Need new fish. Ideas?

[DirgeDevil]

Ok, so ,due to school, I've been neglecting my tank a bit. Nothing's wrong with it, I just haven't kept up to my strict breeding guidelines I had for my fancy guppies, so I basically lost my pretty cobra-lace strain and all I have left are mutts, and I'd just like to let these last few die off and buy new fish. Any suggestions?

I don't want anything general though. I know I want freshwater/tropical, but I want something "exotic" looking. The tank has been up for about 5 years, it's a 16gal tall, and it's full of live plants and big adorable white/orange snails (so nothing that eats snails)

any fishie suggestions are appreciated!


Oh, and I have neon-rainbow gravel, which I was thinking about exchanging for black sand. I would have to recycle it though, which I really don't wish to do. So If I save all the water and settled "grout" from the bottom of the tank, and add it in with the new sand, would I still need to cycle it?

 

[DepotFish]

The beneficial bacteria is usually in the filter, changing gravel is no reason for anything more than a mini-cycle. You do have a filter?
16 gallons is small. How about the very "exotic" buenos aires tetra? They look like mini pirahnas, and are in fact related. Or a pair of colorful apistogramma if you can find some in the area.

 

[DirgeDevil]

Of course I have a filter! lol. Those apistogrammas are JUST the kind of "exotic" I was thinking of! Thanks a bunch, I'll look into them.