DaveSamsell Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 If you had to pick only one type of fish to keep, what would it be and why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 (edited) Discus, because they are super social amongst themselves. Discus politics are byzantine, oh the double dealing, the back stabbing. I never get tired of watching the ever shifting pecking order of a group of a dozen discus. Edited July 24, 2020 by Daniel verb problems 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestJenn Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 I'm tempted to say Zebra Danios. They were my first fish and I was completely smitten with them. But I'm actually going to go with Cleithracara maronii (Keyhole Cichlids). I had a pair in my very first tank, a 29 gallon, with danios and a handful of corydoras. They kept trying to breed but I think I think we kept spooking them. We were in a small apartment at the time so we were constantly walking by the tank. I'd love to have a big enough tank to keep a group of them. I think that's why I keep mulling over adding some Laetacara curviceps (Dwarf flag cichlid) to the 40 gallon once the tank has matured. They're in the same tribe but stay a little smaller. I'm not sure if they would be happy just as a pair in a 40 gallon or if I could keep a group or if I would have to stick to just a single specimen. Then again, I'm happy watching my the tank with just the black neon tetras and the panda corydoras so maybe I should just leave well enough alone. Wait! How could I have an aquarium without corydoras? But then you HAVE to have something in the upper levels, right? How do you just pick one? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveSamsell Posted July 24, 2020 Author Share Posted July 24, 2020 19 minutes ago, ForestJenn said: I'm tempted to say Zebra Danios. They were my first fish and I was completely smitten with them. But I'm actually going to go with Cleithracara maronii (Keyhole Cichlids). I had a pair in my very first tank, a 29 gallon, with danios and a handful of corydoras. They kept trying to breed but I think I think we kept spooking them. We were in a small apartment at the time so we were constantly walking by the tank. I'd love to have a big enough tank to keep a group of them. I think that's why I keep mulling over adding some Laetacara curviceps (Dwarf flag cichlid) to the 40 gallon once the tank has matured. They're in the same tribe but stay a little smaller. I'm not sure if they would be happy just as a pair in a 40 gallon or if I could keep a group or if I would have to stick to just a single specimen. Then again, I'm happy watching my the tank with just the black neon tetras and the panda corydoras so maybe I should just leave well enough alone. Wait! How could I have an aquarium without corydoras? But then you HAVE to have something in the upper levels, right? How do you just pick one? I think Zebra Danios are very underrated. A lot of the time, they are labeled a " beginner fish ". Truthfully, they are extremely active and for sure great fun to watch. Mine are always zipping around the aquarium, chasing each other. 🐟 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishoutawater Posted July 24, 2020 Share Posted July 24, 2020 it would be one of 2 for me. if i had room oscars without doubt and in a smaller space bettas with preference to the oscars. i just find those two to be the most personable of the species ive owned. never in 20 years have i not owned a bristlenose of some sort so it would be hard not to have them but if it was 1 and one only they just dont interact with me enough to make the cut. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frost Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 I think I would pick Bettas and go overboard with Betta racks, I kind of want to do that anyway. If I can get away with saying the general gourami family of fish then even better. I haven't gotten enough of them in about a decade now and I don't think I could ever get tired of them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Guppies. I like other fish, I really do, but nothing seems so happy as a guppy, and they fill almost all the roles in a tank. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bm3aquatic Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 What a great question! I am fascinated with Stiphodon gobies. They are really interesting but there isn’t a lot of information on them. I have five dwarf gobies and one larger one, I love the way they swim and when they all hang out together. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenP2003 Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Brandy said: Guppies. I like other fish, I really do, but nothing seems so happy as a guppy, and they fill almost all the roles in a tank. Agreed. It would be a difficult choice, but at this point I'd end up choosing guppies. Maybe it'll change as I get more advanced. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryC Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 Mollies! They're hardy, colorful and easy to breed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queebs_aquatics Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 I would have to pick Harlequin Rasboras! Love the way they school around!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RovingGinger Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 10 hours ago, Brandy said: Guppies. I like other fish, I really do, but nothing seems so happy as a guppy, and they fill almost all the roles in a tank. Same. The variety you get is awesome and they just always seem so active and happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted July 25, 2020 Administrators Share Posted July 25, 2020 I'd choose guppies for sure 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chandra Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 I choose guppies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow_Arbor Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 For me it would be Cambarellus sp. (dwarf crayfish). Fantastic little critters, get along really well with planted tanks compared to other crayfish species. They're a ton of fun in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FinalFins Posted July 25, 2020 Share Posted July 25, 2020 (edited) Problem is I have several fish on my bucket list- Sphaerichthys spp. Laetacara araguaie Trichogaster fasciata Trichopsis schalleri/vittata Wild Discus Leopoldi Angelfish Parasphaerichthys lineatus Shoudenti pufferfish Pseudosphromenus dayi These are just the main ones, I have at least a dozen more obscure species on the list. Half of the list I can't even remember. As you can tell I'm sort of a gourami nerd. Recently dragged into the wild world of gouramis. But my love for cichlids prevails and I think I would love to have a collection of wild discus. Green discus to be exact. Tis' shame that some of the top wild discus exporters are no longer in buisness. The reason I prefer wild discus is because the domestic strains look so much manufactured nowadays. People trying to make them bigger, bulkier, XL size. I prefer the natural coloration and it has its own beauty in its own way. Edited July 25, 2020 by FinalFins More info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BQuick Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 On 7/16/2020 at 8:12 AM, tfwvusa said: I have PTSD and I just got the hobbies taken away from me due to repetitive motition injury which I now have to have surgery for that I used to cope with my anxiety so now I sit with 3 tanks one of which is my Betta that sits next to me and interacts with me all day. It's very therapeutic. On 7/15/2020 at 10:27 PM, Dmmurray said: Absolutely! I am disabled, and went from being a runner, weight lifter, wood cutter, and many other activities in my life. Now, I can't walk much, and must take breaks from chores often. All the fish have given me such joy, and entertainment, while keeping my mind off the pain, and what I cannot do anymore. I hope I am creating a good life for them, as well. Cory, and aquarium co op, have been the reason that I feel I can do this at all. On 7/15/2020 at 1:36 PM, Bill Smith said: Thanks Daniel, unfortunately, for me, this one fails the wife test. Live brine: yes. Live worms: no. 23 hours ago, Frost said: I think I would pick Bettas and go overboard with Betta racks, I kind of want to do that anyway. If I can get away with saying the general gourami family of fish then even better. I haven't gotten enough of them in about a decade now and I don't think I could ever get tired of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BQuick Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 I will have to go with Endlers. I like the color options as well as the fin variety. They also do well in the smaller tanks i am limited to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shkote Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 I would choose guppies as well. If I had to pick just one. 20+ tanks at the moment and 20 years of keeping fish and guppies still occupy at least 5 of them at any given time, and have always had a place in my fishroom, I always come back to them. Water puppies for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanlefan Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 Probably bettas. I'm currently enamored with alien bettas in particular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elquinjena Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 I just love betta's and how they learn to interact with you.They are also oh so pretty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 8 hours ago, Elquinjena said: I just love betta's and how they learn to interact with you.They are also oh so pretty. I love watching the entire betta breeding process. Building bubble nests, recruiting females to come over to the nest. And then whoa! Watching a male clasping and then rotating the ripe female who seems to go unconscious and float to the surface at the moment of egg release! And then the male, good dad that he is, meticulously hunts down each egg and carefully takes the egg(s) in his mouth and then spits them into the bubble nest. What a show! But wait, there's more. Being the good dad, he shepherds and protects the fry for a few days until they are big enough to leave the nest. It is only when the wanderlust of another female betta beauty catches his fancy does he finally abandon his post. Plus like guppies, the fry grow quickly and take baby brine shrimp soon after becoming free swimming. And like guppy genetics, you get colors of all kinds and you can develop your own strain in a handful of generations. The biggest drawback though is because bettas are so tough and prolific, they can be like oxycontin. Without some self-control on your part, that pair bettas can become hundreds of bettas before you know it. I could be talked out of those high maintenance, stuck-up discus and be pulled back into betta world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H.K.Luterman Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 I'm kind of obsessed with my featherfin catfish, and daydream of a giant tank filled with them. Even though I know that livebearers would be a more logical, long term project, I just love catfish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beaka Posted July 26, 2020 Share Posted July 26, 2020 I would pick Gouramis, specifically the Honey Dwarf. I just think they are so pretty, and they're like water puppies, always coming to check your hands/fingers out while you clean the tank and to nibble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 I'm torn here..... Bettas, Cichlids or shrimp.... but I guess I can have shrimp if we don't count them as "fish". While I would love to try a pea puffer, I could never not have a betta buddy. My husband would kill me if I ever bred them again....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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