Rice fish and other pets: the honest picture
Rice fish are good with other pets at home in the sense that they ask very little of those animals and give them nothing to chase on land. A rice fish never leaves its tank or tub on its own terms, never barks back at a dog, and never wanders into a cat's territory. Every risk in a mixed-pet home runs through the water's surface and the glass, which means the owner controls nearly all of it with placement and a lid.
That makes the question less about temperament and more about barriers. A rice fish school in a covered tank on a solid stand is largely separate from the household's other animals. The same school in an open bowl at cat height is an invitation, no matter how peaceful the fish themselves are.
Cats, dogs, and the covered-tank rule
A cat is the household pet most interested in rice fish, and even a relaxed cat may pat the glass or sit on a warm lid. For rice fish, the answer is a rigid, well-fitting cover that cannot slide or sag if a cat steps onto it, plus a stand a cat cannot use as a launching point onto the tank. Keep feeding hatches closed, because a curious paw through an open hatch is the classic way a cat reaches small surface fish.
A dog is usually a lesser concern for rice fish indoors, though a large dog can bump a light stand and a thirsty dog will drink from an open outdoor tub. Outdoor rice fish tubs need a cover or a fence line a dog cannot cross, and indoor tanks need a stand heavy enough that an excited greeting at the door does not rock the water.
Other fish and animals inside the water
Inside the tank, rice fish belong with peaceful companions that will not nip fins or eat a fish small enough to fit in a mouth. Other small schooling fish of similar size, gentle bottom dwellers, and ornamental shrimp are the usual company a rice fish handles well. Large cichlids, aggressive barbs, and big-mouthed predators turn a rice fish from tankmate into food, so the size gap matters more than any species label.
Birds, reptiles, and small mammals in the same room rarely trouble rice fish directly, but their equipment does add vibration, bright lights on timers, and people moving around the tank at odd hours. A rice fish tolerates normal household life well once the school has plants and corners where it can retreat from attention.
A room-by-room check before you add the tank
Walk the room the rice fish will live in and look for three things. First, a route another pet uses daily, such as a cat's window perch path, should not cross the tank stand. Second, cords and air lines should run where a chewing puppy or rabbit cannot reach them. Third, the floor and stand should handle splashes, because a startled dog shaking off beside a rice fish tub will throw water even without touching a fish.
Solving those three points before the fish arrive is far easier than retraining a cat that has already learned the tank is entertainment.
When another pet makes rice fish a bad idea
Rice fish are the wrong addition if a resident cat is a determined hunter with unsupervised access to the room and the tank cannot be covered securely, or if a household keeps large predatory fish and hoped to house the school with them. They are also a poor choice if an outdoor tub sits where neighborhood animals visit at night and no cover is practical.
Where lids, stands, and tankmate choices are handled, rice fish slide into a multi-pet home with very little friction. KinsLe Messenger helps keep that friction low day to day, because a sitter who notices a cat on the lid, a partner who moved the tank, and a family member asking about feeding can all talk in the one hub tied to the rice fish profile.