# The most personable fish?



## Aquamom

Which freshwater aquarium fish do people think are the most personable or the most fun to keep and why?


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## Erratic-Fish-Finatic

Aquamom said:


> Which freshwater aquarium fish do people think are the most personable or the most fun to keep and why?


Puffers over all, South American banded puffers, Fahaka puffers and Mbu puffers. Highly intelligent and carious fish. The larger species can be even trained to do tricks. Puffers vary in personality with each individual and have to ability to remember their owner's faces and body language.
Extremely interactive and visually attractive fish. They also change colour to match their mood, think of puffers as water puppies, they're are also quite unique from most fish, having a set of beaks instead of actual teeth.


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## characinfan

+1 for puffers. But you have to keep them singly, they are killers of other fish!


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## bettaforu

BETTAS! Gorgeous, Unique colors/patterns, none are ever the same. They are people friendly and will beg you for food, come when you call their names and overall just easier to take care of....no fancy equipment, no big tanks, can put them anywhere office, shop, home etc.


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## Zebrapl3co

Yep, both are very personal and I like them both.
Each require slightly different demands though.
Betta can't take high current setting and please don't put them in a cup. Give them something bigger like a 2G or even better a 5G tank. They will eat flakes or pellet, but an occasional frozen brimeshrimp or blood worm would be nice. Not deadly to other fish but does not like to live with other fish either.
Puffer require a bigger tank and demands live food only. Don't eat pellets or flakes. So you either have to go with frozen food or tons of snails. Depending on personality, most don't get allong with other fish. It's not that they want to kill the other fish, they just want to teach the other fish to give them space, but that's the problem, once they nip another fish, it can be cripling or even fatal.

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## Jackson

My puffer eat pellets so it's not impossible to train them to eat dry foods just takes a lot of patience and experience. It's easy to get them eating frozen foods.
Of the ones mentioned fahakas would be the easiest to care for if you have a 180 gallon to house it alone. The south American puffers should be kept in groups but they are hard to care for because of their teeth. They are known to need manual trimmings and it's not an easy process. Mbu are the friendliest but you'd need at least 300 gallons for an adult. 

Oscars are also like big water puppies and aren't that aggressive but they also need large tanks.


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## characinfan

If you like catfish, hoplo-type fish are also fun. My _Megalechis thoracata_ are super-lively, beg for food, and also suck worms out of my fingers!

Agreed that most puffers don't seem to mean to kill, but the "nips" they inflict to tell other fish (including other puffers) to back off often turn out to be deadly anyways.  It's a shame. They're so cool.

I also had no problem feeding puffers frozen treats, and I had "dwarf" puffers, _Carinotetraodon travancoricus_ and a red-eyed puffer, _Carinotetraodon lorteti_ (in different tanks). They loved their frozen bloodworms. They would go through live snails like anything. I didn't have a vermicomposter at the time that I had those puffers, but I bet they would eat red wigglers, too. If you have a vermicomposter, supplying worms for your worm-loving fish is quite easy.


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## zfarsh

Thank you for making this thread, I am also curious on different types of fish.

If having a + 55 gallon tank is not a problem, goldfish or fancy type goldfish are sociable fish. I have the fancy types, and they all hand feed, and I pet them. You might even get too attached to them. You need very good filtration and big tanks, but otherwise, they are nice pets. The normal type goldfish are hardier than the fancier ones though, but they may be a bit less social, though honestly, I go to a petsmart, they have a pond, and I am able to put my hand in it and have the koi and goldfish come near me for food!!!!

I am curious to know if there are any other fish that are similar in sociability as the goldfish, specially if they are small fish, for my other tanks. I think SAE and Dojo Loaches can be trained too from what I have seen on youtube, but not sure how much.

Also, as mentioned, I have also seen beta beg for food as well, which is very cool, as my friend has one, and I love that fish. However, I don't know if you can pet it, and if you can easily hand feed it, or it doesn't like that. If someone can confirm.


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## greg

I'm enjoying my wife's killifish quite a bit. Typically, they are always at the top waiting to be fed. Unexpectedly, they are quite curious and unafraid, following my hand around the tank as I add plants, nibbling at my fingers or at the plants I'm holding. When I set up a tank adjacent to theirs, they all congregated at the glass, watching me work the entire time. Perhaps its just stupidity that makes them so tame, nevertheless it is enjoyable having them follow me about.










Greg


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## zfarsh

Hi Greg,

Thanks for sharing, I am very interested in this type of behaviour. What kind of Killifish is it, where did you buy it from, and can you tell us about the tank you have this fish in, as in how big, temp, what inhabitants, and what you feed it, and how big does this get. Do you think they can make it in a 10 gallon tank, and is 1 ok, otherwise what group size do you recommend.

Thanks


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## Aquamom

I've never heard of a killifish, they are very pretty! Puffers are so cute too, too bad they aren't community fish! I've heard angels and cichlids can be quite fun too.


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## greg

zfarsh said:


> Hi Greg,
> 
> Thanks for sharing, I am very interested in this type of behaviour. What kind of Killifish is it, where did you buy it from, and can you tell us about the tank you have this fish in, as in how big, temp, what inhabitants, and what you feed it, and how big does this get. Do you think they can make it in a 10 gallon tank, and is 1 ok, otherwise what group size do you recommend.
> 
> Thanks


They are Fundulopanchax nigerianus, Killifish. Killifish are widely bred by hobbyists, usually in 10 gallon tanks. There would be just a single male and female in such a tank, as they are aggressive. Typically the tank would be bare, except for some floating plant cover and a spawning mop, or container of peat depending on the type of killifish. The kind I have are less aggessive than others, so the breeder said a small group would be okay in our 25g heavily planted tank. There are killifish breeders on our forum who advertise in the buy/sell when they have some for sale.

The plant cover give the non-dominant males and females places in which they can take refuge and feel secure. The killifish do dig up the substrate a bit, so I do need to replant the occasional stem.

We have 3 males and 4 females in the tank. Temperature is 72 degrees. We feed them frozen brine shrimp, frozen blood worms and freeze dried blackworms. We've also started a live daphnia culture so will add those to the mix as an occasional treat.

Ours our non-annual killies and lay eggs in the mop. The eggs can be picked off and put in a container of water to hatch.

Annuals are the other type. They live in puddles which dry out after the rainy season. The killies lay eggs in the mud before they die. The puddle dries and only when the rainy season starts up again do the eggs hatch. So breeders put a container of peat in the tank and remove it after enough spawning has taken place. They put the peat containing eggs in a zip-loc bag and put it away for the incubation period. After the appropriate time period, they put the eggs in a tank, add water and instant fish.

I'm not a breeder and certainly no expert on killies so my apologies if I've got any information down incorrectly.

Greg

Here's a whole tank pic


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## Ryan.Wilton

I've always found Oscars to be a personal fish. Giant Gouramis as well.

I recall my old Tiger Oscar that I kept in a 55gallon. I'd take the top off and play ping pong with him, he used to love snapping at the ball and throwing it out of the tank. If I didn't toss it back in he'd freak out and start swimming the length of the tank bashing the glass lol.

And for the Giant Gourami, go the the McDonalds at 16th and young, they have what I belive to be a 280gallon tank with a Giant Gourami and some other species. The giant there seems quiet social, he'll even gap at your french fries ^_^


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## zfarsh

wow, a fish that behaves socially as dogs do, that wants to play ping pong, that is absolutely incredible, thanks for sharing.


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## zfarsh

@ greg, thanks for the info on the killifish. 

I am looking for a social fish that I can put in a 10g planted tank, and that wont eat all the rcs / snails I have and wont jump out or be aggressive towards other fish, and doesn't mind a bit of water current. I will have to research the Killifish a bit more. 

I am also considering a male Beta for my 10g hospital tank that doesn't have much current, only some extra rcs and my whole ramshorn colony and elephant snails It is well planted. 

Pls keep it coming, this is an extremely good thread to learn about the different type of fish that are social.


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## Ryan.Wilton

One of my favorites are Koi  My dad's are almost comfortable enough to eat from your hands lol. They'll surface near you and just wait for the food to come, then its a frenzy of flying koi, jumping over each other for every last scrap... pretty funny to watch lol.


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## Ik0eS

I heard about that when I went to the Koi shop in Warden/Eglinton. The store attendant also mentioned if the Koi knows you well enough it will let you pat them gently. Yup fish is enjoyable and hypnotic in their certain ways.



Ryan.Wilton said:


> One of my favorites are Koi  My dad's are almost comfortable enough to eat from your hands lol. They'll surface near you and just wait for the food to come, then its a frenzy of flying koi, jumping over each other for every last scrap... pretty funny to watch lol.


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## Ryan.Wilton

Yes they will indeed lol. Koi are very intelligent fish as well it seems. They know what I'm doing to their pond when I've got the submersible pump in my hands to preform the water change. Pretty funny to see them look all excited, take one look at my hands and swim back into the depths lol.


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## dock

After witness the koi attacked and bit several big turtles' shells in BAs koi pond numerous times, I wouldn't put my hand near the pond even the koi came to and looked at me. The koi is the largest one in the pond.


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## Ryan.Wilton

lol, yeah some Koi seem likely to swallow your hand


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## zfarsh

just wanted to let you guys know that I am starting on a project to get see if I can train my other fish (corys, SAE, BN Pleco, WCMM) to eat from my hand, as I have seen some videos for other fish being trained. I will let you guys know on my success and failures, it may take time to train them. However, just so you guys know, I am already successfully doing this with RCS shrimp. I have a pellet in my hand, and many of the RCS come on my hand and nibble away.

Edit: About the RCS, they only come to my hand with food in one of my tanks, basically my main shrimp tank with the most numbers, my oldest ones, with snails, aspiroda, and ottos. My other tanks, not yet.


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## Ryan.Wilton

Smaller fish will learn to recognize food... You need to train something larger like a catfish, Oscar, or similar to recognize you.

In the case of my Oscar. It wouldn't play ping pong with my brother or gf (now fiance). But if I took the ball from them it knew it was me and would play... Kind of funny the way fish behave sometimes. And Oscars are actually known as Water Dogs to some people because of this behaviour lol. 

It's what made me fall in love with SA Cichlids.


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## dock

Ryan.Wilton said:


> lol, yeah some Koi seem likely to swallow your hand


 I don't know, for sure I don't want to be the 1st person on headline news about losing a hand to koi fish  
Check it out at Big Al's in Vaughan. Hey, my own angelfish bite me all the time and I have to teach him every single time never bite the hand that feeds you.


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## Ik0eS

"Ohh.mmm Yum.myum..mYummm. Finger licking good straight through the bone!!!" Says the Evil Koi.  Or the Koi has a hand fetish.

Train the Koi to be just vegetarian. Feed them duckweed and algae pellets only.



dock said:


> I don't know, for sure I don't want to be the 1st person on headline news about losing a hand to koi fish
> Check it out at Big Al's in Vaughan. Hey, my own angelfish bite me all the time and I have to teach him every single time never bite the hand that feeds you.


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## Ryan.Wilton

GL on that.. My koi eat the frogs that hope in our pond on occasion hahaha


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## characinfan

Ryan.Wilton said:


> Smaller fish will learn to recognize food... You need to train something larger like a catfish, Oscar, or similar to recognize you.


When I had pea/dwarf puffers (_C. travancoricus_), they could definitely tell me and my then-husband apart. They would come out and watch me, whereas they would hide when he came around. He even asked me once why they were behaving this way. I told him it was because they associated me with either just looking, getting fed, or getting their tank cleaned (they liked following the siphon around because sometimes it stirred up snails), whereas they associated him with tapping on the tank!


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## Ryan.Wilton

Well, that's not training exactly. But I see your point.

My dad's 220gallon hides when my little cousins (under the ages of 8) are over lol. I guess they learnt in the petstore.

Tap tap tapparoo!


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## Fishfur

Find the video, which I SURE must have been posted online by now, where the goldfish has learned to pull a string that rings a bell when he wants to be fed. It's been on Animal Planet a few times.
It's quite neat.. ordinary goldfish in a tank, rigged with a pull string and a bell. Fish swims up to the string, grabs it and pulls it down, bell rings, owner comes with food. It's pretty cool. No idea how long it took the fish to learn the trick.


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## matti2uude

I've seen an Oscar ring a bell for food before too.


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## Jackson

matti2uude said:


> I've seen an Oscar ring a bell for food before too.


Id like to see that

Oscars are like dogs when i had mine they did all sorts of funny things and even let you pet them


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## Fishfur

I googled 'goldfish rings bell for food' and got this link. Very short, but clear enough.






The google page had other items regarding how to train fish, might be worth a look if that's what you're looking into doing.


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## Ryan.Wilton

Might not be a bad idea, I'd love to have an attack Oscar for those home invasion situations (lol)


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## Mlevi

Ryan.Wilton said:


> Might not be a bad idea, I'd love to have an attack Oscar for those home invasion situations (lol)


....and keep your valuables in a waterproof box in your substrate! 

Al.


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## dock

Ryan.Wilton said:


> Might not be a bad idea, I'd love to have an attack Oscar for those home invasion situations (lol)





Mlevi said:


> ....and keep your valuables in a waterproof box in your substrate!
> 
> Al.


lmlo! Your oscar may bribe the home invaders with your valuables to save its own life. 
I want to train my goldfish to ring the bell for poo poo.


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## Ryan.Wilton

that'd be one frequently rung bell... and nahhh, the Oscar will lure the invader into an unsuspecting state of calm, he'll try to reach in and the oscar will pull him into the tank to eat lol.


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## Fishfur

Just think.. keep the valuables in the Oscar tank, and leave a pic nearby of the Oscar snacking on a hand ? Photoshop it ! Suggestion might work wonders - OR, label the tank as being a Piranha tank !


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## skyedale

*two favourite fish*

I love my fancy goldfish. I have a pearlscale golfball which is now the size of a peach. Everybody notices "her". She can't really swim so she just sorts of waddles around the tank. I wish I could take good pictures so people could see what an odd fish it is.

All goldfish beg for food. They are always hungry. My black moor who is 4 years old spits gravel at the glass to get your attention. As soon as I sit down to watch TV the gravel spitting starts. Turning the tank light out doesn't help. The moor has kept up the gravel spitting for over 30 minutes.

My other favourite fish are my weather loaches. I have 6 of them in my 75 gal community tank. 3 of them are over 6" long and the other 3 are babies that I bought boxing day. They haven't grown much in length since I got them but they have certainly bulked up.

The weather loaches get along with everyone. They don't mind if one of the cory's rest on top of them. Two of the large ones do "figure 8's" along the front of the tank when I come into the room. Out of all the loaches I have these are my fav's.


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## Ryan.Wilton

Your Peralscale goldfish sounds pretty normal to me. Sadly that genetic mutation had caused sever swimming issues in the goldfish, every time I see a tank of them they sort of wattle to the front for food lol.


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