Colorful, Characterful Fish

[Lansirill]

I have a nice school of Bloodfins going now and I have a small school of cories cooling their heels in quarantine. Both groups are entertaining to watch, and I doubt that's going to change when I mix the two in the same tank. However, while pretty, neither fish has a lot going for it in the way of color.

What I definitely will be doing is adding a few colorful fish to my tank. I would like to keep up the personality in the tank and add another (at least loosely) schooling species. I'm already fairly well stocked (10 Bloodfins and 6 cories in a 33G) so I'm not really looking for anything large. I had wanted some Pearl Gouramis but if I added them I'd want to do a full trio and, really, while gorgeous fish they aren't colorful in the way I'm looking for.

The only fish that I can think of that really fit the reasonably small and colorful bill are platies and guppies. Dwarf Gouramis are an option, but are a little low on the color. I'm looking for more of a full body color rather than a muted, metallic color. I haven't gotten the impression that any of these fish really interact much.

Am I missing anything? The only fish that I've seen that have the type of coloration that I want have been livebearers. I'd love to be wrong though.

[Swayde]

Female Bettas? I added one to my community tank and she brought a lot of color and flash. She's actually really sweet and doesn't pick on any of the fish. The Angel pushed her around a bit at first and nipped her tail, but it's already healed and the two swim side by side, especially at feeding time.

Endler's Livebearers are real colorful, but I haven't seen any locally so not sure how hard they are to come by.

[MikenDanielle]

I would go with some Guppies. I added two neon blue tux guppies to my tetra tank and I just love them. I never thought I would, but the gf seen thema nd wanted to get a couple so I did and yeah, there def awesome fish and lots of colour.

[OgreMkV]

What about the Paradise Fish (blue gouramis)?

[Lupin]

What about the Paradise Fish (blue gouramis)?
I've never heard of paradise fish's name being synonymous to the blue gouramis'.
Paradise fish (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_fish)
Blue gourami (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_gourami)

[OgreMkV]

Sorry, I guess I should have said Paradise Gourami. Our L (chain) FS doesn't differentiate between the two.

[rwilliams254]

What about Cardinal Tetra's? Colorful, yes. Schooling, yes.

[Lansirill]

I'm not so keen on another school of tetras. While some of them are colorful, they're colorful in a different way than, say, a platy. I'm looking for more of that later style of coloration.

A female betta could work. I'd have to hunt around awhile to find a nice one, but I've seen them around.

Has anyone kept a reasonably large (4+, ideally 6+) group of platies, swords, or guppies? I'm curious how they behave other than breeding constantly.

[Ruben Tolon]

I'd look into dwarf cichlids if you want personality and color, especially the dwarf acaras and rams.

[jpappy789]

Rams all the way. Mine are so friendly and come to the front of the tank whenever I'm near, of course they think they're getting food. But oh the colors! Stunning...

[Lansirill]

I had forgotten about dwarf cichlids. When I was first looking for 'neat' fish I wanted something that would stick towards the top so I ruled them out. My bloodfins go all over the place though so it may not be such an issue.

[jm1212]

the regular form of the dwarf gourami is very colorful. it has alternating stripes of red and blue, and DGs are very personable.

you amy also want to try platies. they stay pretty small, are very colorful, and interact with whats going on outside the tank.

[Phil22]

Not sure they are all compatible, but look into serpea tetras, gold barbs. Both school well and are very active. I'd take a look around your local fish store for more ideas.

[silentskream]

platys and swordtails dont school, if that's what you're wondering.

we have a collection of about 20 mixed mollys/swords/platys. they dont even kinda school. I really dont like them at all... the pineapple swordtails are kinda neat looking.. but the rest of them are just.. blah. yeah they're bright colors, but they're not the least bit entertaining.
i finally got a predatory fish that eats all the babies so i dont have to have any more.

[gmh]

I like the idea of adding Gold Barbs. They are small and have nice chromatic color.

[Hooked Newbie]

I love Gourami, but you can't go wrong with Rummies!!

[Lansirill]

I already have a nice school of Bloodfins. If I had a larger tank I'd go for a second school and get Rummies, but that's going to have to wait until I move into a larger place. I'm tempting fate enough as it is having a 33G in my apartment. I'd really rather not flood my downstairs neighbor's place. :)

The more I think about it the more I like the idea of a pair of Dwarf Gouramis and a pair of Cockatoo Cichlids. My tank is 20" tall and they occupy separate strata so they hopefully won't become territorial against each other. If they do I can add an extra female or use it as an excuse to get another smallish tank for the troublemakers. The DGs aren't as striking as the Pearls, but they'll probably cause less stocking problems for me.

Thanks for the feedback on the platies and swords. If they don't interact much I don't really feel the need to get a decent sized group of them. With any luck the DGs and CCs will add enough color and break up the Bloodfins enough (visually) that I won't feel the need to add anything more.

[Nolapete]

3-5 praecox rainbows would be nice. They only get 2-2.5".

[pcnicholson]

I don't know about platies being boring. Mine are pretty entertaining, and they sure know who feeds them. I think they have a religion going about "the HAND" since any time I want to look at them I just have to put my fingers on the front of the tank and it's like a platy magnet.

[mazeman22]

I agree with pcnicholson, my platies are the entertainment of the tank. They are colorful, smart, and so different from each other. Of course they don't school but I have a pair(m/f) of red wags and they are like husband and wife. They do everything together! My other two females love the snails and plants in the tank. They play with them all day it seems.

Since you're alittle limited on adding more fish I would recommend 4 platies. If you don't want fry get all of one sex or just get one female and 3 males.

If you're interested in something else I would go the with only one pair instead of both. IMO

[jpappy789]

Personally I'd go with one dwarf gourami. Females are hard to find, they are more silvery I believe. If you do happen to find females, most prefer a trio (1m/2f). I'd stick with just one though.

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Killifish perhaps? Hard to find at a LFS though, and while some species are fine in a community, others are not.

[Ruben Tolon]

There are 2 commonly available killies though. The "golden wonder" and the florida flagfish.

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Aren't Florida Flagfish good bush algae eaters?

[euglossa]

Watch out for the Golden Wonders. They get fairly large and have wide mouths. They were always stalking my smaller fish and after I saw Flo with a danio in her mouth I found another home for them.

The danio she caught had a bent spine, not the healthiest or the fastest, but several others disappeared before I found the killies a new home.

Neat fish though. Very pretty and friendly. Flo loved to be petted. Just not good tankmates for small slim-bodied fish.

They mostly stayed at the surface, but would regularly submerge and hang out at the bottom to watch for careless danios. They reminded me of pike or barracudas.

Ellen

[boomerjr91]

I would say the rams or some kind of barb. I like my rosies... extremely active and they are like pirahnas when they eat. I also like gold barbs though.

[Ruben Tolon]

Watch out for the Golden Wonders. They get fairly large and have wide mouths. They were always stalking my smaller fish and after I saw Flo with a danio in her mouth I found another home for them.

The danio she caught had a bent spine, not the healthiest or the fastest, but several others disappeared before I found the killies a new home.

Neat fish though. Very pretty and friendly. Flo loved to be petted. Just not good tankmates for small slim-bodied fish.

They mostly stayed at the surface, but would regularly submerge and hang out at the bottom to watch for careless danios. They reminded me of pike or barracudas.

Ellen

but they are still worth keeping in the tank, if anything it's a good reason to get rid of the more boring fish like danios and such. some golden wonder killies and maybe a pair of dwarf acaras is much better than a school of danios and a dwarf gourami.

[wolf13]

greenfire tetra's might school with your bloodfins since they are very close relatives. cool golden green color with red fins, and very active little beasties.

[hmilstead]

Long finned Rosy Barbs would look great with your Bloodfins. Brilliant Color.

[mellowvision]

cherry barbs get great color when comfortable. most of the ones I see in shops are pale and bland, but mine are really dark, almost velvety with color (not like velvet the disease, but like paint on a velvet canvas.)

[Phil22]

How about a school of barbs Cherry or Gold have nice color.