colorful fish ideas for 40gal tank???

[littlemissrainbow]

sooo i'm having a horrible time making up my mind what to put in my 40galling, right now its just some live plants, 2 bamboo shrimp. and little pond snails.
i want colorful, active swimmers would prefer not be too small. something fun to watch. and maybe even fun to feed? i love bright colors. i've been looking into fancy guppies. platys. swordtails, mollies. barbs. rainbow fish, the only rainbow fish i can find instore are boesami?? will be exploring the fish haven store out here this weekend but trying to get ideas. idk i'm confused. any ideas??? oh and what IS the difference between platys, mollies and swordtails if any????

 

[HappyFish]

Get something rare like a zebra or gold nugget pleco. Or something interesting like a school of glass catfish. A school of cardinal tetras are or neon tetras are always a beautiful site.

 

[MdngtRain]

Guppies, platys, mollies & swords are all live-bearers, need s slightly salty water, and need higher female to make ratios. They are good community fish, but procreate quickly and can quickly overrun a tank.I'm not 100% on this about the swords, but sure of the other three. All are colorful and active fish, and can be kept together (helping keep the population explosions in check). If you live close enough I could hook you up with some guppies and platys (my poor tank has gotten so full!)

I second the idea of a school of glass cats, but then give up on colorful with that addition. I have a small school of them and they are some of my favorite fish. They are active and fun to watch. Tetras are also a good way to go. There are many kind out there with quite bold coloring. A mix of black and neon or cardinal tetras make for great contrast. I also like the lemon tetras... And because you have a larger tank, you could go for some congo tetras or other larger tetras. Rainbows are very cool, and I'm guessing you lfs woulf be able to get you other varieties of rainbows.

Good luck and keep us updated on what you end up with.