Favorite, Most Memorable, or Most Treasured Fish

[Guppy Guru]

Hey everyone I just had one of my favorite Dumbo Guppies pass and it made me think what is everyone else’s favorite/ most memorable/ or treasured fish you have or have kept. 
 

Excited to see what comes up!! 

[Its Hutch]

I had an Oscar when I was a teenager named Don. I had him for a while before he out grew his 55g tank and I had to find a new home for him with someone who had a larger tank. I think about him often and hope he had a good life. He would follow me around the tank and he was a good friend for me growing up.

[MickS77]

I had a saltwater nano tank growing up with a single Clownfish named Mr. Jones. I remember defrosting frozen brine shrimp every morning for him, lived many years.

[Guppy Guru]

4 minutes ago, Its Hutch said:

I had an Oscar when I was a teenager named Don. I had him for a while before he out grew his 55g tank and I had to find a new home for him with someone who had a larger tank. I think about him often and hope he had a good life. He would follow me around the tank and he was a good friend for me growing up.

I bet he did! Glad you were smart enough and cared enough to not keep him in a tank that was too small. 

[Guppy Guru]

2 minutes ago, MickS77 said:

I had a saltwater nano tank growing up with a single Clownfish named Mr. Jones. I remember defrosting frozen brine shrimp every morning for him, lived many years.

So cool! What size was the tank? 

[MickS77]

Just now, Guppy Guru said:

So cool! What size was the tank? 

It was one of the old Marineland Eclipse tanks with the filter built in under the lid, couldn't have been more than 5-8 gallons. 

[Guppy Guru]

24 minutes ago, MickS77 said:

It was one of the old Marineland Eclipse tanks with the filter built in under the lid, couldn't have been more than 5-8 gallons. 

So cool! I’m sure it took a bit of care to keep that perfect huh!? 

[Daniel]

When I was 9 years old I read a children's book about a kid who had guppies and the guppies kept multiplying like bunnies (I am looking for that book if it rings a bell with anyone). So I got together some quart jars and took my 50 cents allowance to Grant City (sort like a 1969 version of Target) and bought several guppies. I learned what the word 'gravid' meant and I could see my guppies were 'with child'. I could even see the eyeballs of the soon to be born baby guppies through the body of the pregnant females.

And when my guppies had babies some were gray, but some were golden! Those golden baby guppies are a treasured memory.

[MickS77]

1 minute ago, Guppy Guru said:

So cool! I’m sure it took a bit of care to keep that perfect huh!? 

I didn't have corals so it wasn't much more work than freshwater, just mixing the salt for water changes. 

[Solidus1833]

My L191 royal pleco Ricky and his friend  the L075 Sarbaji 'Para' pleco Leo are two of my favorite fish. However, probably the most fun fish to watch in this tank is my Rainbow Shark. He kind of acts like the 'Tank Boss' for the rainbowfish keeping them from going to low into the bottom feeder's domain while feeding. 

[Dean’s Fishroom]

I rarely or just about never name my fish. In fact of all the fish in my 50+ tanks right now there is only one fish that has a name. 

Years ago and two fishrooms past, I was an avid discus breeder with about 50 tanks of discus. At that point in time heckel discus were few and far in between. I somehow managed to get one and my wife proceeded to name that one fish "Mr. Heckel". He was a glorious beast growing rather large but after having him for about a year and a half I saw no breeding activity and had not been able to come across any other heckel discus, so I sold him off. Big mistake, you don't  sell off a fish your wife or a family member has named. I still here about this once in a while today some 35 years later.   

 

 

[BQuick]

I had an English teacher in high-school that had a betta in a litlle one gallon.  I was in charge of keeping his tank clean and feeding him in the classroom.   His name was Fallstaph and he was so great.  I also got to take him home over every break.  It was so great to take care of him.

[Guppy Guru]

14 hours ago, Dean’s Fishroom said:

I rarely or just about never name my fish. In fact of all the fish in my 50+ tanks right now there is only one fish that has a name. 

Years ago and two fishrooms past, I was an avid discus breeder with about 50 tanks of discus. At that point in time heckel discus were few and far in between. I somehow managed to get one and my wife proceeded to name that one fish "Mr. Heckel". He was a glorious beast growing rather large but after having him for about a year and a half I saw no breeding activity and had not been able to come across any other heckel discus, so I sold him off. Big mistake, you don't  sell off a fish your wife or a family member has named. I still here about this once in a while today some 35 years later.   

 

 

Love it Dean I feel like we have all done something similar to this for sure!

 

[Guppy Guru]

13 hours ago, BQuick said:

I had an English teacher in high-school that had a betta in a litlle one gallon.  I was in charge of keeping his tank clean and feeding him in the classroom.   His name was Fallstaph and he was so great.  I also got to take him home over every break.  It was so great to take care of him.

So glad someone was in charge of taking care of him! 

[Mr. Ed's Aquatics]

My current favorite is my dominant male Venustus "Twitch". I name too many of them and get really attached, which is why I have so many cichlids. It's a little easier if they're long lived and leave behind family. Twitch is actually gen 2 from my original male Odin (named after losing an eye gaining tank dominance).

My favorite all time was a 33" black pacu we named Pacman. He was super personable, could hand feed him and pet him. 

[Kat_Rigel]

I had a several axolotls that I really loved, but unfortunately I was a poor college student who had to move several times and they didn't make it during one of the moves. Axies are so cool, just chill and relaxing... but a lot of poop. 💩

I originally got them because I saw some as a kid at my dad's workplace. He was a college professor and it turns out one of the biology profs was doing research on the regenerating properties of axolotls. There was a tank with several of them in the biology dept, and I always made it a point to go see them. At some point I realized that I was an adult and I could own axies if I darn well pleased! Lol No axolotls as of now, but someday when I get that coveted fish room, they'll be some of the first on my list.

[shkote]

Mine was a comet goldfish named Sam. It was the only fish left when my mom decided to break down her pond. I went out and got the biggest tank I could find for him. I had stopped keeping fish for a couple of years and he got me back into it. I was hoping he would get my son interested in fish, and he did... for a short time. Now he isn't interested in any other fish, because they aren't Sam. He was 13 years old when he passed.

[Marnol D]

My first rainbow shark (one of the first fish I ever bought before i knew of stocking levels and really anything about aquariums) was super aggressive and the only fish i've ever named. It use to chase fish till they jumped out of the tank or bully them. That fish while a monster(was totally my fault so i may have been the monster) made me learn and delve deeper into the hobby to get better at it so it wouldnt happen again. I was sad when i found her on the floor.   

[Andy's Fish Den]

I had a royal gramma (saltwater fish), I had named him King, that I had for over 10 years that I just lost a few months ago. I first got him when I was married to my first wife and had a beautiful 75 gallon reef tank. We split, I moved to an apartment and sold a lot of my corals and fish, but kept him and a pair of clownfish, but down sized to a 29 gal, I lost both clownfish over a few months, but the King lived on. He moved with me to two different apartments and then into the house I live in now with my current wife. And since we moved here, I had to move the 29 gallon at least three times because we were adding on and remodeling, and he finally ended up in a 40 breeder reef. I'm not sure what caused him to pass, and I never found a body or anything, I just went to feed the tank one day and I noticed he didn't come out to eat.

[Guppy Guru]

3 minutes ago, Andy's Fish Den said:

I had a royal gramma (saltwater fish), I had named him King, that I had for over 10 years that I just lost a few months ago. I first got him when I was married to my first wife and had a beautiful 75 gallon reef tank. We split, I moved to an apartment and sold a lot of my corals and fish, but kept him and a pair of clownfish, but down sized to a 29 gal, I lost both clownfish over a few months, but the King lived on. He moved with me to two different apartments and then into the house I live in now with my current wife. And since we moved here, I had to move the 29 gallon at least three times because we were adding on and remodeling, and he finally ended up in a 40 breeder reef. I'm not sure what caused him to pass, and I never found a body or anything, I just went to feed the tank one day and I noticed he didn't come out to eat.

Sorry for your loss, sounds like he lived a full life and passed peacefully. 

[Kristianmunn156]

When I was young my father had a few 20 gallons that we kept guppies, albino corycats and danios in one day when out catching crayfish for fun in a stream we caught a madtom which my father decided to add to the tank it had so much personality kept it for many years moved from tank to tank but always made my day 

[ForestJenn]

35 minutes ago, Kristianmunn156 said:

When I was young my father had a few 20 gallons that we kept guppies, albino corycats and danios in one day when out catching crayfish for fun in a stream we caught a madtom which my father decided to add to the tank it had so much personality kept it for many years moved from tank to tank but always made my day 

I'd never heard of a madtom, had to look it up.   They look like they are neat little catfish.  Other than corydoras, I didn't consider myself much of a fan of catfish, but my son loves them.  Now that We have a few bristlenose in the house and I've fallen for them.  I found myself sorely tempted by a Sydontis species recently but I resisted.

Edited August 20, 2020 by ForestJenn

[redmare]

He's a new addition, I've only had him about 4 months, but I am IN LOVE with my betta boy Joey. He is just so engaging and fun! He loves having tank mates and likes to swim around and pretend to be a catfish. He's a good lad. 

[BCAquarium]

My sadly missed Betta, Jasper. He was soft blue with maroon which is the team colours for Aston Villa football club (although I’m not a fan of football). AV are from Birmingham, and of the famous Brummies we liked was Jasper Carrot the comedian, so he was named Jasper. 
 

Jasper was my friend, I would put the tip of my finger in the tank and he would come and look, if there wasn’t a treat on the end he would look at me and flare! Obviously this caused me to add a treat, and then he would swim around my finger and let me tickle his fins. Such an appreciative little fish. Miss him a lot.
 

 

[Elquinjena]

I picked out a itty bitty baby betta at petco and raised him up in a 5 gal tank. His name was Fin Diesel and he lived to be about 4 years old.

He was just a normal blue splendens veil tail and he was a wonderful betta. He would swim to the side of the tank closest to me and hang out there while I worked on my computer. There is just something about raising them up from such a small size, they get to know you better as their food source, and care taker than others i have gotten who were at least a year old.

With exception to my newest betta Hunter, he was the best betta I have ever had.