Species having "personality?

[Jason the Lost]

Can someone define this for me? I hear people champion one species over another all the time because a certain type of fish has personality...

Do they carry on conversations with you?

My angels flip out the minute they see me and start begging like there's no tomorrow...seems like any fish given the right amount of time in a tank/environment develope certain traits...

 

[Jchillin]

Do they carry on conversations with you?

I hope no one admits this characteristic of their fish.

Personality in the sense that certain do more than just swim around the tank looking for food or following each other around (schooling) totally disregarding their owner until feeding time.

These fish (like angels) provide some entertainment and seem to be aware of our presence, taking strides to investigate us.

 

[Satsumas]

My brother's GBR's follow your finger along the glass and when you come close they move their heads left to right pretty quickly. It looks very odd and it's also pretty funny, i guess they know what happens at dinner time!

 

[blazeyreef]

I 100 percent say that fish have personallity'sk, ALL animals do! My freinds puffers would come up and greet him (or me) whenever one of us walked into the room! it was really neat. and my "queen" ( female bolivian ram) always come's to greet me when I walk in. my tetras could care less but.....

 

[fish_4_all]

I have BN that are complete opposites of each other. One like to play and is always chewing on something where the toher kinda sits around and prefers tobe completely left alone. I have had bettas that when you go to the tank will come up to greet you and I have had them where they run and hide at the first sign of my ugly mug, lol. Botia loaches that will chase each other around all day playing and clowns that sat around and did nothing but eat. Cories that will swim around the tank like it a whirlpool and the other of the same species that prefer to hide and never be seen. I have fish that will come and eat out of my hand where others of the same species and I have had them the same amount of time will run and hide until I remove my hand from the tank.

It all dpeends on how they decide to react with you and the tank.

 

[QTOFFER]

All of my fish are up front and center if they think I have food. Only my cichlids seem to really notice what's going on outside the tank.

My four angels follow me as I move from one of the room to the other. That's probably just feeding anticipation, though. However, they will line up and watch the TV when I'm not in the room. I take this as proof that they see and respond to what is going on outside the tank.

My most intelligent and personable fish is a red jewel cichlid. Unfortunately, he is a vicious homocidal psychopath. I was ready to fillet him after he murdered another jewel, two blue acaras, a firemouth, a school of corys, and a school of blackskirt tetras in my 58 gal. I'm glad I banished him to an empty 10 gal instead.

This fish usually dives for cover when I enter the room, but he soon comes out to see what I'm up to. He will aggressively take food from my fingers, splash me on purpose , and respond when I make faces at him. If I let one of my pet mice explore the tank stand, the jewel will intently stalk her. He's definitely interested in what's happening outside his tank and he lets me know it!

 

[triazole]

IMO, personality is defined by the antics or activities carried out by a certain fish, separate from its feeding or procreating activities.

 

[joannde]

Do they carry on conversations with you?

I hope no one admits this characteristic of their fish.

Ok, let me be the first --- I DO carry on conversations with my fish, but they're one sided (at least for now - no little fishy voices in my head yet LOL).

I'd agree that almost any fish can be conditioned to responding to "the food figure" (ie: someone approaching the tank that looks like a person who'll feed them), but they DO have individual "personalities". All 3 of my DPs were obtained at the same time and have been in the same tank together for almost 2 weeks. One will pull bloodworms directly from the eyedropper, one will hover just under the eyedropper waiting for me to squirt it out, the last stays far in the interior of the tank watching all the action and goes for the bloodworms that escape and move away from the dropper. Is that a "personality" ? for lack of a better term, I'd have to say it is.

Bettas also show great "personality". There are just that are "bold" and not afraid to jump for food that you hold on your finger, there are those that will only eat after you've moved away from the tank, and there are those that have to stare at the food for a good couple of minutes before they "move in for the attack". So yes, some fish have personalities, absolutely !

 

[Squirt0170]

My fish are telling me to UPGRADE to a larger tank! I just KNOW it and see it in the're eyes HAHAHA! OF course I have to give them what they want!

I swear my Black Ghost Knife is completely blind... my Silver Dollar eats from my hands... They all watch me like a hawk...

 

[sarah5775]

I had an oscar in college. He was my first tropical fish. Long story as to how I got him. Anyway, he used to take freeze-dried krill from my hand. But if someone else offered it, he wouldn't take it. Somehow he could distinguish me from my roommate and my other friends.