Hi bowya,
I was just wondering if the lfs tested your water and what with. When we had our first tank set up one of our lfs tested our sample with test strips and said it was ready. We were then informed by someone to buy a master test kit (liquid) and realised the test strips weren't very accurate. We still had nitrite in our water and yet he told us there wasn't any. They are well worth investing in and it means you can keep an eye on your water stats yourself.
There's mixed opinions about hardy fish so you might end up with a few different answers!
We started out with White Cloud Mountain Minnows, not very colourful when young but lovely colours as they get bigger. We then introduced Neon Tetras, again some people may not agree but we had no problems. It would be worth checking this out with other members.
Another alternative is guppies, very beautiful colours but mainly in the males. We've found them to be hardy and easy to look after but I know others have disagreed with this.
I'm afraid it might be a case of shopping around and seeing what takes your fancy. You can always check with members here who may be able to give you a little more information.
