Depends. It's all on personality. Males are very colorful, but females can also be if you take care of them right (remember that pic I posted? That was a female
)
The key is consistency. Consistent food, consistent water changes, consistent parameters. I've fed mine on Omega One for the past one-two years (hard to remember when I got it), change my water weekly 40-70% all the time, and nitrates never spike above 40 ppm, pH is consistent at 7.6, and no visible signs of ammonia or nitrites.
That's just my setup. Consistency is best, which is why you have to be top-notch with them. And even then they die randomly for no reason.
That sucks
Maybe get him something especially nice for Christmas?