[livi]

If you have hard water with relatively high pH, cichlidae from the big African lakes like Victoria are perfect. You do not need any plants (and they will eat or destroy them anyway). They are very lively and sturdy and have very interesting behavior regarding nesting and breeding. Many also have fantastic shapes and colors.

I had them for years in my youth, but then I discovered Discus and never looked back. Bred them for 15 years. Lovely. They however need the opposite in water quality - very soft with low pH.