What Fish Do You Like?

[lilmolly]

What's your favorite fish(s)? Why?

I've noticed there seems to be a natural progression of where people's interest of fish species lays and their experience level. Novies seem to start with either goldfish or schooling tropicals and either go on to semi-agressives, aggressive, more compilcated (delicate) schooling fish, and than SW. It doesn'y always happen that way but it does alot of the time. I've been into fish my whole live have only recently got serious about keeping them. Like in the last 5 years. I started with goldfish when I was little. I went to livebearers, then gouramis, then cichlids. I haven't ventured into sw for many reason. Some of them being funding, and lack of knowledge in sw, even though I've been increasingly reading on and off about sw and sw reef keeping for the past 1.5 years. I see myself keeping sw later down the line. In acople of years.

So I ask...
1. What fish are you currently keeping?
2. How did you get into keeping them?
3. What is your experience level in aquarium hobby?
4. How how much time do you spend devoted to the hobby/what is your level of interest?
5. Where do you see yourself in the future with this hobby?

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. You can see what fish i keep in my sig. Pretty basic stuff really, but i get enjoyment from the variety. I got into the hobby because someone i know had to get out of it because of job commitments so i was given all the equipment and fish as no one else wanted them. I've only been in the hobby for maybe 10 months now so my experience is limited. On the other hand, i've been reading and researching this whole time so i've learned a lot in that time. Now that my tank is established and basically stocked, i don't spend too much time on maintenance. Just the regular stuff, maybe an hour every two weeks, with an extra hour or two tacked on at month's end. I really enjoy having and keeping fish, but i just don't go crazy with it like some enthusiasts do! In the future i see myself continuing to keep fish, maybe adding another tank in the future to expand some stocking opportunities. All in all i'm glad to be in the hobby no matter what type of fish i keep. SW would be awesome, but the cost and my total lack of knowledge in that regard prevent it.

 

[sylvia]

1. What fish are you currently keeping?
2. How did you get into keeping them?
3. What is your experience level in aquarium hobby?
4. How how much time do you spend devoted to the hobby/what is your level of interest?
5. Where do you see yourself in the future with this hobby?

I mainly keep gouramies of various descriptions because that's my favourite group of fish. Recently I had to re-home a large proportion because I was moving but, before that, I bred pearl gouramies on a regular basis and owned various gouramies. Actualy, I think I've probably kept most of the 'known' gourami species at some point - and bred most of them as well. Hopefuly I'll be getting a new tank soon and getting back into all that

Like most people, when I was very young, I'd had goldfish and various other fish (I vaguely recall a couple of angels) but, back then, it was entirely up to my parents what happened to them and so on. I actualy got into keeping fish seriously when I started paying more attention to fish in pet stores and fell in love with gouramies. From the start, my very first 'serious' tropical tank, I had it all planned out for gouramies - a pearl was the centerpiece plus some platies, a swordtail, zebra danios and some cories. The pearl was actualy alive until quite recently when he succumbed to old age .

I don't think you can ever be truly experienced in this hobby - there's always something else to learn and a new mistake to make. I've been keeping fish for 9 years and constantly find new things to research and learn - something I'm constantly doing in my spare time. I realy enjoy looking up different species and everything in connection with them. Sometimes I find I realy, realy like a fish and end up owning it.

I don't spend a long time on maintainance at all - but I do watch my fish for several hours regularly. It's not so much the 'relaxing' factor a lot of people describe - I just find them absolutely fascinating

As far as the future goes - I want an osphronemus goramy!!! lol Seriously though, that's the future I'm hoping for. I doubt I'll ever get into marine or brackish fish. Freshwater is my thing. I do like large oddballs and predatory fish though - so maybe that's something I'll get into at some point. So far, I haven't had the tank for any of this. As soon as I do, I'm getting my giant gourami...

I also desperately want some badis badis but the odds have been stacked against me so far as I've been over-whelmed with other aspects of life and the moving etc has somewhat thrown me off balance (in more ways than one). Hopefuly, I'll soon gather some money and time and space to get that project up and running

 

[Durbkat]

1. The fish I keep are in my sig.
2. A couple years ago when I was in the 7th grade, it was a project to see how many times a fish opens and closes his mouth in a minute and I was going to get 5 goldfish for a 10g but luckily the guy that worked their recommended black widow tetras so I got them, and thats how I started and then maybe a year later I was offered a free long 20g with the stand for free so I got that then it just went on from their.
3. I consider my self to be itermedate and untrainable.
4. I spend alot of time devoting it to my fish and I watch the fish sometimes for an hour but that depends on if my common pleco is moving around, which looks really cool.
5. In the future I see my self with bigger tanks and opening my own pet store.

 

[dwarfgourami]

1. What fish are you currently keeping?:

platies, guppies and cories

2. How did you get into keeping them?:

used to keep a lot more different things 30 years ago, daughter talked me into starting again, so I'm building up slowly

3. What is your experience level in aquarium hobby?:

hard to tell, I kept them for a few years (3-4?) as a youngster, and now again coming up for a year; I read up a lot more these days

4. How how much time do you spend devoted to the hobby/what is your level of interest?:

far more than I should, it is already beginning to take over

5. Where do you see yourself in the future with this hobby?:

want to spend a few more years feeling my way, keeping a few things I haven't tried yet, then I want to go into breeding unusual livebearers; think it will always be small/medium-sized freshwater fish for me though; there is so much to learn there, and the big freshwater giants or saltwater don't really feel like my thing; possiby I might try brackish; or shelldwellers, though otherwise I'm not fussed about African cichlids; I'm too old to feel I have to do something because it is cool or regarded as the natural progression; I'm interested in freshwater as an eco system, and in the interaction of sociable fish, so think I'll just stick with that.

My immediate plans for the future involve the Rio 240 (the biggest tank that will fit into my livingroom) for a mixed community. Some new tetra I haven't kept before, another gourami type, bristlenoses weren't around in my day, maybe get some limias from Trimar. And shrimps, I've never kept shrimps. And hopefully my present community will be with me for a few years yet.

 

[fishing4exotics]

What's your favorite fish(s)? Why?

Asian Arowanas. They are beautiful, I like the way they swim in the water, they look majestic, and they are the holly grail for some fish breeders. I want to someday have ponds to some day breed super reds and cross backs

1. What fish are you currently keeping?

Mostly predatory fish. Freshwater stingrays, bichers, catfish, cichlids, datnoids, pike cichlids, African pike, arowanas, channa, SA/CA cichlids, Pbass, etc...

2. How did you get into keeping them?

I have kept all types of fish. I started with a goldfish I won at my school carnival when I was 6. That lead to catching Stickle backs which spawned on me. Then on to tropical fish. I think I had a 26 gallon community tank. After that I tried discus, killifish, characins, etc... But, I have always been interested in exotic things. I started collecting oddball fish about 20 years ago. Then I started to keep bigger fish and bigger tanks. My biggest tank in the past was a 560 gallon acrylic and had about 30 tanks running at one time. Feeding fish became a chore, not what I wanted in the hobby. Now we are down to 2 tanks. 55 gallon glass and 240 acrylic.

3. What is your experience level in aquarium hobby?

Well, I have breen keeping and breeding fish on and off for 37 years. Recently I have been thinking of taking down my 240 and maybe getting out of the hobby for a while. We just had a baby and I don't have time for fishkeeping. Life changes and other hobbies have kept me away form fishkeeping in the past.

4. How how much time do you spend devoted to the hobby/what is your level of interest?

I probably spend less than 15 min. a day to the hobby. I use to spend hours but I don't have time for that now. My level of interest is not as high as it use to be. I was obsessed with the hobby at times

5. Where do you see yourself in the future with this hobby?

I probably see myself going back into the hobby. I always do. Every time I get bigger tanks and more expensive fish. I want to eventually breed arowanas, rare plecos, stingrays, and other rare fish.

 

[Matthew5664]

I read the topic as do fish like you!!!!!!!!!!
Thinking WTF this guys a loooooooon!!!

but on reeding again I now see my mistake!

as for me Well been in the hobby about 5 months. Ever sins I moved to my own place I saw I would get a aquarium, and that I did now 5 month later I have 3 with number 4 on the way!!

keeping platies, dwarf gori's plecs rams and black moor at the mo. With a large SW tank on the way. (see DIY) for my thred!!

 

[Fish_Mike]

I have two fish, equally favourites. Naturally-coloured Discus (ex. Heckel) and Tropheus of all sorts!

1. What fish are you currently keeping?

All africans, 4 african catfish, though that may very well soon change...

2. How did you get into keeping them?

Saw pictures, fell in love, the basic story

3. What is your experience level in aquarium hobby?

I don't really rate myself. I know how to keep freshwater fish, I'm careful with all of them. I wouldn't call that experience, I'd call it minimum, and that's just the way it works for 99% of freshwaters.

4. How how much time do you spend devoted to the hobby/what is your level of interest?

I spend about an hour each day watching my fish, about 2 hours in total either on these forums, or doing research on new fish(As I lately have).

5. Where do you see yourself in the future with this hobby?

Just continuing to keep them, and love them. Nothing serious, at least, probably not with setting up a shop or professionally breeding.

And I just haven't kept marines because I don't like them much. I'm sorry, it's a crying shame, I know, and the colours are nice, but I wouldn't like to see that in my home. Not really sure why, just kind of against it all.