How big is a school?

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nomadman2003

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 5, 2012
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California
The first rule of fish club is to do your research, so like a good budding aquarist I've been trying to read up on all the fishes I am interested in. Unfortunately, there is a lot of contradictory information out there.

I've read for a specific specie that they school, and I've read that most places, so I assume it's correct. But some places say 3+, some say 5+, some 6+. Now for the question, is the school size specific to the specie or is a school a school and different people have different minimum sizes for a school?

In other words, if a fish prefers schooling should that always be a certain size (5+ or whatever) or does it vary?

Thanks!
 
well the more fish in a school the happier they will all be i believe, but if you would like a "small" school then 5-7ish would work out nicely :)
 
Okay, that makes sense. So a school is a school, different fish don't really have different definitions.

Specifically I was looking at the Boesemani Rainbow and Cardinal Tetra.
 
cardinals will adhere to the 5+ rule the more the merrier though, for the rainbows in one of the books i have it says keep at least 1 pair of them

what size tank are you planning?
 
Okay, that makes sense. So a school is a school, different fish don't really have different definitions.

Specifically I was looking at the Boesemani Rainbow and Cardinal Tetra.

What sized tank do you have? Cardinals always look amazing when they are in huge schools, so as many as will fit your tank will look nice. With the rainbows, you would want at least 4, but again, the more the merrier. you would also need to have as many males as females (there are exceptions, im sure someone will chime in on the male-female ratio) :)
 
cardinals will adhere to the 5+ rule the more the merrier though, for the rainbows in one of the books i have it says keep at least 1 pair of them

what size tank are you planning?

That's the thing, I haven't decided yet. I'm thinking I'd let the fish decide what size tank I got. I believe I have a 42" length maximum (which may not be enough room for the Rainbows -- I have another topic in Getting Started on that)

Right now it's anywhere from 29-38g, maybe a 55g if I find the rainbows need the length (and my floor can hold the weight).
 
Rainbows, from what I have read are not really the best schoolers. In my tank, most of them will stay within that half of the tank. But, they all sleep spread out. The only time they truly school is when they see me walk up with food. haha. Male to female ratio is really nothing to fret over in my case. I grabbed the pretty ones and have wound up with three males and four females. I have absolutely no issue with them interacting.

Another thing I have read over is that odd numbers are better over even numbers (in non-pairing cases) and that five is the "magic" number. One thing to think about is that more numbers will mean happier fish which means more comfort which equals less tight of schooling (generally, of course). People say to have a more aggressive fish around to keep them tightly schooled and other things to keep them on their toes.

And there are always exception to everything. Schools are an opinion and there are a million of those. Just go with what feels right after lots of research.
 
Rainbows, from what I have read are not really the best schoolers. In my tank, most of them will stay within that half of the tank. But, they all sleep spread out. The only time they truly school is when they see me walk up with food. haha. Male to female ratio is really nothing to fret over in my case. I grabbed the pretty ones and have wound up with three males and four females. I have absolutely no issue with them interacting.

Another thing I have read over is that odd numbers are better over even numbers (in non-pairing cases) and that five is the "magic" number. One thing to think about is that more numbers will mean happier fish which means more comfort which equals less tight of schooling (generally, of course). People say to have a more aggressive fish around to keep them tightly schooled and other things to keep them on their toes.

And there are always exception to everything. Schools are an opinion and there are a million of those. Just go with what feels right after lots of research.

100% agree :)
 
Thank you all for your help. I feel more confident, information overload leads to analysis paralysis, and this sort of discussion helps hone me.

Crazy,
Thank you for the insight on the Rainbows, it's always good to get first hand experience on the specie. I'll try to get the longest tank I can, and if I can't get something long enough I may have to find a less active replacement for the Rainbows :(
 
No problem <3

I'm not saying a smaller tank wouldn't work. I just prefer a 55g because I have gotten my rainbows just one at a time. I like having all the room to fill up, so I can go out and impulse buy when I see a pretty one.

You always have the option of the dwarf rainbows too. Lots of pretty ones to choose from.
 
TheCrazyFishLady said:
No problem <3

I'm not saying a smaller tank wouldn't work. I just prefer a 55g because I have gotten my rainbows just one at a time. I like having all the room to fill up, so I can go out and impulse buy when I see a pretty one.

You always have the option of the dwarf rainbows too. Lots of pretty ones to choose from.

I just learned of the Dwarf varieties a couple days ago! A good alternative. Thanks.
 
No problem. My boyfriend has threadfin rainbows. They stay together much nicer than mine do and they have almost no aggression level at all. Might be just what you are looking for!
 
Well the biggest thing I'm trying to decide on is how big of a tank to buy. I'm limited in length to 42" or less, so a 46g bow front is looking like the largest commercially made. But the lfs has good prices on 29g kits, 38g kits, and I found a 46g on Craigslist.

As for fish I am thinking of Boseman Rainbowfish, Kuhli Loach, Cardinal Tetra, Bamboo Shrimp, Ghost Shrimp, Nerite Snails.

Not saying I'll get all those, they are just my current fascination.

What are your thoughts on that community?
 
I wouldn't go for kits. You will still have to buy more hardware because kits normally have under-rated heaters, filters, etc. I would totally go with a 46gBF, but I'm in love with bow fronts, so I'm biased :D. Craigslist will normally pop up with whole set ups, so you won't have to worry about picking up more hardware.

Anyway, one thing to consider is that rainbow fish are on the semi-aggressive side, so there might be nippy to your tetras. Not saying it won't work. If you like it, go for it, by all means. Just watch for aggression. But, on the other end, having them around will keep your tetras schooling pretty well, or so I would imagine.

Also, the ghost shrimp may become snacks if they are smaller. I feed ghost shrimp to my rainbows from time to time and they eat they up immediately. When buying them, get the biggest ones you can find. Bamboo shrimp should be fine due to their size.

I don't personally know about the kuhli loaches. My skunk loaches hold their own, no problem. But, they are two different fish. So, hopefully someone with experience can help you there or you can find information somewhere else. I would imagine they would be fine.

Nerite snails you should wait on until you are getting some algae popping up. I have noticed in mine that they are more prone to go after the natural algae than the algae wafers or other prepared foods.
 
Thanks for the info. I'm happy to get info from a Rainbowfish owner. When I read about certain fish online a lot of resources seem to contradict each other. I will keep your words in mind.

All the tanks I'm looking at are 36" long and I understand Rainbowfish are sprinters, I was thinking of a smallish power head to make a current for the Rainbowfish to swim against (and I understand the Bamboo Shrimp like it too). In your experience with Rainbowfish do you think that's a long enough distance? I'd hate to get a pet and not have the right tank for it.

The ghost shrimp were on my list as clean up crew, but now that I'm looking at Kuhlis I may forgo the ghost shrimp.
 
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