good schooling fish?

Cozen89

Premium Member
I'm interested in the schooling behavior demonstrated by some fish and wondering which reef safe fish do this? What are the best schooling fish to keep together and which different types will school together? thanks for the info!

Pics are also appreciated =)
 
I believe chromis is the most common answer. Thanks for the reply tho. Any other suggestions? Other than damsels?
 
Anthias though, I wouldn't suggest them in your 50 gallon. Cardinals are really the only schooling fish I can think of that would be ok in a 50 gallon other than Chromis. Since you're not doing a reef tank, a great schooling fish is the Pilot Fish, but unfortunately they get HUGE. But they're super cool when they're tiny, but they grow really fast so they'll outgrow your tank in less than 4-6 months
 
well yeah I'm not looking to school fish in my 50.

I might be getting a 72 or bigger soon. What do you think is the smallest tank you can school fish in?
 
The bigger the better. Anthia's will school in a 72 but that's definitely on the small side and would be better suited to a 125 or larger for a proper school. If you wanted the Pilot fish which are really active and fun to watch, you'd need something in the tune of 180 or larger. The bigger the better as far as tanks go, because what happens is with a lot of space, it brings out their Schooling instincts and have to school for better protection from predators (even if there isn't any true predators in the tank). Also for schooling fish, I notice if you have a fish or two that is larger and active such as a larger tang or large angel, it'll help maintain the schooling instincts a little better whereas if they don't have anything like that, they'll begin to lose their schooling tendencies and sometimes will even develop territories, I think this happens more with Chromis than other schooling fishes.
 
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