such a long-term investment, gotta be personality, especially since you spend so much more time enjoying them on your own compared to showing them off to people.
A little bit of both i guess. I wont buy an ugly fish thats bland or a cool fish thats bland. I guess thats why i like flowerhorns great looks and most have out going personality's.
I personally look for both, but I would have to say if I had the choice of a hideous fish that acted like a friendly dog, versus a beautifully colored fish that just sat there, I would go with the nice looking one. Theres only so much interaction you can have with a fish anyway. Kind of shallow I know but its what I would choose