Big Intelligent Fish

[Elisabeth83]

I'd like to try keeping something other than small fish eg: bettas, rasboras, livebearers etc but I'm not sure what species of big fish are out there that would be considered intelligent with some personality and would be suitable for a 55 gallon?

I'm thinking a pair of big fish (eg: some type of cichlids?) or a group of bigger fish that would get along in my 55 gallon.

What are your experieces or opinions about big fish and which ones do you think are intelligent?

 

[Ben]

You could try one single oscar, but thats it, you can only have the Oscar and nothing else with good filteration.
They are a very smart species of fish.

But you could also have a mixed New World Cichlid community, but if considering this, PLEASE READ THE PINNED TOPICS IN THE NW CICHLID SECTION.

New Worlds are probably the smartest group FW fish, and most can be trained to be hand fed etc

HTH
DD

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Cichlids are supposed to have alot of personality and charm so id guess that would be the way to go.
Ive always liked the look of firemouths and convicts but im not sure how big their tanks need to be. Im sure someone will have a better suggestion

 

[CFC]

Dwarf snakeheads such as Chana gachua or Channa bleheri are another option, they can easily be trained to hand feed, are quite easy to breed once a pair is established and show fantastic brood care toward their young.

As a rule schooling fish tend to be the less intellegent fish and the fish we are more likely to credit with intellegence are the lone predators (think of sheep and wolves), also the larger the fish the more personality the fish is likely to have so you are pushed more toward the single specimin species tank.

If you could upgrade the tank to something a bit wider like a 75 or 120 gallon then electric catfish probably have the most character and personality of any fish i've ever come across but will grow to an average of 12 to 18 inches in captivity so need a slightly larger tank.

 

[Fella]

I don't think anyone could deny puffers hold great personality.

I think a 55 is too small for an oscar to be honest, but other large cichlids sound like a reasonable option.

I like the idea of Channa as well. As predators, they can still exhibit some amazing colours.

 

[Lynden]

Pretty much all of these suggestions will work, it is true that lone predators tend to be smarter.

I think that 2 little oscars could be kept in a 55, i kept two in a 37 until they were about 4''. They would need to be rehoused when they were bigger.

 

[Ethos]

Yeah, i was thinking an oscer.
Technically you can keep 2 in a 55G, but many people here would differ.

 

[Fella]

Yeah, i was thinking an oscer.
Technically you can keep 2 in a 55G, but many people here would differ.

Technically you could keep an arowanna in a 20g

 

[Elisabeth83]

Thanks everyone for all of the suggestions!

CFC - I believe I've seen Channa gachua at a shop here but never knew what it was. I think Channa bleheri is beautiful. Does a pair live together relatively peaceful? What other types of oddball fish are there that are good as pairs? Maybe a mix of oddballs? My lfs has an electric catfish. He's cool looking very short and wide. I don't think you get to see his real personality though as he's for sale so he's kept in a small tank with only 1 cave and all he does is sit in it all day long. From what you say they have great personalities. The one at my lfs here I heard the owner got a pretty nasty shock from him while cleaning the tank. He ended up falling backwards

About cichlids....I went to a shop yesterday just to have a look around and it was the Jewel cichlids and the Blue Acaras that caught my eye. I tried keeping jewels once before but the tank I was keeping them in turned out to be too small in the long term so I ended up returning them only after having them for a month. The tank was a 30 gallon how would they be in a 55? I'm a little worried about their agression though..if they will be ok together?

The Blue Acaras wow stunning looking fish!! I'm a little worried about their aggression towards eachother too. Anyone here kept/keep them?

To me it seems most cichlids don't even like eachother..not even their mates What about a single Blue Acara or single Jewel cichlid or possibly a single Jack dempsey? In a 55 gallon they would all have to live by themselves though right? No other types of fish could be kept with them?

To be honest if I get a pair of something I don't really want to deal with too much agression. I'm looking for something that is big and intelligent but also has a calmer personality that I can enjoy without always worrying they are going to kill eachother

edit: after reading up further on Blue Acaras it seems they are actually one of the more peaceful cichlids. If I got a pair of those should I just keep only a pair or could I possibly add anything else? Instead of a pair what about a mix of say 3-4 similar sized cichlids?

 

[newfishaddict]

You could try one single oscar, but thats it, you can only have the Oscar and nothing else with good filteration.
They are a very smart species of fish.

But you could also have a mixed New World Cichlid community, but if considering this, PLEASE READ THE PINNED TOPICS IN THE NW CICHLID SECTION.

New Worlds are probably the smartest group FW fish, and most can be trained to be hand fed etc

HTH
DD

My Angelfish seems very smart and hand feeds without training... is this unusual? He or she will smim in my hands if I am gentle....

 

[yvez9]

You could try one single oscar, but thats it, you can only have the Oscar and nothing else with good filteration.
They are a very smart species of fish.

But you could also have a mixed New World Cichlid community, but if considering this, PLEASE READ THE PINNED TOPICS IN THE NW CICHLID SECTION.

New Worlds are probably the smartest group FW fish, and most can be trained to be hand fed etc

HTH
DD

My Angelfish seems very smart and hand feeds without training... is this unusual? He or she will smim in my hands if I am gentle....

depends on the fish
as mentionned above, fish have personnalities. some are adventurous while others are more nervous and like to hide alot. it really depends on each fish!

 

[CFC]

I believe I've seen Channa gachua at a shop here but never knew what it was. I think Channa bleheri is beautiful. Does a pair live together relatively peaceful? What other types of oddball fish are there that are good as pairs? Maybe a mix of oddballs? My lfs has an electric catfish. He's cool looking very short and wide. I don't think you get to see his real personality though as he's for sale so he's kept in a small tank with only 1 cave and all he does is sit in it all day long. From what you say they have great personalities. The one at my lfs here I heard the owner got a pretty nasty shock from him while cleaning the tank. He ended up falling backwards

Once a pair is established they are a pair for life but you need to buy a group of juviniles (6 or so) and let them pair off naturally to achieve a successfull pairing and then return or sell the excess fish before the pair kills them. Snakeheads are a great alternative to Cichlids if you want something that practices brood care and is fairly intellegent but a bit different at the same time. Most other oddballs are best kept alone or dont fit your needs for one reason or another.

Electric catfishes are very much owner responsive pets, in the shop the tend to be shy because of all the traffic passed the tank but once in a home situation soon start to show their true personalities, begging for food and attention when ever you are in the room, watch this short video of a young e cat being hand fed and if that doesnt tempt you then i dont know what will (BTW this video is not of my fish and actually belongs to a member of planet catfish) http/students.washington.edu/venwu/ecat.MPG just click on the triangle to start it playing once its loaded. If you think you could handle one then i highly recomend them.

To me it seems most cichlids don't even like eachother..not even their mates What about a single Blue Acara or single Jewel cichlid or possibly a single Jack dempsey? In a 55 gallon they would all have to live by themselves though right? No other types of fish could be kept with them?

You never get to see the true behaviour of Cichlids when they are kept alone, they are genetically engineered to find a mate and reproduce as successfully as possible so by taking away their ability to mate you cut off a huge chunk of their personality, most Cichlids only show their best colours when breeding as well so you dont even get the best visually from them this way either.

 

[Dom~]

Yeah I agree. I suggest getting a of pair convicts. The females will get a beautiful colouration while mating and they protect their young well. If you like these cichlids you can purchase some larger ones like a Jack Dempsey to stock your 55 gal. Just make sure u have places for tha JD to hide if hes smaller than the convicts... Ive had a 5 inch male convict actually pin my 2 13" oscars while defending his fry. He didnt do any real damage but they like to show its not size that counts.

 

[Elisabeth83]

That was a great video CFC The electric catfish at the shop near me is quite a bit bigger than the one in the video.

I'm going to take a trip to a great shop that stocks more hard to find fish...quite a few oddballs too and see if something catches my eye. Course I'll go home and research it first. I think sitting at home it's hard to search through sites of different fish and get an idea if thats what you want. I think its better to see the fish in person..at least for me.

I would really like to get some cichlids (in particular SA or CA cichlids) and what you said CFC made me think about keeping a pair and not just all males of different species. I'm still not sure what would be good for my 55 gallon though. I want them to have enough room that they dont want to kill eachother and can have their own space. I don't want anything too aggressive though.

I just would like something that appears to be smart LOL. So far most of the fish I have kept you would not classify as having personality or being intelligent

 

[freddyk]

As far as cichlids that would be good for this tank, a pair of Aequidens Portalegrensis (Port Acara) is a good one if you can find it, and the more common Pulcher (Blue Acara), while more aggressive, will work as well. Neetroplus Nematopus (Neet), Any Archocentrus variety (convicts being the most popular by far), and Thorichthys meeki (Firemouth) are all worth considering. If you can find them, another unique idea is a smaller Eartheater species like Gymnogeophagus australis (Rainbow Eartheater). This one, being a full bottom dweller, would allow for other (non-cichlid) tankmates to occupy the upper parts of the tank too.

No matter how you look at it though, cichlids come from very competitive habitats and as a result have very territorial nature. Dealing this aggression is simply a part of keeping these types of fish, but with enough space (your 4 foot tank is great), a compatible pair, and decor with the fishes habits in mind, things will go smoothly and you'll find these fish quite rewarding to keep.