What is your favorite fish to keep and why?

[missa]

What is your favorite fish to keep and why? I have so many favorites but as I sit here today watching my fish like I do everyday I realized that I have had so much fun watching my fish! Each fish has its own little personality. You have the butt lick of the tank and the fish with the most "manners" and the one that seems to supervise the others and others that are just playful. I'm torn between my red eye tetras who have a ton of fun catching the current in my tank from the filter and do it over and over again like and amusement park ride. Or perhaps the new clown loaches who play tag and do their best to school with the other fish and get rejected and spazz out. People say fish are just "stupid animals" but I disagree.

 

[splattered]

Honestly if I'm on the spot it would have to be catfish. I really don't kno what it is but they're amazing. I mean they're so shark-like; it's always amazed me. I'm fascinated by freshwater variants of they're saltwater food chain/behavior counterparts. Sometimes they aren't really related but "as above so below" and so there's usually a freshwater critter that's vaguely reminiscent of something larger from the sea. I swear my yoyo's remind me of dolphins for some reason (though I realize actual freshwater dolphins exist). Something about the way they moved... and then there's the clicking - so cool. I try to mimic the biodiversity found in marine environments in all my freshwater tanks. Gotta have shrimp! Love crayfish! I want the entire eco-system to balance out and ultimately take care of itself so plants are a must. The only thing I can't find any reference to is freshwater squid. And apparently there's something about the way their propulsion system works that could ONLY work in salt water. So no squid but they're voracious anyway so how would it even be possible.
But yes over the years I never met a catfish I didn't like. Ultimately I want a brackish setup with some columbian cats and a river setup with Brichard's synodontus but that's still a dream for now. Now I've got a small school of IDS, a small school of panda cories, and a lone bumblebee cat - so I've got my hands full!

 

[missa]

Honestly if I'm on the spot it would have to be catfish. I really don't kno what it is but they're amazing. I mean they're so shark-like; it's always amazed me. I'm fascinated by freshwater variants of they're saltwater food chain/behavior counterparts. Sometimes they aren't really related but "as above so below" and so there's usually a freshwater critter that's vaguely reminiscent of something larger from the sea. I swear my yoyo's remind me of dolphins for some reason (though I realize actual freshwater dolphins exist). Something about the way they moved... and then there's the clicking - so cool. I try to mimic the biodiversity found in marine environments in all my freshwater tanks. Gotta have shrimp! Love crayfish! I want the entire eco-system to balance out and ultimately take care of itself so plants are a must. The only thing I can't find any reference to is freshwater squid. And apparently there's something about the way their propulsion system works that could ONLY work in salt water. So no squid but they're voracious anyway so how would it even be possible.
But yes over the years I never met a catfish I didn't like. Ultimately I want a brackish setup with some columbian cats and a river setup with Brichard's synodontus but that's still a dream for now. Now I've got a small school of IDS, a small school of panda cories, and a lone bumblebee cat - so I've got my hands full!

Very cool Splattered! I never really cared for catfish (love corydoras though!) very much. My reason is that they eat my other pet fish lol. I totally understand what you say though and they are a fish that can survive just about anything and they are very diverse. It makes me think about evolution with them. And I think about Jeremy wade and his Wells catfish and the giant blue catfish he caught. They are very good predators. Thank you for sharing with me what you like. I like your thinking. . Have a great day!