  Come in stunning long-finned varieties.

Disappointed in pea puffers - I don’t like bullies.  They do have fascinating behavior, but I’m not sure it’s worth the extra hassle they bring.

Slightly disappointed in Kuhli loaches in my 100 G nano tank.  I think I’ve provided them with so much cover they don’t feel the need to do Kuhli zoomies, which I was soooo looking forward to seeing. Keeping Kuhlis “back in the day” it was usually only 1-3 in a small tank (ignorance is bliss) and I would see zoomies all the time.  Now I wonder if some of that was the fish’s way of trying to grab the attention of others to school with because they were lonely for others of their kind.  I’ve put 10 in the tank but have no idea how many are still in there. I’ve seen as many as 6, but they are quite successful at hiding.  I light them up regularly when I’m trying to check on my clown pleco that I’m still trying to figure out how to catch out of that tank so I can move him over with his new buddies he hasn’t yet met in the angelfish tank.

I’d be disappointed in clown plecos if I hadn’t been forewarned that I would probably never see him.  They certainly aren’t visible regularly like the BN.  If they were bolder, they would be immensely popular because they’re very pretty with gold and brown stripes/markings, stay small, and supposedly eat algae very well (I’ve never seen them do that because I rarely see them 🤷🏻‍♀️).  I’m hoping I might see them more often with a nice group in the angel tank.  So far I catch more glimpses of the ones in the angel tank but it’s not as heavily planted as the nano tank.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 11/1/2022 at 2:11 PM, Jazz Pizza said:

Disappointed: Betta and Fancy Goldfish

Were these 2 disappointing due to the extra maintenance?

[SugarBassJoe]

The habrosus corys have been the biggest surprise recently, never kept corys before them, and i think i was expecting lethargic bottom feeders, but no, they're all over the tank, the best is when I find them up on the leaves of the plants, like the amazon sword or anubias's, its a how'd you get up there? feeling every time.

Biggest let down, I hate to say were a school of chili rasboras I had for a while, yes they were an amazing red, but they weren't as active as I hoped.

[mynameisnobody]

@Chick-In-Of-TheSea no not really. Goldie’s can get sick very easily and I simply never enjoy betta’s. I’ve had a few and it’s always very underwhelming. 

[anitstuk]

For me, I really loved keeping Cherry Shrimp.. They were so much more exciting than just 'algae cleaners'. They were more active than I anticipated and I'm looking forward to keeping them again. As for fish that didn't turn out as exciting as I thought they would be, I don't have one XD.  Every critter in my tanks make my day. 

[Henry the fish keeper]

Female platies 😐. Every time I get platies in a pair the female dies usually a couple weeks after I got her and the male lives much longer.

[Patrick_G]

Swordtails were a huge surprise for me. I bought a trio on a whim, but they’ve been really fun. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I picked up my first festivum a couple years ago not on a whim but to be somewhat contrary as everyone said I should get Angels as a centerpiece (I’ve got them now thanks to @Ken Burke). That led to me getting spikey feathers my favorite cichlid of all time. 

As an adult I’ve never been disappointed with fish. They constantly surprise me. Even the ones who aren’t exciting teach me something. As a kid I was disappointed with a Jack Dempsey cichlid my stepmom got me which killed all of my Mbuna. Of course this was a mistake and knowledge is power but it’s as close to disappointment in the hobby I’ve had.  

 

[nabokovfan87]

Awesome Surprise fish I've kept (not in order): Bolivian rams, white clouds, clown plecos, Red-Tailed Black Shark, Amano Shrimp
Clarification:  I expected some of these fish to be ones I enjoyed, but what I didn't expect was the personalities and the uniqueness on all of these species.  They all were and have been so enjoyable for me to keep.  It surprised me how personable a ram or RTBS can be.  I was in awe of how the white clouds were visually and I really enjoyed learning about them while I did keep them. Amanos are just fun for me and enjoyable. They always are doing something interesting and they bring the constant enjoyment when I sit and watch them do their thing.

But the most fun / enjoyable fish I've kept... it's always going to be any corydoras. They are just pure happiness in a tank when they are doing well.

Most disappointing:  Rasboras.  They just didn't do well for me and I really didn't understand enough of what was going on at the time.  I might try them again one day, but it's the type of thing where small fish like that can so easily get bloat and get constipation issues leading to bigger issues.  I tried so hard to give them the right foods and I never sorted out what was the solution to the issue.

[smm333]

I haven't had any real disappointments with fish. I am absolutely enamored with my honey gourami, Mil. I love the way she moves- very small and graceful movements.  She's also gone from shy to very interested in me. She let's me watch her and swims to me for food. She's great!

[drewzero1]

It's always my goal to do enough research that I'm not surprised by a fish, though a few have slipped through. Most recent example was probably the sparkling gourami, which seemed too small and too shy to be attractive...until I saw one in person and couldn't ignore the glistening fin spots and piercing blue eyes. It became the centerpiece of my office nano tank where I really got to know it over the following months. I loved the way it hid inside its little rock cave, then would come out to inspect everything cautiously but deliberately.

There's something about the way a small gourami looks at a large snail that gets me every time. I couldn't find a picture of my sparkler doing it, but here's one of my dad's honeys checking out a nerite:

[Ken Burke]

On 11/1/2022 at 6:32 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

I picked up my first festivum a couple years ago not on a whim but to be somewhat contrary as everyone said I should get Angels as a centerpiece (I’ve got them now thanks to @Ken Burke). That led to me getting spikey feathers my favorite cichlid of all time. 

As an adult I’ve never been disappointed with fish. They constantly surprise me. Even the ones who aren’t exciting teach me something. As a kid I was disappointed with a Jack Dempsey cichlid my stepmom got me which killed all of my Mbuna. Of course this was a mistake and knowledge is power but it’s as close to disappointment in the hobby I’ve had.  

 

They look like they are doing so well!  

[B7gwap]

I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy watching the neighborhood like antics of Neolamprologous Caudopunctuatus and Julidochromis Transcriptus Gombe. My colony is just starting, so watching the males choose a shell to defend, with their courting behavior, is a lot of fun, as well as the Julies being little cave dwelling torpedos. I get it now. I don’t know why it took me so long to try out African cichlids. 
 

Second the Bolivian Ram. It’s like having miniature geophagus in your community. 
 

black neon tetras. Such a great looking school when healthy. 
 

im only ever disappointed when I’m not a good enough fish keeper to keep my critters alive and happy. 😕

[Luciferkrist]

My most surprisingly enjoyable fish I have ever had was a raphael catfish - he was in my very first tank, and lived through ALL of my growing pains as a fishkeeper, including forgetting to put the lid back on. I found him in the morning croaking on the floor! He eventually gave up the ghost when I was away on a vacation and had my heater break. =(.

My most disappointing fish so far has had to be my ropefish... at first he was pretty cool, but now all it does is hide in my filters.

[TheSwissAquarist]

On 11/1/2022 at 7:23 PM, BlueLineAquaticsSC said:

I’ve been wanting to try these for a while now. From what I understand they can be breed, but only in a paladarium because the jump out of the water and lay eggs on leaves overhanging the water.

I think you mean splash tetras 😉

[BlueLineAquaticsSC]

On 11/2/2022 at 1:56 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

I think you mean splash tetras 😉

Yes I did, must of lost track of the thread there

[The endler guy]

I’ll throw in my most disappointing plant, Java fern I just can’t grow it! All fish are awesome to me though!

[Gannon]

It was awesome to read all your responses this morning! I even ran out of reactions to give. 

[Ruud]

I have always been a South American fish guy - literally never eying anything African or Asian. Until, when I restarted the hobby after moving to Spain, my girlfriend talked me into a pair of Dwarf Gourami's while in the fish shop. They looked stunning, the male being bright blue. And I really like them, they are so lively and happy in my 100 Liter community tank!

[Comradovich]

Pitbull plecos, (Parotocinclus Jumbo). Got it for cleaning up the 10G. I was always watching them work their way across a surface. Or cleaning the gravel. Once they got comfortable being watched it was a "What's it doing now?" fish. There's something comforting about an ugly fish that you can watch working hard.

Worst: Bristlenose Plecos. Thought I would enjoy these after the pitbulls. Little bigger, but man did they destroy my plantings. Constantly uprooting things, always facing off with each other for anything cave-like. Got rid of them all one weekend to keep my sanity. I know people love these, but I just can't deal with them.