Schooling fish?

[JLynn]

So, for my first tank, I want to keep it fairly simple. I am still in the early planning stages of it, but basically I want to have a sizable school of fish and a few hardy corals. The tank is 50 gallons, and the dimensions are 48"x12"x20" (LxWxH). I may have one or two other fish, (maybe a pair of neon gobies?) but other than that, just the school of fish. By sizable, I mean about 10-15 fish, maybe even up to 20, if that would encourage schooling behavior. Suggestions? Am I being unrealistic? Thanks ahead of time.

[Anemone]

Yes, unfortunately, you're being unrealistic. Fish that normally school in the open ocean don't seem to get along as well in smaller tanks - and a 50 gallon tank is small. You might have some luck with a small anthias harem (a male and 3-4 females), but personally, I wouldn't put more than 7-8 small/medium-sized fish in a 50 gallon tank, or you'll be asking for ongoing algae, disease and water-quality problems.

If you want to have a "school" of 15-20 fish, on the small side we're talking probably chromis, and I wouldn't try it in anything smaller than about a 240.

Kevin

[JLynn]

Darn. Reality checks are so dissapointing. What about about a group of Yellowstriped Cardinalfish? I have heard that Cardinals will exhibit something similar to schooling behavior when kept in groups. Is that true? Would they be more appropriate for the tank? 8 of those would be fine, right?

[Spork3245]

I'm not sure about yellow stripped, but pajama cardinals will stay grouped together from what I've seen

[mikem101]

Yellow stripes are cool, but i have heard that just like Banggai Cardinals, that if you put them in your tank you will end up with just to eventually? im not to sure as i havent read up on them but in a 50 i would agree with kevin and still with maybe 5. hope it helps and good luck!

[MrTuskfish]

You'll never find SW fish that school like FW tetras, etc. The FW fish are in a tiny stream. SW schools can easily cover thousands of cubic water and still be in the same school.

[bnumair]

I have 8 feet of length with 30" wide tank 300 gal. I started with 20 ignitus anthias left with only 7 now.
Some of it got to do with multiple males killing each other. And some for lack of space and stress.

[Kyle918]

I think with that size tank, this is a very unrealistic goal. Once you have sand and rock, the total water volume may be under 40 gallons in the DT. You already want two other fish like neon gobies and I can't think of any other fish that would realistically school in school size of 6 fish. I think they would most likely kill each other off as most species of fish don't like their own species and become agressive, especially is smaller tanks.

[JLynn]

Gotcha. I don't know that I really want other fish, not in a schooling tank. I mean, clearly it's back to the drawing board, but if I ever have the money/space to do a schooling tank, chances are it will end up being species-only. The school, after all, is the main attraction there. I'll probably end up making the 50g a sump. I just can't think of a good way to stock it :(. Anyways, thanks for the advice! :beer:

[mikem101]

There is TONS of ways to stock it! You could do a Bluespotted Jawfish, goby and shrimp combo, Marine Betta, Flameback Angelfish, clownfish anemone pair, Royal Gramma, Mandarin's and TONS more!

[mkballer]

The reason fish school in the wild is for defense from predators. If there is no threat in your tank, the fish will stop schooling I over time. Schooling fish are best kept in extra large aquariums.

[lhm nole]

I tried 15 firefish in a 300 with tons of rock and now I have zero they kill each other off

[Sk8r]

The only fish I can think of that might do it, in 3's, would be the very smallest chromis, a type of damsel. Damsels school readily, IF the tank is big enough, and if there is enough rock, with plenty of holes. These fish will KILL if they are defending their hole at twilight, and the one most likely to be killed is the weakest of their own kind. Enough holes: happy damsels. But they also need enough room. Let me see if I can find the name of the species. Yes. The Acares Midget Reef Chromis. Max size 2", available from one of our sponsors, Foster-Smith. I'm not sure it will work, and I'd toss in 2-3 ordinary blue-green chromis just to keep the pot stirred---if you have enough hidey-holes. It will be a busy tank. I would recommend also the very smallest common blenny, the tailspot, and maybe a starry blenny that gets along well: they move about completely uninvolved in the damsel fusses. If you try this, keep me posted: I'm doing a damsel tank myself, in a 105, and am intrigued by these flashy (though spendy) little guys. Be SURE to quarantine, with as many pieces of PVC in the qt tank as you have chromis, or you may have one fewer in the morning.

[Kyle918]

Gotcha. I don't know that I really want other fish, not in a schooling tank. I mean, clearly it's back to the drawing board, but if I ever have the money/space to do a schooling tank, chances are it will end up being species-only. The school, after all, is the main attraction there. I'll probably end up making the 50g a sump. I just can't think of a good way to stock it :(. Anyways, thanks for the advice! :beer:

I think you are putting too much emphasis on the schooling. It is cool yes, but it will get boring seeing the same 15 fish swimming the exact same way each day. The point of having different fish is to enjoy different personalities.

The school really is not the main attraction in a reef tank. It is the diversity of the tank that is the real intriguing part. Think outside the box and check out liveaquaria.com for marine fish. There are so many species that I think would catch your attention more and for longer than just a single species that may or may not even school for the reason stated above...schooling is a defense technique. In a tank by themselves I doubt they would school at all and would kill each other off.

[792404]

I had 9 chromis and they killed each other. Two weeks and they were all gone. At least they were cheap. My snails enjoyed that!

[Sk8r]

In what size tank?

[mikem101]

50 gallons i think he said in his first post

[Paul B]

I keep a school (5) of these threadfin cardinals. No problem, and they are spawning
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/2013-06-14111538_zps04cd52b9.jpg (http://s258.photobucket.com/user/urchsearch/media/2013-06-14111538_zps04cd52b9.jpg.html)

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/2013-03-19164400_zps1415584b.jpg (http://s258.photobucket.com/user/urchsearch/media/2013-03-19164400_zps1415584b.jpg.html)

You can see them in the beginning of this video.
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/th_MVI_2186.jpg (http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh270/urchsearch/MVI_2186.mp4)

[mikem101]

Paul I think your tank is twice the size of the one we are talking about, do you think it would still work?

[Paul B]

If you use the fish I am talking about it will, they are small and don't swim far

[velvetelvis]

Sustainable Aquatics breeds Apogon margaritophorus (they call them "margarita cardinals"). I've seen a group of them at a LFS, schooling with threadfin cardinals. They're beautiful little cardinals, very peaceful. They remind me of freshwater pencilfish. I think a saltwater macroalgae tank with a school of these, for example, would be stunning--like a marine version of a freshwater planted tank. :D