What are your top 5 fish?

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

They all have their quirks but I think the pea puffers were probably the  puffer that Ive kept which ate most everything I fed them and could be housed in a smaller tank.

I dont run puffers with other fish normally but I would guess the spotted congo would be worth a look. They can generally be housed with other fish. My group of 4 puffers  had a few baby limia vitatta that hitched a eide on snails with them before i netted them back out. 

They are all fun for me though

[Peaceful Fish]

Odessa  barb

Neon rainbow 

White Cloud

Cherry barb

Reticulated Hillstream loach

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Pea Puffers have been generally pretty easy for me. I keep 6 in a 29 gallon. They eat frozen bloodworms, pond snails, and Ramshorn snails. They do not have teeth that constantly grow so no need to worry about ever having to trim their teeth. Overall, they’ve been pretty easy in my experience. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

Red eye red tail puffer or the irrubesco puffer, gorgeous color, big/pig personalities!

Loaches-whether kuhli or golden dojo there’s nothing like a loach. Here’s my dwarf chain loaches. 

3. Cherry barbs - males are spectacular but the females are pretty handsome, without females the males look more washed out. 
 

4. Corys - present love affair is with the understated but beautiful Orange Venezuelan corys which have the same colors as an eques at a huge discount. 
 

5. L397 plecos, I’ve been in love with them for decades and have had them 2 x now. Expensive but worth it! 

[Dork Fish]

@mountaintoppufferkeeper Those puffers look really cool! I will have to look into their care 🙂

@Beardedbillygoat1975 A puffer! 🙂Also that is a very nice pleco. Is that an aquatic frog?!?!

[Dork Fish]

@mountaintoppufferkeeper Looks like they are bracksih 😢 fish. Almost perfect little puffer.

[Ninjoma]

My top 5 in no particular order. 

1. Swordtails

I like livebearers because they are easy to care for, kind, active and easy to breed. I think I like swordtails the most because they are some of the bigger ones and I like that the males and females are distinct, but both are very colorful. 

2. Pearl gourami 

I find their faces with their upturned mouths extremely cute. I also find their shyness endearing. They are one of the biggest fish in my tank, but get spooked the easiest. 

3. Angelfish

I love how big, kind, colorful and derpy they are. Their body shape is also very unique and amusimg to watch when they are eating. 

4. Rainbow shark

I find them very elegant and beautiful looking. They also feel like a guard dog who protrol the area and protect the other fish. 

5. German blue rams

I my opinion these are the most beautiful all of fish. I love their vibrant colors. 

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

On 7/8/2023 at 8:45 PM, Dork Fish said:

@mountaintoppufferkeeper Those puffers look really cool! I will have to look into their care 🙂

@Beardedbillygoat1975 A puffer! 🙂Also that is a very nice pleco. Is that an aquatic frog?!?!

@Dork Fish i believe the green spotted is brackish i meant to say the spotted congo which is freshwater. This is my go to website for learning about them.  https://www.spottedcongopuffer.com/

 

[Dork Fish]

@Ninjoma I love that morph of angel fish! My wife also wants one that looks just like that.

 

@mountaintoppufferkeeper Thank you! I will look around on there and see what there care requirements are 🙂 My kids are completely convinced that they need a puffer also LOL

[Littlefish]

On 7/8/2023 at 12:44 PM, Dork Fish said:

My 75g tank is not set up yet, but my top 5 fish would be:

1) Puffers in general LOL I am not sure if I will ever own one but they are so cool to watch 🙂 If I did get one it night be pea puffers (or another species that doesn't need shells) @mountaintoppufferkeeper Let me know if pea puffers are easy-ish to keep lol

2) Either a L177 Gold Nugget Pleco or L260 Queen Arabesque Pleco (stunning patterns):

3) Peacock Eel (I mean it is an eel...):


4) Hillstream Loaches (look kinda like baby stingrays 🙂😞

 

5) Ropefish (I love snakes so...)

6) Honorable mentions (technically not fish but that's okay LOL):

-Shrimp and Crayfish (love the variation of color and movement that they add to a tank)

Just something to think about, I had to shut down my planted 75g due to ALL my cuc being eaten by my pea puffer. Took over a year, but even large snails eaten a bit at a time, amanos eventually on 3, then 2, then no legs.  The only thing he didn't bother was a large SAE which became such a bully I traded him in.  Heavy input bcs of angelfish caused out of control algea after the cuc were murdered.

A different style of tank would have been better suited.

[mynameisnobody]

1- all Rainbowfish, minus blue eyes 

2- all Geophagus

3- Wakin Goldfish

4- Flowerhorn

5- High Fin Platies, high quality. I’d rather pay more money for the quality than what you find in most stores or online shops. 

[DaniV]

1. Harlequin Rasboras: I've got a group of 6 together, and it's fun watching them swim together.  Love the bronze coloring they have too, helps them pop a bit in my tank.
2. Mollies: Right now I only have Dalmatian Mollies, but I intend on trying out different Mollies in the future.  When they had their Dalmatian coloring (in my avatar), they were gorgeous, but now they've completely lost the white.  Still fun to watch, they have adorable personalities.
3. Red Wag Swordtails: They look cool, plain and simple.  I am getting a kick out of watching the fry grow, can't wait to see them fully mature!
4. Betta: Have a blue veiltail with red tips at the tail that looks cool, and is very chill in his community tank.  I always swing by the betta shelves whenever I go to the LFS, just to check out the wide variety of colors and types that are out there.
5. Corydoras: Have a pair of peppered corys and they're a hoot to watch.  Whenever they swim up to get their little gulp of air, they like to chill in the floating Watersprite.

[anewbie]

I don't really have 5 favorites but some fishes i've kept that i like a lot for various reasons ranging from looks to behavior to this or that include:

L208 (one of 100s of interesting pleco)

 

Eques Cory (Sterbai tend to be a bit shy as are aeneus (orange laser, green laser, ...) but these guys are not - of course they are easily upstaged by 40 pygmy cory.... but that is a whole flock and you didn't ask for flocks)

Gold Rams (just plain attractive; though borelli are nice and more robust as are a dozen other species of dwarf cichild many more spectacular)

Clown Loaches (best in a large group in huge aquarium)

Nannacara anomala- not the prettiest fish but has that special behavior that makes you want to watch them for hours

And i guess special mention to domestic angelfishes - the adults never get along e no matter how tightly you cross your fingers but as youngsters they got it all.

There are a couple of less common fishes i've kept but not much reason to mention them. I guess two fishes i always end up with no matter how much i try to avoid them are cardinal tetra and serpae tetra as well as kubotai rasbora but that doesn't mean they are my favorite. It just mean they won't stay away. Then again i have more guppies than any other species - and the more i try to get rid of them the more i end up with. I was going to post some pictures but i haven't really mentioned any thing unique or interesting so ...

--

I've never been a big fan of discus - though they have the advantage of being tamer than angels. One of the reason is their special requirement esp as it relates to temp and plants but another is i never found them that interesting. I suppose if i could keep them at 78 or 80 i might try them one day but at 86 it create limited options.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2023 by anewbie

[Dork Fish]

@Littlefish Yeah I am considering a spotted congo puffer at some point down the line thanks to @mountaintoppufferkeeper LOL

@mynameisnobody I find the geophagus to be interesting

@DaniV Yeah I am thinking about getting some swordtails, very interesting looking fish

@anewbie Did you see @Fish Folk Ram breeding project earlier in the thread? Absolutely gorgeous fish.

[Jeff]

Discus

Rummynose Tetra

Reticulated Hillstream Loach

Celestial Pearl Danio

Lamp Eye Congo Tetra

Edited July 10, 2023 by Jeff

[Dork Fish]

@Jeff I have never seen a "Lamp Eye Congo Tetra" before, very cool 🙂

[Jeff]

@Dork Fish

[Lillypad]

My favorite fish are:

1. Bettas - colorful and smart

2. Axolotls - I know, not a fish, but definitely cool!

3. Apistogramma - cool behaviors, don’t have a picture of mine though:(

4. Cory Catfish - unique behavior/I don’t have photos, but I keep bronze cories, and have had peppered and panda cories before.

5. Dwarf Pea Puffers - not very hardy, but otherwise super cool and interactive.

[Dork Fish]

@Lillypad more puffers! and our first axolotl on the list 🙂

[beastie]

On 7/8/2023 at 5:49 PM, JChristophersAdventures said:

Hatchet fish (in general)

Do you have any tips for people keeping them? For me they are more trouble than worth so I am just checking if I am doing something wrong 🙂

[JChristophersAdventures]

@beastieKeep in mind, my experience is with the larger silver hatchets, which are arguably the hardiest of the bunch (and the most common). I have noticed that this type of fish in general seems to be much less hardy now, than it was in the 90s when I last kept them. I would first recommend getting them from the best source possible, meaning the healthiest ones you can find... to my knowledge right now that means getting them from Dan's Fish. He doesn't let them ship until they are looking really good.

Not saying other places aren't any good, just that when you know its a challenge why not make it as easy on yourself as possible.

I think a lot of folks worry about trying to get the "ideal" conditions and parameters for their fish, but I wouldn't as long as they were carefully and slowly acclimated to their environment, and as long as it is somewhere inside their general range, they usually do just fine. Most people are trying to keep them in a community tank, but very few people do adequate research on the fish they end up putting together.

I simply write down all the species I would like to keep together and before I do anything else (determine numbers, compatibility, size, etc... I chart their range of parameters that they can thrive in (PH, temp, KH, GH, flow rates, etc). It just makes good sense that these parameters must intersect before is possible to keep them all together, whether they get along or not. They can all be community fish, but if their ranges are too divergent, then its a no go. Bare with me and I will get to the hatchet fish specifically.

Now, all of this may seem obvious to most fish keepers, however, here's the kicker... the smaller the intersection between the parameters of 2 specific species, the more difficult it will be to keep them all happy. Let's say one likes a PH of 6.0-7.0 and the other likes 7.0-8.0... yes you can keep them together, but you had better make sure that tank is very stable. A drop (even relatively slowly) to 6.5 and the first fish thinks little of it, while the second fish gets sick and eventually dies, or vise-versa if it jumps from 7.0 up to 7.5.

Here's where it really comes into play with the Hatchet from my experience. And yes, all the standard advice applies... make sure they don't get out competed by more aggressive eaters, make sure they like their food and it is quality. Make sure you have a tight/well fitting lid (they are jumpers), steady water parameters (don't push them to the limits of their range if you can help it)... all that standard stuff applies...

But, the most important thing I have found that is often ignored is "flow rate"... but, it isn't just a matter of fast or slow... they want both. They like (really must) have access to a calm surface area that is somewhat open, and yet they like that area to be surrounded by plants (floaters usually, although I suppose tall stem plants that reach the surface are good, too... except if they get trimmed... they wouldn't like that)... they are big on feeling secure (think of them as though they were a gourami (labyrinth fish), even though they are not, hovering below the calm surface.

Most gourami are largely top third dwellers that like slow flow most of the time, but hatchets also like fast flow when they feel like it and if given both types of areas, they will travel back and forth, and even hover at the edge of the stronger flow at a favorite spot of their choosing... finding just the right amount of flow that they like. If they can go back and forth as they choose, that seems to keep them at their healthiest. So, what does this mean for a setup that is really successful?

This is just my experience, but I really like tanks that start at 55 gallons and up. Why? One reason is that its the smallest size where you can easily have low flow and high flow areas without going to a lot of trouble.  This is because, as much as I like sponge filters for breeding and low flow situations, you need a canister, power head or hang-on-the-back to create high flow.  When you add these to a smaller tank, you tend to end up with high flow everywhere. Yes, you can create both flows rates in smaller tanks with added barriers, but it is more trouble/work... and depending on what those barriers are, it might not look so great if it is a display tank.

I've rambled on long enough. Hope that was helpful (or at least entertaining). Thanks.

Edited July 10, 2023 by JChristophersAdventures

[Dork Fish]

Does anyone have an African Butterfly Fish (Pantodon buchholzi)? If so, what has been your experience with them?