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Best Wet Pet?


Bruce
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Hey guys I generally prefer community tanks but I do want a single tank with a large impressive wet pet. A fish that's highly interactive similar to murphy. I don't have the space or means for anything over 125gal so I was thinking a Oscar, flowerhorn, etc. What fish has the most personality in terms of being a wet pet in the size range?

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It's been a very lone time since I've kept cichlids but oscars are one of the fish that has left a huge impression on me. Mine would always follow me wherever I go in the room and not like in the way fish come to the top of the tank for food. My oscar would actually stay on certain sides of tanks depending where I am in the room. I like flower horns too but for the most part it seems more like aggression rather than excitement if you put your hand near the tank. At least from my experience oscars tend to swim/dance across the top of the tank when my hand is close and a flower-horn mores o just charges straight forward in a tank

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34 minutes ago, Bruce said:

would you recommend Green Terror over Oscar, Flowerhorn, or even a Fahaka Puffer?

Personally, I would enjoy the G.T. more. They're lively, highly interactive, kind of like a "spaniel" personality (to use a dog illustration). Oscars are interactive, but a bit more slow and (sometimes) quirky. Flowerhorns . . . I guess you've just got to be a "flowerhorn" person . . . they're not my favorite (though personality is _closer_ to G.T.). Puffers are interesting, but there's a whole lot of just sitting around for much of the day. G.Ts will explode with excitement when you walk into the room. 

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Makes me kinda wish I had stuck to my original GT plan, rather than being seduced away by electric blue acaras. I do love them, but they are probably about as interactive as the angelfish. Though the male is very aware of where I am when I get near the tank.

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I’ll second the goldfish recommendation. Commons, Sarasa Comets and Shubunkins are all reallly fun and interactive, but my Shubunkin is the most like a little dog. She’s always checking us out and hoping for a treat. 
 

If you’re ready for next level care requirements then go for a puffer. 

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Fancy Goldfish (as above)

Folks will see a puffer and go, "Dang, that's an exotic fish. This person must really be down with this fish keeping thing."'

HOWEVER, when folks see a huge, fancy goldfish, especially something like a plain old fantail, but it's GIANT-sized, people will go, "Whoa . . . I tried keeping one of those once, this is what it's like when it's done right."

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A Midas Cichlid could be a good option also. Mine used to watch everyone and everything going on. The tank cover I used back then had openings on either end and if you walked by without giving him attention, he'd splash you to remind you he was there. He loved to ambush our cats when they'd walk by. He'd see them coming and wait by the opening and then give them a splash when they were in range.  The drawback to any of the big cichlids though is they tend to want to redecorate the tanks to suit them and not your style.  When bored, my Midas would move the gravel from one side of the tank to the other. He lived about eight years then developed swim bladder issues before dying. 

In a 125 you could go with an arowana. They're large and impressive, but a bit lacking in personality. It would be a bit small for a koi, but they have very much dog-like personalities and can be pretty interactive. (Bear in mind the right koi can get up to four feet long and weigh ninety pounds in perfect conditions, so a 125 would be a bit cramping. Mind you, most don't get that big, but some do.)

I've never kept a Fly River Turtle, but from what I've seen of them on YouTube (Predatory Fins, Off the Deep End Aquatics) they seem very, very personable. They're also very expensive here ($1,000 or more.) Supposedly they're insanely cheap in China ($5 or so) and sold for food and medicinal purposes there. A 125 might be a bit cramped for one, but it would definitely be unique and something most people hadn't seen with lots of personality.

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