Wanted: Small Red Fish For Freshwater. Suggestions?

[Essjay]

If you don't mind an orangey red, and your water is not too hard or alkaline - ember tetras, Hyphessobrycon amandae. Mine are much more vibrant than the washed out pale orange in a lot of pics on-line, and in shop tanks. They really colour up once they have settled in.

 

[Electric Warrior]

Coral reds are beautiful, but not the easiest fish to keep imo.  They need pretty specific water parameters.  They are also £££!

 

[guppyguy1234]

lovely large school of rummies if cared for well they have beutiful striking red noses they flurish with a ph of 6.5

 

[FlyingFish78]

My apologies for the late reply but this is the first 5mins I've had to myself over the past several days.

If it's a reasonable size tank, then as Kirky says, male Cherry Barbs. If it's smaller, then Chilli Rasbora.

They look like lovely fish - and exactly the type of colours I want + they are small and I prefer smaller fish - but I have hard/alkaline water. Not only that but my tank isn't yet mature. Also they aren't simple to feed (Accoring to seriouslyfish.com)

What about several female bettas? If you could find that many red ones?I don't know if they would go with your stock? Yes? No?

Thanks for the suggestion but Bettas aren't really my thing.

Celestial pearl danio's are gorgeous, not fully red but the males have great eye-striking red fins, Females are a little drowned out in colour.

Looking for something that's dominantly red with perhaps some orange.

 

If you don't mind an orangey red, and your water is not too hard or alkaline - ember tetras, Hyphessobrycon amandae. Mine are much more vibrant than the washed out pale orange in a lot of pics on-line, and in shop tanks. They really colour up once they have settled in.

Nice fish but would prefer something with a lot more red.

I thank you all for the replies and some of the fish offered are food for thought. None of them entirely fit the bill though.

I guess a summary of the type of fish that we're looking for would be as follows:

* Won't die in hard/alkaline water
* Easy to feed
* Predominantly red in colour, with perhaps some orange
* On the small side; 2-4cm
* Not livebearers

 

[daizeUK]

Cherry barbs sound like they fit your bill

 

[Antoniakr]

What about a Scarlet gem badis? They're peaceful and size to about 2" They're gorgeous They're like an orange-red with white bits on their fins

 

[FlyingFish78]

What about a Scarlet gem badis? They're peaceful and size to about 2" They're gorgeous They're like an orange-red with white bits on their fins

They look absolutley lovely and seem perfect. The only problems I can foresee are the fact they're so timid and might be bullied by other fish and that they need a special diet.

 

[daizeUK]

I believe you can only have one male as they are territorial.

 

[Antoniakr]

I don't think tetras would bully them. if you have any semi-aggressive or aggressive fish then yes, obviously. And aw thats a shame i didnt know that  

 

[Lillefishy]

Yes, they are very territorial, you could keep a few males if the tank was big enough & well planted but tbh they're not very active fish & tend to hide in the plants, females are almost colourless & rarely imported

 

[CoryFever]

Male Cherry Barbs are a pretty intense red. Absolutely stunning in a school

 

[lefty07603]

you could maybe try glowlight tetras? they are similar to neon tetras but their neon streak is a redish-orange, maybe it will match the neons well. and you could put a big school in there since theyre a similar size as neons. Or... i have a soft spot for shrimp and it would be a bit creative to use red cherry shrimp since they are a deep red. and nothing looks better than swarms of cherry shrimp running around on the bottom. plus you have extra room to fill with other fish.   
 
But yeah give the glowlights a try, or cardinal tetra, or even male guppies. they can have amazing colors on their tales. i assume the guppies would fit in fine

 

[FlyingFish78]

Male Cherry Barbs are a pretty intense red. Absolutely stunning in a school

 
As I've already got Golden Barbs I won't get anymore Barbs. Good suggestion though.
 
Lefty: For various reasons I won't be putting invertebrates in the aquarium; only fish. Guppies are livebearers so that's a no also.
 
After all the input, which I greatly appreciate, I'm leaning towards Cardinal Tetras. I wanted Neons but maybe can use some other fish to cover blue in the spectrum.

 

[ficklefins]

Cherry barbs are the first thing that comes to mind