What makes you like a fish?

[majolo]

I was just curious what makes people choose the species of fish they choose. Some obvious options:

1. Appearance (Probably the most obvious on the face of it. And not necessarily beauty per se; it might be a striking but arguably ugly fish...)

2. Behavior (General activity level, personality, territoriality, breeding behaviors of course)

3. Rarity/Novelty (This might seem kind of shallow, but I have to ask myself: if I only saw neon & cardinal tetras once in a blue moon, or they had just been discovered last year, wouldn't I be a little more impressed by them?)

4. What else? I can imagine a hardcore purist who values biotope-appropriateness more than all the criteria above, for instance.

And of course, there are important things like compatibility, right size for your tank, etc. But say this is in the abstract, to put in a dream tank where whatever you choose would fit in.

For me, it was probably appearance when I started my tank, and I'm now more interested in behavior as time goes on.

[BrianNY]

a challenge

[Zagz]

All of the above, including Brian's.

[Aquarium Freak]

I agree all of those qualities. I also like going to the LFS and shopping for the fish to I'd have to say the biggest ones for me are appearance and personality. I also like the challenge of finding a certain species of fish like Brian said.

[blazeyreef]

I agree with all above!!!

[Puriti]

If I'm looking for a specific kind of fish I look for appearance and behavior, especially if I'm familiar with the species and if I find a novelty one of that kind of fish then HECK YEAH i'm getting it LOL that's usually why I accumulate so many betta fish or mollies ^^;

[justrelax]

I picked behavior as my number one. I will say that when I first started this hobby my answer would probably have been appearance. The more I "get to know" my fish, and the longer I am around fellow hobbyists though, the more I realize that the biggest fascination for me is how unique each fish's behavior is. Not just the different species, either, but each individual fish within that species. On top of each fishes personality, when you add in how they interact with others, it is truly amazing.

[hc8719]

the fish has to have something unique about it, personality quirk, color, or shape.

[Quake2player]

Appearance as you can tell: My fave fish are Neon Tetras, Cardinals and Rams. Of course, these are more or less widely available and i don't worry about overcrowding my 29 gal with the neons and cardinals... I usually keep 1 ram only.

[shayfish]

LOL... I thought this was a thread asking what qualities I share with fish!

I am torn between appearance and behaviour, but I think behaviour wins so that's where my vote went. There is something to be said for novelty too..

[Jchillin]

Definitely all of the above, including BrianNY's challenge (though he is somewhat biased since he keeps about 1,000 Discus).

[cassie]

Appearance and behavior are my primary things along with, of course, physical ability to adapt to the community tank(s). I like fish that I find relaxing in their behavior, ergo "peaceful" fish. (My mollies being the obvious exception since the things are hyperactive little buggers..at least mine are.) After that, I look for fish that would stand out in the community they're being introduced to. I probably wouldn't even want to add cardinal tetras to a tank with neons, etc. I like color, shape, and size contrast within the tank.

Rarity/novelty doesn't really factor in for me at all and challenge, at my level of experience, is off-putting rather than an attraction. I look forward to the day when I'm confident enough about my basic skills to look for a challenge.

[JDogg]

all of the above plus brian's

[Gillie]

I also have to say all of the above, all of the qualities are needed for a nicely balanced enviroment.

[BrianNY]

Well Jchillin............ 1,000 discus might be a bit of an exageration. LOL

[theotheragentm]

I go with look first. I started with Platies and Mollies, because it gave me a wide range of colors. Then I realized I wanted something like Clown Loaches, but the size restricted me. So I went with Panda Cories to give me a fish that wasn't as bright that gave me a contrast in color.

Behaviour was secondary after that, although where a fish swims is its behavior I suppose. Bottom dwellers are partly why I chose Cories too.

[Mosaic]

Behavior is a big one for the fish I currently keep. A lot of the fish on my dream list are there because I like big fish and I like how guests are so impressed with my 13" pleco, so I'd love to have pacu or arowana or some other massive fish. Yes, its shallow.

[GouramiFanatic]

For me it's mainly a combo of Appearance and Behavior. When I see a fish I think it's 'nice looking' I do research on it before buying it. If it has what I'm looking for in terms of behavior that I'll either buy one (or more) at that time or I'll keep them in the back of my head for when I have an 'opening' for more fish.

[squeekness]

I like fish with a lot of color, though that's not as easy to get with freshwater. I like bright active, playful ones, not ones that hide so much though I do have a weakness for clown loaches and that's the color thing again. They just look so gosh darn cute.

[ladycage]

For me it is the behavior of the fish first, then the appearance. Nothing beats having fish notice you and starting swishing around.