Need suggestions for little fish with BIG personalities!

[Bosk]

Hi there!

I'm looking for suggestions for fish under 2" to stock my 8 gallon bowfront tank.

The smaller the better but I want fish with LOADS OF PERSONALITY!


I had considered Dwarf Puffers but they're so rare in Australia they're worth AU$80 each!

Fish with that kind of intelligent, curious nature would suit me perfectly, if only the dwarfs were cheaper my question would already be answered.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Guest]

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=864

That website gives a lot of good info on what kind of environment the fish get, what they like to eat, how big they get, etc. I use it as a reference a LOT when im thinking i want a new fish.

For bottom feeders, I love my 2 corey cats, they really do a good job keeping the bottom clean of excess food and they are sooo cute. Mine are panda cory's which are really cheap, and they school together and play in the bubbles. Lot's of fun to watch, and when people see my aquarium, they automatically point out how active they are. And they only get like 2"

They also say dwarf gourmi's don't get bigger than 2", i have a few, and they are pretty slow moving and shy... maybe not what your looking for.

There are lots of varieties of tetra's that don't get over 2", and they school so you could have a nice school of about 6 of them that would look nice.

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

Cory cats and ADFs both have great personalities.

 

[mentallylost]

Neolamprologus Multifasciatus. I have 5 of these fish and love them. A word of caution though... these fish are very prolific! Incredible little fish. Any of the smaller African Cichlid shelldwellers will do though. They all have serious personality.

 

[Jaxom_Ruatha]

You could maybe go for a male betta (or perhaps three females) and a few pygmy cories.

 

[black udder]

My clown loach has a ton of personality and my golden wonder killie - unfortunately, they're more than 2" - killie is only about 4" and I think there are other dwarf loaches that might fit the bill. I hear loaches are a very personable lot in general.

Lots of folk have a real affinity for otos (small catfish about 1-1.5"

good luck!

 

[Zagz]

Cory cats and ADFs both have great personalities.

I'd have to agree, ADF's had great personalities. I have 2 of them and they are constantly offering me hours of entertainment. They have such cute, goofy mannerisms.

 

[hashbaz]

I think male bettas have ton of personality. ADF or gost shrimp should work fine with bettas (depending on the bettas personality).

 

[Blucat]

Bettas, Bettas and bettas. They are just as temperamental as humans. Mum's one flares at the whole family except for Mum, who feeds him. It does a wiggle dance when begging or waiting for food. It sulks and flares at Mum at the corner if he gets a bit roughed up during water change.

Currently, we gave him a trial in a bigger tank and he loved it. exploring out his new hide out pokin at things, continually non stop wiggle dancing, but then we had to move him out so the tank could do a fishless cycle. Because now he is back in his dingy old little container he has been on a temper tantrum eversince. Now he flares at everybody even Mum!!

Bettas can recognise faces and hear sounds. There have been reports of bettas being trained to do stuff. One bettas has been trained to pull a bell at feeding time, another can go through a hoop and you can train the better to jump out of the water and catch the food from fingertips!

You can divide the tank into two and keep two bettas! You will get lots of activity and character then

 

[megladonsharky]

betta or praecox rainbows.. mine all have loads of personality

 

[XxTitleisTxX]

IMO Bettas have lotsa personality and would be a good choice for you .. remember not to keep more than one male in the same tank and keep a lid on your tank, especially if its a young one.. mine only jump at feeding time but i know theyre capable

 

[Gunnie]

My vote is for a pair of the multies!

Desktop cichlids

 

[Bosk]

Thanks for the advice everyone those are some great suggestions!

Actually I already have a male betta in the tank and he also flares his gills at me when is moved to a different tank or the water quality goes downhill!

I was thinking of putting a Dwarf Gourami in there after seeing one at the LFS and being captivated with its looks, how are they personality wise and would he get along with my (male) betta?

 

[Blucat]

dwarf gourami and male betta = chaos

I have dwarf gourami. Yes they have character and they are soo funny at times. They do interact with me, recognise my face, beg for food, swimming antics, follow finger. They look at me all the time and always come to the front if i am there. I like watching them look for food

 

[Bosk]

They sound pretty intelligent and I just love their looks - I was planning to move the betta to a seperate tank anyway so that's not a big issue.

I'm curious to know how both Bettas & Gouramis rate on the 'fish intelligence scale'. It does seem the larger the fish the more intelligent they can potentially be is that right? - at least all the White Clouds, Danios and Tetras I've seen seem just wander around aimlessly most of the time.

 

[greenmaji]

It does seem the larger the fish the more intelligent they can potentially be is that right? - at least all the White Clouds, Danios and Tetras I've seen seem just wander around aimlessly most of the time.

you have some observaional information that might be throwing you off a little.. remember dinosaurs? I dont think size has anything to do with it..