Sorry, kinda new to this
I really like schooling fish, and I would like them to breed. I like good personalities and striking colors, but I need a peaceful tank too! Thanks for being patient and supporting guys
Well, that was kind of all over the board, but here's some broad groups you can look into and see if any catch your eye... All of the below fish are decent beginners fish that are typically pretty peaceful, but you'd have to play with stocking numbers on aqadvisor.com to get a sanity check on how many of each type are compatible and will fit in the size tank you're thinking of. Double check your stocking plan with folks here though, as a calculator is still no substitute for experience
Mid/Top Level dwellers:
Guppies/Endlers - Will breed like crazy (which means you need a plan for what to do with the babies), are very colorful, easy to keep, and somewhat stick together. Dumber than dirt, which means they don't have the biggest personalities unless you like laughing at them attempting to breed with or eat everything in sight. They do tend to somewhat school just due to the nature of the males constantly chasing the girls to try and breed.
Platies/Swords/Mollies - Breed just as much as Guppies, are slightly less dramatically colored or as flashy of tails, and slightly more intelligent. Same tendencies to somewhat school.
Gourami - Stick to Honey or Dwarf, and only one unless they're female. Very colorful, can have quite a bit of personality or can be shy depending on the fish. Don't tend to school much, and tend to be fairly lazy.
Rainbowfish - Depending on the species can be very colorful and typically very active, my favorites being the Threadfins since they have very eye catching and dramatic fin flicking displays when kept in decent numbers of evenly balanced males and females. Not really big on personality compared to some other options.
Tetras - Active schoolers. Some tetra types can be nippy, so avoid keeping with flowy fins like guppies/endlers. Some tetras can be very colorful, such as Neons, Cardinals, etc, others can be fairly unique looking, such as blind cave tetras, xray tetras, etc. Usually not much personality, and some types can be shy and tend to hide if not kept in decent sized schools (8+). For a tight school, look at Rummynose Tetras, the other types usually only school when they feel threatened.
Danios - School relatively well, but can be fin nippers. Majority are VERY active, constantly on the move. Usually not too colorful (with the exception of GloFish danios), but have some very cool patterning. Typically not a ton of personality, but you get the odd one here and there that is particularly insistent on exploring everything.
Barbs - Active, often colorful, need a school but don't necessarily stick together. Some barbs are don't do well in a peaceful tank, but there are some that do. Cherry barbs are the most mellow and community friendly, while some are VERY nippy unless kept in very large schools (12+) such as Tiger Barbs. Unless you do a fair amount of research to see which ones are friendly vs which are nippy, best to avoid. Not the most personality compared to other options.
Rasboras - Can be very colorful, active, and school fairly well. Not usually big on personality.
Bottom Dwellers:
Loaches- Not very colorful, but big on personality and activity and need a few of their own kind to play with. Avoid Hillstream loaches, as they're a bit much to handle for beginners. School well and usually are chasing each other all over the tank and are general clowns. Check max size though as many of them can get too large for the tank size you're looking at.
Cory Cats - Big on personality and activity, not very colorful. Need a few of their own kind but don't usually school much. Do a decent job at cleaning up any leftover food.
Killifish - Very colorful, can be bred with a little effort. Some are not community friendly, but most of the beginner ones are. Can be kept in colonies but will not school. Haven't kept any myself so I can't comment on their activity levels or personality.
Dwarf Crayfish - Pretty colors, and add some extra interest to the tank beyond just fish. Crayfish have a ton of personality, and depending on the personality/rank they can be brave and constantly active or they may be shy and hide a lot. Can be bred as long as there are lots of hidey holes for them to form territories around, good food, and proper water parameters.
Shrimp - Red Cherry Shrimp or Ghost Shrimp are usually pretty forgiving, but can be sensitive to nitrates. High-grade RCS are very colorful, while Ghost shrimp are not. Usually pretty active/interesting unless kept with fish that may bother them, in which case they'll tend to hide. Good for algae and leftover food cleanup.
Snails - Nerites won't breed in freshwater, but Mystery, Apple, Ramshorn, Malaysian Trumpet Snails, and Rabbit snails will, and can be prolific. Some can be colorful, but often not to the extent of fish. Not usually very interesting, but can help with leftover food/algae.
Okay, so that ended up being longer than intended, but it should give you some ideas to look into so you can start narrowing down your wish list
