What type of fish are you drawn to?

[gwand]

Size, color, markings and behaviors draw me to certain fish. I prefer fish that are 3 inches or less in length. In fact I am turned off by large fish, especially in tanks that should be larger. I love nano fish and I get a warm feeling looking at juvenile fish in my tanks or lfs. It’s that feeling you have when seeing a puppy or a human baby. My caretaker instinct kicks in. This is a dangerous feeling when I’m in my lfs; the temptation to purchase the juvenile can be overwhelming. I can live without plecos, corys and all catfish. They just don’t appeal to me. I can’t tell you why.

When I first started out in the hobby in addition to size, color was important to me. I loved bold red, yellow, blue and pink shades. While I still love colorful fish, body marking patterns have become more important to me than stark colors. I love the black vertical stripes running across the entire body of my Anomalochromis thomasi (parental stock from Guinea). These bold vertical stripes are contrasted by subtle royal blue and red marking on the dorsal, ventral, caudal fins. Sometimes there is a flicker of yellow. I find the black and white checkerboard pattern on some species of Julidochromis mesmerizing. I love the subtle blue sheen across the dorsal surface of my otherwise sleek silver Alestopetersius caudalis. The blue sheen is only visible when the light is right. Subtlety of colors mixed in with bold markings is a turn on.

Then of course there are behaviors. I love watching the different species of fish eat, mate and care for their fry. There are differences in these behaviors across my species. My a. thomasi and a. cacatuoides have been outstanding parents. They were territorial but not killers of those who trespassed into their space. I saw the cacatuoides male gently place a fry into its mouth and then let him back out into the tank. Was he washing the fry? I love watching new born fry follow their parents around the tank oblivious to the dangers.

I tolerate territorial behavior of parents with fry but I do not like a violent tank. I can purge the offender. Or sometimes the community takes care of the bully. I had a wild caught male Pelvicachromis pulcher that was unusually fierce for this species, a bully even when devoid of fry. One morning I found him floating lifeless, his body had signs of multiple injuries. Some of his tank mates brutalized him. Now the tank is peaceful again. I’m most attracted to a tank in harmony.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

This is a dangerous feeling when I’m in my lfs; the temptation to purchase the juvenile can be overwhelming.

Dangerous indeed. Especially when added to the fact that a good pet store employee can sense weakness.

I'm a bit discouraged with my tanks at the moment, so this is a hard question to answer.

But overall, I am drawn to fish that look and act they way wild fish should look and act, whether it's the stately grace of a pearl gourami, the secretive poking about of a kuhli, the frantic wildness of a danio, or the confident boisterousness of a botia loach. I enjoy seeing all of the different survival strategies in action.

I enjoy fish that interact with me. My angelfish and bettas feel more like pets than simply living jewels. But I am also amused by critters that seem completely oblivious to their surroundings, who just do their thing. Hara catfish and amano shrimp come immediately to mind.

Perhaps most consistently, I enjoy fish that are unusual, unknown, underappreciated, and that come from interesting parts of the world. Among my all-time favorite fish are these sand loaches from the Himalayas I currently have; two-spot catfish (Mystus bimaculatus), Betta imbellus and dwarf kuhlis from Sumatra; stuff like that. A little mystery is fun.

 

[Innesfan]

Interesting question. It's aesthetics for me, barring behavioral issues or an inability on my part to meet the needs of the fish. For example, I love the look of Anostomus anostomus and have kept them over the years but I never felt I could keep them in large enough numbers in a spacious enough tank to diffuse aggression among conspecifics. I also felt I wasn't able to provide as much flow as they prefer.

Going back to my mentor whom I never met, if Innes liked a fish and wrote enthusiastically about it, I was inclined to like it. Not because he did, but because our aesthetic was apparently similar. There are exceptions--Exodon paradoxus-- for example, which he loved and I too think is handsome but its need to rip the scales off of tankmates leaves me cold.

 

[Fishkeeper123]

For me, I am drawn to non-shoaling fish. Therefore I’m drawn to fish that has a character so i can identify it from its tank mates. I’m particularly drawn to plecos( if i could I would have a whole tank of plecos). And also medium sized cichlids(jack Dempsey, EBA, fire mouths) but because of my tank size I always admire them in the shop but know they aren’t an option. I think the fish I’m not drawn to( I know it’s not the question) are any of the glo varient fish( glo- angels, glo- tiger barbs…) as I feel they have been cruelly adapted to be different unnatural colours.

 

[CassCats]

I like the ones without thoughts in their heads

 

[gwand]

Interesting question. It's aesthetics for me, barring behavioral issues or an inability on my part to meet the needs of the fish. For example, I love the look of Anostomus anostomus and have kept them over the years but I never felt I could keep them in large enough numbers in a spacious enough tank to diffuse aggression among conspecifics. I also felt I wasn't able to provide as much flow as they prefer.

Going back to my mentor whom I never met, if Innes liked a fish and wrote enthusiastically about it, I was inclined to like it. Not because he did, but because our aesthetic was apparently similar. There are exceptions--Exodon paradoxus-- for example, which he loved and I too think is handsome but its need to rip the scales off of tankmates leaves me cold.

An aesthetic has attributes. What are the elements that make up your fish aesthetics? In the case of a. anostomus I see lean, slender, linear, color and a cute mouth. I have a hard time putting my fish aesthetic into words. But there are several factors, an overall gestalt. I know it when I see it.

 

[Innesfan]

An aesthetic has attributes. What are the elements that make up your fish aesthetics? In the case of a. anostomus I see lean, slender, linear, color and a cute mouth. I have a hard time putting my fish aesthetic into words. But there are several factors, an overall gestalt. I know it when I see it.

You are correct, of course, and I considered elaborating on that but as I thought about it there isn't one 'look' that I find pleasing. For Anostomus anostomus, it's the brilliant cardinal red fins and the striking gold and blood red body stripes and the overall art deco 'design'. But Discus (wilds only) also ''fill my eye" and that's a very different look entirely. As are Emerald Eye Rasboras (B. dorsiocelatta) and Haplisoma atropersonatum ("Fairy cories"). All different but very pleasing to my eye in different ways. As Bach and Ravel are to my ears.

 

[GaryE]

It's neat to see how we're all so different.

For me, it starts with a fish being small.
I wouldn't be a killie person if colour didn't appeal, but there's more to it than that. Not a lot more, but...
I think deep down, it's the fish as a project. That's vague, but I never want fish that I can't try to breed. I can be attracted to ones that are very hard to get to reproduce though. I like to see the fish go from a fry to a juvenile, get its colours, develop its shape, breed, and then let me start that fascinating swing all over again, a few times, ideally.
There's no static point where the aesthetics are set, dead on, what I want.
I love the bulky shaped, old Corydoras group. Torpedo shaped killies, with or without long fins are good. Mollies are cool. A swordtail can be a real show to watch. Dwarf cichlids, lumpish, svelte, aerodynamic, brightly coloured, grey - I'm attracted by what I know of what they may do.

Movement is an aesthetic. I like fish that are long dance routines - costume changes obligatory.

 

[FranciscoB]

 

[Oldspartan]

I love the grace of Angelfish and the fact one of them eats from my hand, the apparent secrecy of the BN Plecos, the colorful action of Neons playing in the sponge filter bubbles, and the seeming mindless swimming of our Mollies. I am also attracted to Sparkles our Betta who is as graceful as the Angels and seems to insist on eating in a particular corner while being fed one pellet at a time. When sated he headbutts the pellet and swims away. The swordtails are handsome fish too.

Edited to correct spelling

 

[Herpin Man]

I like fish that are small and hardy, tetras in particular.