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So say if you wanted a school of 5 glowlights and a school of 5 let's say neons,would that be ok? What about cories? I have never had 6 of the same kind.I have 2 bronze and 2 albino in a tank and they always stay together.I understand the need to school.I was always just curious as to where the 6 rule came from.Most lfs around here sell schooling fish in 5's not 6's.Thanks everyone for your answers.

I agree.I mean I have 3 glowlights right now,but only because I am going to be moving soon.As soon as I get settled in and get the tanks set back up I am going to up that number.I was just curious about the number 6.More is always better.I just like 7,9,11 better.I like the odd number thing.But I guess 6 is a good minimum number for any school.

How about why not groups of 6?

I figure... We need a number everyone can agree on, a golden standard on which everyone can be informed. If we didn't have the magic 6... someone chould say 5, and then 4, and then 3 as a minimum school and the fish would be getting a raw deal.

Last edited by john.stone at 01-Dec-2004 11:50

My LFS only gives discounts for 10 or more.
*buys 10 of everything*

good point babel! hahah. i often see fish as whatever price for one, but then discount for 3 or 6. that reason works out well for me! =}

The pottery that growls!

Why schools of 6???

Because you get them for cheaper when you get 6
@least in my LFSs you do .

Although any schooling or shoaling fish will be much happier if given more than that...it ends up being a balance of space and schooling.

^_^
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I think odd numbers are more aesthetically pleasing, and that's the basis behind having odd numbers. Same deal with like... oh, bonsai arrangements... normally you always have odd numbers of plants in an arrangement. *shrugs* Maybe it's a feng shui thing?

I don't know... half a dozen sounds like a good number to me, though I'd love to see many more in a school.

As for the odd-man-out syndrome, I don't know that numbers make a difference. I originally bought seven black neons (working on that six+ for a school and having an odd number), one died from a difformity that made it impossible for him to eat. I was left with six, one of which generally can be seen apart from his compatriots. *shrugs* Of course, it was the same when I first got them... Seven (the one who died) was off by himself, nursing himself and Six (the one who is always off by himself) was already being odd-man-out.

Granted, the isolation has gotten less noticeable as they've settled into the tank, but I can always tell which one is "Six" because he's generally hanging just a bit farther away from everyone else. *shrugs*

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

I have an odd number in my school and one hangs out by itself. I think it has social anxiety.

Cories are social by nature but different species technically won't school. When trouble comes by they break off into species. There isn't a lot of real trouble in most tanks however and Cories are happy hanging out with other groups of Cories so it looks like they are schooling together. Schools of most types of fish get a little loose in the aquarium because of the lack of any real threats.

My three cory school just hangs out together on the bottom and hides. My ten cory schools are always active, playing and racing around the tank. More than that, in my opinion, a large group of the same species of cories just looks better than a mixed group. The more you have of an individual species the happier they seem to be but the six number is just an artificially created guideline. I doubt there is any real science behind it.

Why does everyone say that schooling fish need atleast a group of 6? Most professional sites say it is best to keep schools in odd numbers.Everytime I buy 6 of anything 5 stay together and 1 is by itself.Glowlights,Rasboras,cories.Isn't 5 a good school? or 7? Just asking? I always wanted to know where the school of 6 came from.

If someone was inclined there could be a lot of involved mathematics and fish "psychology" (for lack of a better term) in working out just why a school might be sufficient. From a pure geometry perspective, a school of four for a midwater fish is probably not enough, because schooling fish like to be surrounded with their peers and with only four fish they are always exposed. Cories that sit on the bottom in huge groups might have different requirements because they only expect to be surrounded on the sides and not the top. And large fish that only school to avoid occasional predators might have smaller requirements simply because their overall comfort level is already high and they don't really need a tight school as much.

Of course requirements are also tempered by the desire to give people a goal they are actually willing to achieve. If you asked a schooling fish they'd probably want to be in an overstocked species tank where they could happily spend their days seeing nothing but friendly faces.

Last edited by Silverlight at 30-Nov-2004 10:29

IME, it doesn't really matter that much. 6 is a good starting point, but I have been known to dip down to four to a school.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 30-Nov-2004 10:21

I've read in different places that the minimum should be three, six and ten. My only rule is, fit as many as is pratical. The more the better but you need to find the balance between the number of species you want to keep, tank size, availibility, etc. My schools currently range from three (C. Paleatus in a 29G) to 16 (bleeding heart tetras in a 29G) I also have schools of ten(C. surnamensis and C. Julii in a 125G), nine(neon dwarf rainbowfish in a 55G, Red rainbowfish in a 125G), 7(M. boesemani in a 125G) and 6(M. lacustris in a 125G). The Cories in the 29G hide a lot. Three of the C. julii in the 125G hid a lot before I added to the school. I can't say I see a difference in behavior between the other schools.

[font color="#000080"]As keithgh & Ghostfish said, it does'nt really matter how many fish, or whether it's odd or even.

I personally recommend at least 7 to a school, but it does'nt make a difference if it's 6.

Also I have read that people only keep odd number schools because they always say they have bad luck keeping even number schools. Otherwords it's just a old superstition.

it doesn't matter what number the fish are in, as-long as they're in a shoal.

Fish have their own temperement so the one that gets picked on is usually the smallest.

I personally dont think it matters any way. I dont like going below 3 but that is just me.

Keith

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Well it is kind of like the 1" per gallon rule I'd say. In the wild you wouldn't generally find that many fish per gallon of water. The opposite goes for schools. You wouldn't generally find only six schooling species by themselves in the wild. I say the more the merrier, as space allows in your tank. Huge schools look WAY better than small schools.

As for the odd number theory....do you think fish can count, or know what an odd number is?

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