Favorite Fish?

I post on so many groups, I hope I'm not repeating myself! But.. if so... most have joined since I first posted it .. if in fact I did on here.....

German Blue Rams are close to the top of my list... They are a bit harder to maintain than their cousins the Bolivians but command a bit higher price than the Bolivians.. .and exhibit a lot more color! Another strong point is that from birth to breeder is only 5 months or so! They are great community fish if kept away from other Cichlids that exhibit aggressive behavior. They do prefer that they aren't the sole specie in a tank and enjoy the company of more inquisitive fish. Note.. it's a warmer water fish that likes mid-80's so quite suitable for Discus on the higher end or Angels on the lower end of the temperature scale.

Discus.. .A big segment of the tropical fish hobby call this the King of Fresh Water... I find it hard to argue with that appraisal! I would hands down say it's my favorite if it weren't such a challenge (for me) to maintain them. Constant water changes seem to be one of the keys to keeping them happy and healthy. Another knock on them is that it takes 18 months or more to reach breeding age! Plus there are stories piled atop stories of getting them to breed but not really having the parenting issues down pat. They have to be one of the more placid fishes I've ever kept and placidity is a requirement at my age! They too appreciate high heat temps.. 85 or a tad higher..also they sure aren't receptive of high nitrate levels hence the w/c's... .(I need to install plumbing in my fishroom to keep it realistic in rearing them).. .

Angels... Yet again, another placid fish that IMHO is a bit easier to tend than the prior two. Plus they breed for me, pretty readily! The variety of Angels is almost endless and new strains seem to become available every 6 months it seems. They seem to be a bit more tolerant than Discus and Rams towards nitrates but that isn't an excuse to neglect w/c's of course! Realistically, these can be picked up at your big box stores or if you're really into finding top-notch specimens, you can go as high as $500 or more for a select breeding pair!

Kribensis... These are sleek lil African fish that are unusual in that, like the Angels, Discus and Rams, are soft water fishes. Again, they breed fairly easily and have a niche market much like the GBR's mentioned earlier..

Most of what I've posted is PERSONAL opinion and not based upon scientific studies or consumer survey's..
We'd all like to hear of your personal fav's and the why's of those selections! And of course, rebuttal feedback on my opinions....
Bill

My first LOVE....Angels! My heart & soul of the aquatic world!! Graceful, visually calming and a never ending choice of strains! As Bill stated, Angel rearing is not so demanding as some other species. The rewards are wonderful if you give them the proper care!!

My second love.....More Angels??   Seriously, as a long time hobbyist, I've kept, bred & raised many different species...I've always come back to the graceful Angels.
An afterthought....Every time someone else posts pictures of a tank full of some beautiful fish...I get "tank envy" and want to set up new tanks!! LOL

Black Mollies. We had a 10 gallon when I was little and the last surviver was a black molly. Thinking back I assume it was a male, since I don't remember ever having babies, I don't remember much about that tank, but remember asking for years if dad saw blackie go through at work.... ok, I was an odd child and my dad sometimes went to waste water treatment plants for work, ok, I still don't understand much about what my dad does for work So currently THRILLED about my baby black mollies and hope they continue to do well.

Close second if not tie - GUPPIES! Ok, I guess I have always had a bit of baby fever and these fill that well! As a teen my dad gave me a hard time about him setting me up a tank (again a 10 gallon) and I insisted on guppies with whatelse I got. a "nice" set up and I want guppies. My husband has learned this now as well, that even if I had a HUGE tank (such as the big ones at richmond aquarium, note to self, add that one to lfs list) I would fill it with guppies. This love has now expanded to wild type/feeder guppies - which is another nostalgic thing for me, and the tiger endlers. Also a stress on different types, I would suck at selective breeding. I love not knowing what they will look like and watching the colors develop and seeing what they look like! I have many endler hybrids in with my guppies so not unusual right now for males to display endler qualities.

not sure where to put this, think it's a bit different, but mystery snails. Really enjoying the research aspect of these. The amount of info available on these is limited to say the best. Love to watch them, Personality seems the wrong word for them, but it's the best I can think of for them. Plus the color variety, and the "genetics for dumbies" is a bonus compared to rats these are a breeze!

Kat.. you sound like you approach the hobby in what has to be the most positive way! I admit there is a lure of selecting a "perfect" specimen and yet another to pair it with but your approach is ummmm... the French phrase escapes me.. Joi De Vie?

Kat...thanks for posting!! My "roots" in this hobby are from mom having a guppy tank...I will always have a spot in my heart for them!! PS..they had some BEAUTIES at PetSmart yesterday for $1! BIG holiday sale. Now back to post...We also had Mollies in that tank. Thanks for the cool "rewind!!".

Doxiemom wrote:Kat...thanks for posting!! My "roots" in this hobby are from mom having a guppy tank...I will always have a spot in my heart for them!! PS..they had some BEAUTIES at PetSmart yesterday for $1! BIG holiday sale. Now back to post...We also had Mollies in that tank. Thanks for the cool "rewind!!".

hull street or?

Semehow we never got a tank bigger than a 10 set up as a kid, that was what my hs/college tank was too, even though my parents bought a big tank, probably slightly bigger than a 55 but never set it up in terms of WATER! It's a display case now, I don't know what they did with the canister filter they bought etc.

In my way I have inspired a lot of people to get into the hobby. Most seem to understand the basic requirements of keeping fish but don't like going the extra miles of doing a little research. A little research always goes a long way. I have kept fish for a while but I started with native fish mostly but didn't like them as much because how dull they were in color. Most people I knew used to keep guppies. Easy to take care and very colorful. Guppies pretty much started my fascination with fish. My brother got a tank 20 gallon tank after we moved to Richmond from Alexandria. He bought guppies and eventually he bought feeder goldfish like any amateur would do. That's the amount of knowledge he possessed at the time. After a while I bought few tanks and started breeding guppies. During that time he bought random angels and grew them up to breeding size and eventually got a pair but my fascination was with guppies still. Angels laid eggs once and got some fries to free swimming stage but I wasn't around and they thought the fries could live off algae(face palm) and didn't bother to feed them. So they all died unfortunately. I was heartbroken but my mom seemed to be upset the most. Later I explained they need to be fed and she explained a different method of feeding the fries. When my Dad used to breed goldfish they used to use egg yolk but it also made the water very dirty so that wasn't an option for me. For some reason my mom loves seeing free swimming but from what she told me it makes her very nostalgic . I honestly feel like I'm blessed to be in this family even though I hardly show off. Without my family I wouldn't have found my true passion in fish keeping. I'm loving how my passion fish keeping and my interest in biology is coming together. My knowledge for genetics is the first step of me becoming a biologist hopefully.
My goal now is to share my passion and knowledge with everyone I can through breeding.

Edit-I will update this more when I get a change running late for something

Guppies
Angels
plecos
Swordtail