platy/molly/guppy-Need Help!

I have seen numerous pictures of mollies and platies in a tank. I have a 29 gallon and I was wondering how many mollies/platies/guppies I can have in there. I've heard 10...but that seems pretty low to me..wouldn't it be like 20? The fry I will not try to save. If one survives then..GREAT! how many is too many guppies/platies/ mollies??? I hope this makes sense!!!

I know I sound like a newbie but I'm really not. I know about fish and all but I have never gotten the hang of how many fish to put in a tank!! grrr.

[Fishyfanatic]

20 is excessive. If you use the 1 inch per gal guideline, figure in the ultimate size of the fish, not the current size.

in my first tank I had 10 fish(mollies and platies, and a gourami)...it seemed like not very many fish..but if that's all I can have then ok.

[Fishyfanatic]

What size of a tank was it?

oops..it was my second tank!! The size was a 29 gallon. I still use that one.

[Elmware]

I'm not sure how big Mollies can get, but I have some Marigold Swordtails, and the females can get 3-4 inches long. The males stay 2 inches. They sure do grow.

[Fishyfanatic]

If the tank looks busy, there are too many fish in it. Fish can survive in an overcrowded tank, but they will not thrive. For small fish such as those you are considering, 1 inch per gal is a good guideline to start with. When you start mixing dwellers you can expand past that guideline.

[Puriti]

Yeah, I have mollies and my females are HUGE and my male is a little smaller than they are. I'm guessing my females max out at about 3-3.5 inches long and the male about 2-3. They get to be pretty big and bigger when they're pregnant. A lot of people were pointing out how fat my female was when she was pregnant. >__<