Are there any colorful cichlids that would be compatible with a fire eel and senegal bichir?

Question

My tank looks pretty bare right now. There are two dojo loaches in there also, but if I need to move them then I will. I'm looking for something that will be active and brighten up the tank, but not kill the eel/bichir or get eaten by them. It doesn't have to be cichlids if they're too aggressive (would peacock and electric yellows be ok? I'm getting various answers for how aggressive they are), but something like platies, swordtails, and guppies are too small and will be eaten by the bichir eventually.

Angelfish are pretty, but not very colorful. Rainbowfish are ok, but the ones in the petstore aren't very brightly colored. Will they get better eventually? Since most petstore fish are domestic bred instead of wild caught, the pH, water hardness, etc of any suggested shouldn't be too much of a factor unless it's like off by 0.5 or for delicate fish, like discus. Tank is currently around 7.4-7.5ish, it has a sand substrate with driftwood and plants. It's 55 gallons (yes, I know it'll be too small for the fire eel once he's bigger, so he'll be moved into the 125 later, but for now, 55 it is, since he's still pretty small and I don't want the big fish in there to pick on him.) All suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Answer 1

Peacock African Cichlids such as OB Peacocks and Lemon Jake Peacocks are only semi-agressive so they wont mess with anything unless they are threatened. They just swim around and do there own thing. They will add lots of color to the tank and will leave the other fish alone.

Answer 2

I would definitely move the Dojos out-- they would greatly appreciate cooler water (around 70*), while virtually all your other fish choices would be looking for 75*+.  For color, a Blue Acara or two would be a great choice, and wouldn't bother any of the other fish in the least.  They aren't as common as Green Terrors (which they look very similar to), but are well worth the trouble of getting them.  Really, if you're up for them, Discus wouldn't be a bad choice...  Most of the captive bred fish will be fine at 7.5, and there wouldn't be any problems with your other fish...  I have mine just under 7.5 at the moment, and they're doing swimmingly (oh... I'm so funny...).  Some of the moderately sized species of Pike Cichlid (Crenecichla species) would work nicely as well, but be very sure of the species you buy, as some will need very large tanks.  Severums and Uaru aren't the most colorful of fish, but certainly make up for it with personality.

Moving away from Cichlds, larger Gourami species would also work nicely.  Pearl Gouramis are phenomenal, in my opinion, and VERY underrated.  Moonbeam, Snakeskin, Blue, Gold, and all the others would work well too.  The Rainbows you see in stores are under a lot of stress, and are generally young-- as they calm down and mature, their colors will develop rapidly.