Favorite Less Common Fishes

idk if this would really count as unpopular per se, but I think that bettas outside the splendens complex are absolutely beautiful, but I barely ever see people keeping bettas such as Betta macrostoma.
After searching it up i have realized that there is literally a video with 50k views about betta macrostoma. i may be stupid

 

idk if this would really count as unpopular per se, but I think that bettas outside the splendens complex are absolutely beautiful, but I barely ever see people keeping bettas such as Betta macrostoma.

After searching it up i have realized that there is literally an aquarium coop video with 50k views about betta macrostoma. i may be stupid

Well, if it makes you feel better I've never seen betta macrostomas around here! Even specialized fish store don't have them in stock (just checked). I also think the wild "more dull" bettas look really cool

 

Well, if it makes you feel better I've never seen betta macrostomas around here! Even specialized fish store don't have them in stock (just checked). I also think the wild "more dull" bettas look really cool

Oh yeah totally. I generally think that fish that look "ugly" can be really cool and have a lot of personality.

 

Not in the hobby… but barracuda! I just cannot wrap my head around why people are scared of them. They’re super intelligent and keep divers company and they like sparkly things. They just seem really cute to me.

 

The three spined stickleback.

I will lovingly blame the author of Sylvester the three spined stickleback on this. Which was really my only reference point for fish until I was in my late 30s.

 

Not in the hobby… but barracuda! I just cannot wrap my head around why people are scared of them. They’re super intelligent and keep divers company and they like sparkly things. They just seem really cute to me.

Aww, I like barracudas! They are really cute to me <3

The three spined stickleback.

I will lovingly blame the author of Sylvester the three spined stickleback on this. Which was really my only reference point for fish until I was in my late 30s.

Oh wow, can they be aquarium fish too?

If we're thinking of wild fish then I'll chime in with the wolffish. They are awesome

 

Not sure if they are that unpopular but for me it's black Ruby barbs.

 

Im not sure if it is "unpopular" but mine is l333 king tiger pleco. I only kept one once but he died when i was foolish ad overdosed the algaefix ( what a waste of a ton of money)

 

I love jellyfish, but rarely hear of people keeping them successfully for more than a short period of time. Not even my city aquarium can keep them without things occasionally going wrong.

 

I love jellyfish, but rarely hear of people keeping them successfully for more than a short period of time. Not even my city aquarium can keep them without things occasionally going wrong.

I didn't know they were that fragile!

Not sure if they are that unpopular but for me it's black Ruby barbs.

I really like tiger barbs and all the different color morphs. Too bad they are aggressive little fish

 

Not sure, but some of the more uncommon guys I have:
Meesha, zodiac loach
Scruggs, banjo catfish
Miyamoto, samurai gourami

 

Killifish species— I love all of them and there is such variety but they can be difficult to find

 

Humphead glass fish! A local fish and pet store had them , 10 -15 years ago, I could not even find out, after going home to research , if they were brackish fish or needed special treatment. I went back and got a school of them they had to be the coolist fish I ever kept! The only other time I ever saw them for sale they were $16 each, to expensive for me for a schooling fish but, maybe someday.

The Brown ghost Knife fish. Such a cool fish that maxes out at 7 inches instead of 20+ like all the other knife fish you see for sale. Its hard to find info on there care, much less buy one in a store, I got lucky and found one up for rehoming on craigslist!

 

Humphead glass fish! A local fish and pet store had them , 10 -15 years ago, I could not even find out, after going home to research , if they were brackish fish or needed special treatment. I went back and got a school of them they had to be the coolist fish I ever kept! The only other time I ever saw them for sale they were $16 each, to expensive for me for a schooling fish but, maybe someday.

The Brown ghost Knife fish. Such a cool fish that maxes out at 7 inches instead of 20+ like all the other knife fish you see for sale. Its hard to find info on there care, much less buy one in a store, I got lucky and found one up for rehoming on craigslist!

The brown ghost knife fish looks really cool! I understand the frustration on not finding any info hahah

 

I really like African Mud Fish. . . I have never had very good luck keeping them. . . and not a ton of information about there care online. . .one day I would like to keep them again.

 

I really like African Mud Fish. . . I have never had very good luck keeping them. . . and not a ton of information about there care online. . .one day I would like to keep them again.

They look awesome! I would totally have one!

 

I like my Cichlasoma amazonarum, but the lfs still has many left that I took there over a year ago, they are selling big ones 2 for $5, people just do not want them.

 

I have panda garras, and I don't see their photos being shared that often on aquarium groups I'm in, so I guess they aren't entirely mainstream. I have a group of 5 and they are really fun. They are bold, curious, and really really like to graze on my hands while I clean the tank. They are cute, maybe not as cool looking as some hillstream loaches, but far more personable and, as far as I can tell, more hardy. Ever had a problem that your bottom feeders are too slow and shy when compared to your mid-level fish and struggle to feed? Not a problem with these guys, their energy match that of schooling fish. The only warning I have about them is you need to be careful not to pull them out of the tank with your hand and not to squish them during maintenance, because as I said, they can be really clingy, quite literally .

 

Common plecos.

I mean yeah , I get it . They get huge , live for years and are practically bomb proof. Most people just shouldn’t have them because of the sizes they get to and don’t realise they’ll have to keep upgrading tanks or re home. I however love mine. I swear he knows me by sight , he doesn’t hide from me but everyone he will . Oh and I can hand feed him with my plant tweezers !! I think that’s pretty amazing but my partner was looking at me like I’d lost my marbles

 

Not in the hobby… but barracuda! I just cannot wrap my head around why people are scared of them. They’re super intelligent and keep divers company and they like sparkly things. They just seem really cute to me.

I remember snorkeling with one. I thought it was so cool. Afterwards I noticed that I was the only swimmer that didn't scramble back on the boat when the barracda arrived. I was the only one that swam towards and with it. Afterwards, as I swam back to the boat, a sea turtle swam up beside me and stayed with me all the way. That was good day

Unpopular vs popular: Over the years I've gotten 3 responses to my tanks

1) Why don't you keep "pretty" / "colorful" fish. (I ignore these people)

2) Your tanks / fish are SO beautiful, I love them etc. These people seem filled with wonder

3) No response at all. We've had house guests that never once acknowledge that there are containers of living things all around them. Fish, plants, snails, the sound of water...

None of the fish I keep can be bought locally, but that's because many fish are not available in my state not because they are particularly rare. Online retailers don't generally worry about shipping them here though. The box stores here like to carry the same 2 dozen fish forever.

 

I remember snorkeling with one. I thought it was so cool. Afterwards I noticed that I was the only swimmer that didn't scramble back on the boat when the barracda arrived. I was the only one that swam towards and with it. Afterwards, as I swam back to the boat, a sea turtle swam up beside me and stayed with me all the way. That was good day

Unpopular vs popular: Over the years I've gotten 3 responses to my tanks

1) Why don't you keep "pretty" / "colorful" fish. (I ignore these people)

2) Your tanks / fish are SO beautiful, I love them etc. These people seem filled with wonder

3) No response at all. We've had house guests that never once acknowledge that there are containers of living things all around them. Fish, plants, snails, the sound of water...

None of the fish I keep can be bought locally, but that's because many fish are not available in my state not because they are particularly rare. Online retailers don't generally worry about shipping them here though. The box stores here like to carry the same 2 dozen fish forever.

Do you have some photos of your fish tanks? They sound very interesting!

 

Many people have kept Asian Glass Catfish (Kryptopterus vitreolus) but I kept a large shoal (15) of Three Striped African Glass Catfish (Pareutropius buffei). They shoaled under an arch and appreciated a current. Although they would probably not have been able to compete in a normal community tank I only had mild species such as Corydoras and Neon Tetras. In the evening they would cover every square inch of my 4ft tank. Surprisingly to me, these were the third most interesting fish I have ever kept after my Clown Loaches and my brother's Chain Loaches.

My advice...

...just keep loaches, seriously!

 

Bullrout. Super dope fish.

 

Thick Lipped Gourami. They're really only known as the fish that are mislabeled as Honey Gourami, but I think they're really neat and a more peaceful alternative to Dwarf Gourami and Blue Gourami. I plan on keeping them in the near future.

 

I feel like some people overlook Corys but I have 8 in my tank and they provide excellent utility and if you wait to get different kinds they end up looking really cool when they school together. SO i have 4 different pairs all with different masks. They unexpectedly have stolen the show in my tank IMO lol

 

I feel like some people overlook Corys but I have 8 in my tank and they provide excellent utility and if you wait to get different kinds they end up looking really cool when they school together. SO i have 4 different pairs all with different masks. They unexpectedly have stolen the show in my tank IMO lol

Must be a regional thing or something, because as far as I can tell cories are really popular. Of course, not all species, e.g. I rarely see pigmy cories.

 

Thick Lipped Gourami. They're really only known as the fish that are mislabeled as Honey Gourami, but I think they're really neat and a more peaceful alternative to Dwarf Gourami and Blue Gourami. I plan on keeping them in the near future.

Second thick-lipped gouramis. They are peaceful, interactive, and outgoing. I have multiple males (they didn't show their male dorsals when I got them young) and don't have problems with violence at all. People mistake them for honey gouramis in stores and I think that's really unjustified -- though they both act like 'gouramis,' my honeys are very, very different from my thicklips. They're noticeably more reserved compared to the spunky thicklip, while being equally lovely in a community setting.

I also like Black Ruby Barbs which were mentioned above. Super striking fish and so active/fun to watch.

 

I have many favorites I could share, but I recently took a picture of some of my dwarf zebra hovering loaches. So, I'll share that one:

These little ones are active, peaceful, and almost always out in plain view.

 

I am enjoying these Copella, they don't seem to be that well known or popular, I am not sure what species they are.

 

I am enjoying these Copella, they don't seem to be that well known or popular, I am not sure what species they are.

they look somewhat like slim a gold barb with those scale patterns , but prettier ! These are a tetra genus ??

 

they look somewhat like slim a gold barb with those scale patterns , but prettier ! These are a tetra genus ??

They are characins, family Lebiasinidae, same family as pencilfish.

 

Ooh ! Thanks for replying . I like them !

 

Platinum Tetras (Hemigrammus vorderwinkleri) are my favorite rare fish. They're considered a shipping contaminant - a fish that's accidentally caught alongside another more common fish species rather than being purposely sought out. Platinum Tetras a lot like Gold Tetras (H. rodwayi), and will swim in mixed schools with them so they're usually accidentally caught alongside Gold Tetras. Platinum Tetras are slimmer and paler gold compared to the true Gold Tetras. I've found Platinum Tetras will school with a bunch of different types of fish in aquariums, even when there's a large group of Platinums already, forming a "mega school" of multiple types of fish. They have a stripe along their body that they can change the color of to match the school of fish they're trying to swim with. My school changed that stripe from gold, orange, to blue at various times depending on the color of the fish they were trying to convince to school with them. I got a big group of these years ago at a pet store that's since closed, and enjoyed them for several years. I've never been able to find any true H. vorderwinkleri for sale again, unfortunately.

 

Platinum Tetras (Hemigrammus vorderwinkleri) are my favorite rare fish. They're considered a shipping contaminant - a fish that's accidentally caught alongside another more common fish species rather than being purposely sought out. Platinum Tetras a lot like Gold Tetras (H. rodwayi), and will swim in mixed schools with them so they're usually accidentally caught alongside Gold Tetras. Platinum Tetras are slimmer and paler gold compared to the true Gold Tetras. I've found Platinum Tetras will school with a bunch of different types of fish in aquariums, even when there's a large group of Platinums already, forming a "mega school" of multiple types of fish. They have a stripe along their body that they can change the color of to match the school of fish they're trying to swim with. My school changed that stripe from gold, orange, to blue at various times depending on the color of the fish they were trying to convince to school with them. I got a big group of these years ago at a pet store that's since closed, and enjoyed them for several years. I've never been able to find any true H. vorderwinkleri for sale again, unfortunately.

Interesting, I have heard of mimicry in some African cichlids, but never before in tetras!

 

I try to only keep unpopular fish. Everyone can keep their neons. I got other fish to learn about!

 

I agree having a betta and endlers

 

I tend to be interested in more uncommon fish as well, though there are some popular species I do like a lot (neon tetras and severums to give two disparate examples).

 

I like Festivums. You never see them, when they get under good light and are comfortable, they look great. Pretty cool fish.

 

I love all bettas. A lot of fun "rare/unpopular' wilds out there.

 

Ya, and a lot of the wild bettas look amazing. Mahachai bettas are gorgeous.