Personaly, I've found pearls to be the friendliest but they are my favourite fish so I might be biased (or maybe they are my favourites because of their character - not sure really
). Mine will come to the front when they see me, follow me and my fingers around and will eat from my hand. Having said that, all those I own currently were also bred/raised by me so they got used to my routine early on. I know many from LFSs are very shy - at least to begin with - and it can take a very long time for them to start exploring and showing off their character more. It helps to have a densely planted tank, high temperature, lots of live foods, gentle current and more pearls
Both sexes will respond to you (or your fingers
) IME.
Bandeds have always struck me as intelligent (by gourami standards) but indifferent. They'll learn to eat from your hand and recognise you etc but they are nowhere near as 'exciteable' as pearls. LFS-bought ones are calm but they are not overly shy - not even in the beginning IME. When kept singly, males can be a lot like bettas - lots of 'personality'. When with females, I think they are generaly less interested in 'you' (naturally) but they are maybe more interesting to watch - though this is personal opinion. Females tend to ignore you a lot of the time
It's because they are not territorial.
Dwarfs are cute fish and I love how they'll 'spit' at you - but I don't think they are particularly 'sharp'
Even those I've raised myself have random mood swings that can include periods when they become neurotic or excessively shy. I imagine it's not so much that they are not intelligent compared to the others but, rather, that they are more sensitive to changes in their environment.
The other thing is that dwarfs, IME, don't build bubblenests as readily as either of the other two species. In a way, bubblenests add to their character as they tell you a little about what the fish is feeling. Similarly, only pearls (both sexes) show any obvious color changes during their lives. Males, obviously, get a darker or lighter belly, ventral fin and eye rim color and can get very dark over-all while females turn quite dark olive or become pale according to mood and condition. These things are not directly linked to 'personality' but, like with the stripes on female bettas, they indicate the fish' mood.
