So you like the brown fish best of all!

[babblefish1960]

For starters, I am not here to make uppity sounds about a gentleman who drove 27 hours to come and make fun of serious fish-keepers by pretending that african fish were cool. He clearly has issues.

I took a wee bit of umbrage with some of the clearly derogatory and speciest remarks about the more refined and intelligent fish some of the more refined and intelligent fishkeepers possess, enjoy, and breed.

I mean honestly, Mr. Jack referred to keeping discus as mere guppy line breeding with a more expensive fish. Wow, harsh words from an african owner.

It did challenge my thinking though and this is always a good thing. It occurred to me that he was correct in his assertion that a true lover of fish has progressed past certain phases of what constitutes an interesting fish.

When you finally end up obsessing over some ugly little brown fish as an important part of your day, you clearly have matured beyond the mere appearance of animals and instead have chosen to see the hidden beauty of nature in its most unexpected corners, namely, the little ugly brown fish.

Personality, that is what gets the plain ugly fish taken home from the store. Someone has to buy them, there must be some good reason they exist, and to these unsung fish, we salute and extol their virtues as the most important thing a fish can have, character, joy, and of course, so plug ugly they become cute in everything they do.

So I respect Spencer Jack's ability to make fun enough of the hobby to have me look inside at what is the meaning of fish in my life.

I would definitely encourage everyone who loves their fish to look deep into their eyes and see what it is about that particular fish you like so much. It may well tell you something about yourself, like it or not.

It was a very worthwhile manner in which to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon, this is a man I would recommend listening to any day of the week.

[pegasus]

So that's why my Rusties are getting a second wind, you should see them swim as if they were king among fish. Thanks Jack!

and for all your comments Babble, I'm not letting have any of them until you move into the LIGHT! 

[oenology]

Butt-ulgy brown fish with tons of personality and african to boot: Telmatochromis sp. Temporalis shell or its river look alike the Buffalohead (Steatocranus casuarius).                                                                                                                                               
   
http://burnel.club.fr/Tanga/Tel_sp_tempshell.jpg
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/s_casuarius.php

[busdriver]

I have brown fish, 14 of them, they are almost chocolate brown.
14 keyhole cichlids, very brown

[beowulf]

I have a couple of brown plecos....about it.

[Nerine]

I have a brown pleco and blackish brown zamora woodcats and I love them

[fishycanuck]

Babble was brought home from the store because of his personality....

[Mettle]

My fishy has colour and personality. Gotta love flowerhorns! 

Except when they attack you while you're cleaning their tank. Luckily no blood, yet. 

I can't believe he referred to discus as being akin to line breeding guppies, haha. That's hilarious!

[Chinaman]

There's nothing wrong with being BROWN........I AM ALMOST BROWN.
That's why I like discus.

Chinaman

[pegasus]

What? There are brown discus too?? 

[PuddleDuck]

I mean honestly, Mr. Jack referred to keeping discus as mere guppy line breeding with a more expensive fish.

Can't say I would have taken that lightly...sounds awfully arrogant.

[babblefish1960]

The point of the brown ugly fish was a pointed stick in the eye for Malawi cichlid keepers too. I imagine, looking at the spirit of the presentation, I find that there are several phases of fish ownership. It always begins innocently enough with either some sort of livebearer, or goldfish. What often follows are either raspboras, tetras, or barbs. After some while with the mindless fish, there is a tendency to go with either monsters, or greatly coloured cichlids.

I was actually amused by the reference to discus breeders being nothing more than guppy line breeders, largely because the trend for some time now has been to make these gorgeous fish leave behind their obvious qualities in exchange for gaudy and strange colourings. What is even stranger than the colour morphs, are the colour descriptions.

The point he was making wasn't so much the colour, but the lack of colour, the plain Jane demeanor, the dour expression, and the very same racing heart symptom of having something very special in your care, just not something that anyone else sees as beautiful without wearing your special ugly fish loving spectacles, but that all other souls find a waste of time.

I have to agree with the general idea about the maturity acquired with keeping fish. It is the journey away from how the fish fit in with a certain decor, or worse, an image of the owner and how they wish to be portrayed by their association.