How many fish ???

[bowjo]

We've got a 30 gal. aquarium.It has the following fish in it:2 neon tetras,3 phantom tetras,2 small algea eaters,2 corey cats and 1 pleco 2inches long.We are thinking about adding a pictus cat and maybe a couple other small fish.How many fish and what sizes do you think we can add?I know people have different opinions on this.All replies are welcome........Thank you Joe

 

[duaumun]

General rule of thumb is that one inch of freshwater fish equals one gallon of water. This does not mean that if you buy 30 baby fish, your tank is fine. The rule only applies to the adult length of the fish. As for what you add, that is personal preference. I have found that if it is a planted tank, you can slide on the fish rule a bit. I would add a ton of schooling fish, maybe two or three species with seven or so inhabitants each. That would be very pretty.

 

[snifflyfro]

The schooling fish are great and you've already got the start of two schools of tetras. The Neons and phantom tetras are going to want to be in larger groups, not just 2 of each. I'd up the schools to 6 or so. You can try some Cardinal Tetras too, they'll school with the neons and will add a little more color (require a bit lower to neutral pH)