most underrated fish in your opinion

[esoxlucius]

i nominate the Chocolate Cichlid.....oscars everywhere but Chocolates are more striking....they are super hardy, less aggressive but still impressive as hell. The bonus is the smaller mouth which opens up the tank to many options impossible with an Oscar.

They're very much under the radar. I hadn't even heard of them until I came on this site, and then it was only by accident when I stumbled upon a thread by FINWIN . The colour morphs of her chocolate cichlid, bobo, totally blew me away. So I got a tiny little 2" juvenile a few months ago and it's now in my 180g around the 4" mark. Such a placid fish, I can't wait to see how it develops.

 

[Chefken]

They're very much under the radar. I hadn't even heard of them until I came on this site, and then it was only by accident when I stumbled upon a thread by FINWIN . The colour morphs of her chocolate cichlid, bobo, totally blew me away. So I got a tiny little 2" juvenile a few months ago and it's now in my 180g around the 4" mark. Such a placid fish, I can't wait to see how it develops.

I had three wild caught from Tangled up.....two females and this male. They bred all the time. Not too aggressive but disruptive. One female was bullied to death by the other pair and the second female slammed into thee lid during courtship and did not survive. The male is so much easier to deal with now but I miss the breeding colors. He is 11-12" and enjoying my 180.

 

[esoxlucius]

I had three wild caught from Tangled up.....two females and this male. They bred all the time. Not too aggressive but disruptive. One female was bullied to death by the other pair and the second female slammed into thee lid during courtship and did not survive. The male is so much easier to deal with now but I miss the breeding colors. He is 11-12" and enjoying my 180.View attachment 1445190View attachment 1445190

The only thing that concerns me with mine is that it might not colour up as well as I expect because it's on its own. It's got nothing to impress. Does that mean it will stay it's drab earthy colours? But finwins is a lone choc and the colours are astonishing, so that's a positive. However, finwins is in with oscars and blood parrots too. Maybe they're the reason that her choc is so vibrant, time will tell I suppose.

 

[Chefken]

He still changes all the time......breeding brings out the crazy though

 

[aaronhas]

I like apure jelly cats they stay a very manageable and do well with things that don't fit in their mouth or are too small for them to notice.

 

[KATALEKEEPER]

I like apure jelly cats they stay a very manageable and do well with things that don't fit in their mouth or are too small for them to notice.

jeff has one for sale

 

[OMGidkWTFimDOING]

I always thought a warmouth would look cool in a tank.

 

[Magnus_Bane]

I always thought a warmouth would look cool in a tank.

Ik there's atleast one person on here that keeps a pet warmouth. I forget what their username is otherwise I'd mention them. Honestly tho I think that US native fish in general are all underrated. Most would make for great pets just like mainly other fish that are common in the hobby. A warmouth would be a great substitute for a Oscar imo.

 

[esoxlucius]

Ik there's atleast one person on here that keeps a pet warmouth. I forget what their username is otherwise I'd mention them. Honestly tho I think that US native fish in general are all underrated. Most would make for great pets just like mainly other fish that are common in the hobby. A warmouth would be a great substitute for a Oscar imo.

I think this is the case throughout the hobby. Where ever you're from I bet there's a good number of natives right in your back yard that are totally overlooked. But people seem to want what's on the other side of the world rather than set up a native tank.

Here in the uk, and being a fisherman, I know exactly what's on offer, from the humble stickleback to the monster pike, and they're all coldwater fish, no messing around with heaters and all the potential aggro that can come with them.

I have a plan one day to set up a European perch tank. It's probably a long way down the line but yeah, a native set up is certainly on my bucket list.

 

[Magnus_Bane]

I think this is the case throughout the hobby. Where ever you're from I bet there's a good number of natives right in your back yard that are totally overlooked. But people seem to want what's on the other side of the world rather than set up a native tank.

Here in the uk, and being a fisherman, I know exactly what's on offer, from the humble stickleback to the monster pike, and they're all coldwater fish, no messing around with heaters and all the potential aggro that can come with them.

I have a plan one day to set up a European perch tank. It's probably a long way down the line but yeah, a native set up is certainly on my bucket list.

Love how the European Red Fin Perch ends up looking, essentially the same as a yellow perch just with a lil big more size and red color in their fins. Lol perch are also another predatory fish that I stay is extremely underrated. A fast, aggressive and intelligent fish that can use tactics and team work to hunt and bring down large schools of prey all at once, what's not to love about em lol.

Honestly it would be hard for me tho to choose between a group of 4-5 perch or a pair of Jaguar cichlids when it comes down to predator fish. The one upside I'll give to the jags is that they are definitely more of a "interactive" fish rather then a "reactive" fish like perch are.