What are some of the most colorful freshwater fish (aquarium fish)

I am a huge fan of tetra tanks: hardy, peaceful (for the most part), easy to keep.

Cardinal tetras
Neon green rasboro
Serpae tetra
Black emperor tetra
Congo tetra
Lemon tetra

(While you can get lots of color out of some of the live-bearers like swordtails and mollies, I’ve found them to much shorter-lived and more prone to disease.)

They’re not particularly colorful, but Freshwater Stingrays are some of the cooler freshwater fish out there imo. They are beautiful, and are so hypnotizing when they move. My buddy had a pair of them for many years.

Thanks! Keep them coming!

Ill state the obvious with Goldfish and Koi (depending on how large the tank is)

Some places even carry Goldfish in Calico coloring but a little harder to find.

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Clown Loach ! Inexpensive and big fun in a group, they are goofy and playful.

I like cardinal and neon tetras; rummy nose tetras are nice too. Zebra danios aren’t colorful but they are active and fun to watch. I also like angelfish, and need to get a pair for my tank:-) (Currently I have danios, neons, and glowlight tetras.) I like the glowlights well enough but I’m not sure I’d get more; when they matured their colors weren’t as bright anymore.
I know a lot of people like clown loaches, and they are attractive, but they get big. This site recommends at least a 75 gallon tank.

Clown loaches will get up to only a commensurate size for their tank.
We’ve had several, three or four at a time in a ten gallon tank. The biggest got to about two inches and lived for years in that tank.
But I recall seeing some loaches in a humongous aquarium at Jose’s Restaurant in Palo Alto that were probably close to a foot and clearly weighed pounds. He said he’d had them over ten years then. That restaurant is no longer there and I wonder if Jose took his tank, or at least the fish, with him.

What about Discus?

Guppy of course. Easy to get, and cheap. Easy to take care too.
Goldfish is a good choice too, but much difficult to sustain for a long period.