the dreaded question

[OrandaMan]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have to admit that a few of the replies were reminiscent of the "drink the water" type, and that was a bit worrying, but I have a feeling my curiosity will eventually get the better of me.

[OrandaMan]

Well, look at that. I should have refreshed before replying.

[myjohnson]

Just interesting fishes how they interact.

Keeping them is a constant challenge.

Not like keeping fronts and the like.

[Nickintex]

Not like keeping fronts and the like.

Glad you did not mention my fish!

[Zulaab]

I have kept over the years South American, Asian, Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika fish. I went to see Tim (Armthehomeless) and I loved the interaction of his Pemba (aka Tropheus sp black Pemba (Bemba) and I was hooked. I love the colony fish where the interaction was so extreme. I got several colonies but not all of my fish are Tropheus. Lake Tang fish have more personality than any of the other fish I have kept in my past. Tropheus need more maintenance than most others as they are dirty little fish and they eat more food than most other fish I have ever kept. But their attitude and colony lifestyle is what seperates them from others.
If I wanted to keep something different than Trophs today the only other fish besides Petro's I could think of would be a nice healthy colony of Frontosa's. These fish are magistic to look at. Again another Lake Tanganyika fish.

[cameracorpus]

I don't have the tank size for Tropheus, but watching cichlid1409's tank for a while convinced me that if you want to see a real interaction between the individuals in a school of fish, these will do it for you. Also, they are aware of you, following your moves, which isn't always the case for a "dumb fish". And even though the setup for them isn't easy, it requires less expense and work than a reef tank! If Santa or the Great Pumpkin or somebody else ever gives me a room divider tank, they are my top pick right now.

[Darbex]

Boo trophs long live Discus. If I had a choice in the next FW fish it would be Trophs their social interaction is quite unique. They seem like a school playground the way that they seem to play with each other.

[OrandaMan]

Now I'm getting it. I'll definitely pay more attention.