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now I know most people say 6 is the magic number, but that cant possibly be the same for ALL fish!

I have 4 harlequin rasboras in my 10 gallon and they school better than any schooling fish i have ever kept in such a small number.

and also what is the difference between fish that are "schooling," "shoaling," and "prefer the company of their own kind?" ...is there a fine line between "shoaling" and "prefering the company of their own kind?"

I thought of this today because I am going to set up probably a 5.5 gallon tank in which i want to keep 2 female bettas and otos... but then someone said that otos shoal and need at least 4-6 others, and somebody else said it would be fine with just 1 other oto friend.

We also used to have 1 oto in the tank at my school who had been a donation from somebody elses tank and he lived by himself perfectly healthy through a crashed tank! (the tank had guppies in it plus the oto (who was named "jet lee" and when the guppy tank crashed we redid the tank bit by bit and started it over. now it has swordtails in it. jet lee lived in the tank from the guppy setup through the crash through the revamp and was the only other fish in with 2 large swordtail females and then it was full of fry... well anyway, jet lee lived through all of this without any other otos and unfortunately passed away late this summer)

ok as i slowly wind my way off topic... please excuse the A.D.D... I think my original point was to find out if and why some schooling fish display normal schooling behaviours in numbers less than 6 and why some schooling fish do not school until there are way more than 6 of them? why is 6 the magic number?

6 isn't necessarily a magic number more than it's just a nice recommended number. Schooling fish have a tendency to play Follow-the-Leader and will be much more comfortable with buddies. Shoaling fish are fish that seem to prefer groups instead of loneliness and will seem happier but don't necessarily act as a group like schoolers do. Fish that like their own kind may do best in pairs as opposed to groups...

1)Schoolers - Tetras, rasboras, tiger barbs, clown loaches...comaprison for these would be jet fighters that stay in formation while going into battle, they're more comfortable with a bunch of their buddies around them instead of flying solo in "enemy territory"...while all of these have the ability to live on their own in most situations where all their other needs are met (space, cover, etc.), they are seen to be more active, more playful, and more comfortable with more of their own species. 6 is the basic recommendation, but it does not guarantee that all of their personalities will be satisfied with just 5 buddies and it does not guarantee that it will take 5 buddies to make them comfortable. We can all toss stories of our cool CL or tetra that was donated to us by someone and lived happily ever after for the next 5 years in a tank by itself. This is an odd case (no matter how many we can all contribute) and we only recommend the most likely situation to benefit the fish...

2)Shoalers - Otocinclus...comparison for these would be 8th grade guys at their first school dance, they hang together but do their own thing at the same time...there may be some argument regarding this species and whether or not it is a shoaler or a schooler, but my own experience and observation has shown me that they don't move in groups as one, but that they more share space and enjoy hanging out together while doing their own thing. Again, exceptions occur, we can only recommend the best probable scenario for keeper and fish...

3)Enjoy each other's company - Rosy barbs...comparison for these would be a couple high school cheerleaders walking through a cafeteria, the uniform makes them stand out, but if they didn't have a friend or two wearing the same thing, they wouldn't be as willing to wear such a strange combination through a crowd...these guys can survive fine by themselves, but seem to prefer a friend or two to feel more comfortable in the open water and around other species...

Exceptions will apply to all these and I'm all for pushing the envelope if you feel comfortable knowing that you're going against the commonly held beliefs. If you do risk going against the standards, good luck and I hope it works out for you...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

Yes, I agree with Billy completely. (Good analogies) Another very good example of a shoaling fish is cories. They really prefer to be kept in good-sized groups, but they don't necessarily hang out with each other all the time. For your tank, I would get just two female bettas, and maybe a snail if you really want an algae-eater. Be warned, though, snails produce more waste than they clean up.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I have ottos in with my female bettas. There are 3 and they are never together. I don't think they even notice each other. My neons school. I have had them in groups of 4 up to 12 and they still school. Cories do seem to like friends.

I think that the standard "6" is more of a guideline. You will notice how your fish act and use that as a guideline to adding more buddies.

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If at first you DO succeed, try not to look astonished.

With fish like otos and loaches it's more a matter that they enjoy company, whether it's one additional friend or a dozen.

I've always read that schooling is a 'safety-in-numbers' type of action. So fish that are in an aquarium setting with peaceful tankmates won't necessarily school. Of course there are exceptions; harlequins are always mentioned as good schoolers and I have belted barbs who are as well.

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