Tropical fish that most closely resembles a goldfish?

[Cksnffr]

I'm starting up a tank of cory cats and one larger cat for my little daughter, who adores catfish. Her big sister would love to add a goldfish to the mix, but I know you can't really do that in the same tank. So:

What orange/red tropical fish are there that seem pretty goldfish-y? I'm sure my daughter doesn't really care if the species isn't technically a carp.

I know of gold gourami, gold barbs, cherry barbs.... Right now I'm leaning toward the gourami because I wouldn't need a school of them to be happy. But I guess they can be aggressive sometimes. I'd like it not to be a tiny fish, if possible.

 

[jasonfishaddict]

If your tank is 30g or greater, Blood Parrot Cichlids are my #1 choice. They look a lot like Goldfish and they top out at 9".


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[Himekp]

Platies come in a really nice orange color that's similar to goldfish.

 

[Cksnffr]

Been looking at platys, though I guess they're schooling fish.

The parrot cichlid is one I never considered. Sounds like they are peaceful compared with other cichlids and don't mind being the only one of their kind? If so, this could be a great option. My tank is indeed 30g and I would not mind upgrading when the time comes.

 

[Taysius]

Rosy barbs came to mind. The longfin variety are especially goldfish like.

And platies are plenty happy in a group of three.

 

[Cksnffr]

Interesting. How many rosy barbs do you need in a school for them to be happy?

 

[verbal]

Gold barbs might work also. They like temps on the cooler side, but so do a lot of cories.

 

[Taysius]

Six is the common number for fish that like to be in groups. That goes for cories too. What is the solo catfish that you have? I think 6 rosy barbs and 6 cories would be fine in a 30g.

 

[FreshyFresh]

I've got a gold lyretail molly that somewhat resembles a fancy goldfish.

 

[Cksnffr]

I don't have a solo medium-sized (Synodont maybe) catfish yet. Happy to take suggestions there too. At the end of the day I'm looking to have cory cats, the non-cory cat (SA bumblebee? upside-down? porthole?), and the pseudo-goldfish.