What is your favourite ugly aquarium fish?

[GaryE]

I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is ugly. But what's your favourite ugly (to you) aquarium fish? Deep sea blob fish don't count.

For me, it has been the Mangrove killifish, Kryptolebias marmoratus. It has all the beauty of something that fell off a decaying potato, but it is fascinating because it's a self fertilizing hermaphrodite. I can easily see why people keep them, but I can also easily say it ain't for their beauty.

I also suspect they may have reacted to not needing partners to breed with by really letting themselves go.

 

[Back in the fold]

Hmmm . . . I saw an electric catfish once a long time ago and it was ugly but fascinating to look at too . For a common fish that almost anybody can have it’s a toss up between the Kissing Gourami and the Chinese Algae Eater when they get big . Little ones aren’t so bad and it’s a shame they don’t stay little . The big ones look like an ordinary sucker . I’ll never forget what our old friend Byron once said about the Kissing Gourami . He called them hideous creatures and he wasn’t one to have such opinions usually .

 

[Uberhoust]

Kissing Gourami was my first thought when I saw this post.

 

[emeraldking]

In my case, that would be the blind cave tetra. It's that ugly that it became beautiful...

So, I would call these fish my favorite ugly fish...

 

[Back in the fold]

In my case, that would be the blind cave tetra. It's that ugly that it became beautiful...
View attachment 364469View attachment 364470
So, I would call these fish my favorite ugly fish...

Ooh . . . yeah , they are an ugly little thing but , like you infer , in a nice way .

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Plecos....obviously

 

[Ceez]

Does my face in the reflection of the tank work?

 

[Back in the fold]

Plecos....obviously

Now how did I know you would say that ? I was going to but I thought I’d leave it for you .

 

[MaloK]

Puffers...

They look like they could block a toilet.

But they have that fun personality.

It makes them my beloved hate.

Mangrove are not as bad looking.

 

[gwand]

Flowerhorn Cichlids

 

[Ceez]

Puffers...

They look like they could block a toilet.

But they have that fun personality.

It makes them my beloved hate.

Mangrove are not as bad looking.

Puffers are awesome to lean out a tank full fish you no longer want...

 

[Oldspartan]

Any fish that moves through the water looking like a snake. Cannot bring myself to buy Kuhli Loaches. Linda would want them beheaded.

 

[MaloK]

Puffers are awesome to lean out a tank full fish you no longer want...

Not with 3 comets, loll.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

mine would have to be parrot cichlids. some people think they just look like a blob of scales but i’ve seen some at my LFS and i think they’re really cute lol

 

[GaryE]

The thread can only work if we don't disagree, but rather silently think people who have different tastes from us are fools. For every fish we think is ugly, someone is shocked we could see things that way!

So far, flowerhorn, pleco, bloody parrot, and loach fans have had to deal with the pain.