Do your fish have personalities??

[Finzzup]

Years ago, I had an Oscar all alone in a 25G tank -- I got him as a tiny baby with two others (who didn't make it) and he grew pretty big! When I got married, he was transferred into a 55G tank, but pretty much stayed alone because everything I tried to put in there with him, he killed it.

Anyway -- when I would come home from work, I usually would feed him and spend about an hour near the tank watching the news and just doing stuff. One day, I didn't feed him. About 1/2 hour later, I noticed he was 'digging' into the gravel and raising a ruckus -- and then he started banging the thermometer in the tank!

From then on, if I didn't feed him right on schedule, he would start up these antics again. Nobody believed he was actually looking for food, but it had to have been!

Now, my Betta sits in his jar about 18 inches from me and next to my computer monitor and seems to spend all his time swimming as soon as I get to work. He is also looking for his food!

I have people in and out of my office all day long and he never reacts to any of them except for one person -- when this man comes in, my Betta acts as if there is another male Betta next to him -- gills flare out and he goes into "attack" mode!

It's so much fun having fish (the few that I have had) and I honestly think some of them have definite personalities!

[val]

Absolutely, fish have personalities.

If you'd like to read a great book about fish and their personalities, go on-line to find a used copy of an out-of-print book called Confessions of a Fish Doctor by Scott Brodie. Awesome book.

Val

[FishmasteR2002]

I have 6 black skirt tetras and I call them the mafia because they look like they are wearing black suits and they always stay together. I also have a blue crayfish that doesn't come out from under his rock unless the light is off. There are little things I notice about my fish that give them personality.

[Nippy]

My Midas cichlid gets po'd if he doesn't get to go to bed on time. Whenever we stay up late and use the computer(next to his tank), he starts banging on the heaters, telling us to go to bed so he can too!
I have an oscar that used to put himself to bed and a Jaguar who spies on you, among many many others. :)

[ewok]

my lima shovelnose actually seems to come to the end of the tank to see me alot of times. he pretty much knows the routine when i go down to feed and check on him, and he will swim to the end of the tank i pass by because he knows i will look at him.

i have seen others fishes like oscars that seemed very smart also, most of mine are sort of unremarkable at best tho.

[Pootspete]

My Betta Boy is a playful betta. He plays right along with his tank mates the neons.

[Serrateeth_2002]

Of course,my parrot fish hates me.

[Zim]

Ive got a few tanks. I don't see much of a personality in any of the fish, frogs, or snails except from my kenyi cichlids. I swear they seem to be smarter than the others.

They are very territorial and chase away anything that gets near their 'home'. Ive never seen them bite one another. I have seen them nudge each other when they get too close. They do, however, bite the tails off of the rosy reds I throw in the tank.. (food for the senegalus bichir).

The kenyi cichlids rub up against the objects of the tank. The dart up against the rocks and scrape it with their side in one quick motion. I dont know if they are trying to leave their scent to make sure everyone knows its their homes or what. They do this daily.

If I hold up my keychain shaped like a fish, they will stare at it for several minutes, not moving.

The Kenyis seem to act a bit more on thought than any other fish I own. They dont just swim around and chase each other aimlessly like those annoying danios.

[SteveInEssex]

I honestly believe I have the smartest fish!!!! He is a Florida Gar about 8-9 inches in length. I have only had him for 4 weeks. I never name fish, but.....he deserved a name after showing how interactive he is. HENRY, lol. He spends 99% of his time on the surface and as soon as I enter the room will follow me up and down the length of the tank. Then if i put my hand in the water he will let me stroke him. He will chase my finger around the tank(never biting though, thankfully as he has little razor sharp teeth.) and is happier at feeding time if I feed him by hand. Loves playing with the hose when I do my water changes and when i vacuum the sand. He clearly knows the difference between my girlfriend and I, as he ignores her completley, even though she does feed him too. I have started to notice that he reacts to sound. We did a test and he will move to the end of the tank i am at when I talk, but not to my girlfriends when she talks. Maybe its just that my voice, being deeper and stronger creates more vibrations in the water for him to pick up on, but still it is impressive to watch.

[christopher1260]

my texas cichlid has more personality than any of my other fish. like most texas, he digs a lot. he gets very mad when i rearrange the tank, though. he will not come out for a whole day when i rearrange things, then he reclaims the little rock cave that i have for him and digs the bottom out of it. he will also follow my finger around the tank and watch everyone who comes into my room.

[Sumpin'fishy]

I have a couple of fish each with their own personalities. I believe that if we were to spend more time with our fish, we would notice more about their personalities. For examples:

Electric Blue Crawfish: "Lefty"
He doesn't seem to be as aggressive and attack prone as most people say crawfish are. I have had fish eat out of his lap, well within his arms reach. He usually just flairs his claws and gently pushes fish away with them. It's awesome! You can almost see the annoyance on his face. He has, however "ridden" one of my fish, Pete. When Pete was annoying him too much and trying to take his space and food away from him, Lefty looked like he was just going to crawl away, moping. Instead, he climbed up on the rock overhanging the cave he was be aggrivated at, and jumped on the back of Pete! He rode him like a pro too! Pete, ended up with just a split dorsal and side fin (forgot name), but he never took Lefty for granted again. Lefty got his name from a habit I noticed from early on. He would raise the front of his body slightly, and move nothing except his left claw. It was positioned vertically, with elbow on top, claw dangling. He swung it in a pendullum-like motion. I later read that they do this to attract potential prey, but I've never seen him do anything to nearby fish. Anyways, it was cool to watch!

Jellybean Cichlid: Pete
This little fish is the most hearty fish I have had. Never gets sick, and is fine in an uncycled tank (not that I promote this practice). My mosther used to keep him in a 1 1/2 gallon hex with nothing but large gravel and an airstone. She wouldn't change the water till it was about 1/4 evaporated. He ate flakes every day. She would do water changes and scrub the whole tank (including gravel with dish soap sparkling clean. I'm amazed the fish lived at all. He's about 3 years old now. He is the meanest fish I have, pound for pound. He used to be dominant, until the fish got double his size. He also will charge the glass if you put your finger up to it and point it at him! He now lives alone again! He just can't compete with my Blackbelt and Jack Dempsey, being well over twice his length each. He's such a punk, that I think he likes living alone better anyways. He also used to not let anyone else chase another fish except him. So he was kinda like the police man of the tank (but a crooked cop).

My other two have good personalities, too, although I won't tell you about them all. Just as a note, my pleco will scrap with the best of my fish, not afraid of them at all!

[blee358]

My fish seem to only have a personality when it's time to be fed:confused: . They will also kind of greet me whenever I walk past the tank. Since it's next to my stairs, they do a lot of greeting:D . I think a large majority of fish have personalities though. I think the less fish you have in a tank, the better they get to know you.

[fishmaniac]

I had a betta at one time that would jump out of the water and eat betta pellets that were stuck to my finger. He would also follow my finger around the outside of the tank. Fish are pretty smart creatures :)

[fishfood]

Absolutely! Each and every fish that I have seems to have a unique personality. It really fascinates me. It's fun to see the fish race to the front of the tank and swim up and down when they see me come through the door.

I have a blue gourmai that went through "fishy depression" after his favorite fish died. He wouldn't eat, swim around like usual and finally just laid on his side on the bottom of the tank. This went on for several weeks. Then, I bought him a new friend that looked a lot like the old one and within an hour he was back to his old self.

[JamisonBWolsh]

Fishfood: I like that one! Nice!
Did the new fish like the old one as well?

[fishfood]

Originally posted by JamisonBWolsh
Fishfood: I like that one! Nice!
Did the new fish like the old one as well?

Yep, they both got along great. Never saw that same behavior in the gourmai again. Unfortunately, they both died of some sort of infection awhile back.