Odd or even number?

[escamosa]

I was just wondering, is it better to have an odd or even amount of fish?
When my son and i set up the first tank we added five neons, four would school and one was a loner, since we added five more they all school.

In my new tank i have Paradise fish and two Gouramis, which are all living quite happily together but the Paradise fish and one Gourami hang around together and the other is on his own.

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed this in thier tank?

[mrs fishpatrick]

I have 7 neons, 6 school and one is always on his own

[travie]

If its aggressive fish, go with an odd number that way there is in theory always one fish not being picked on. If its peaceful fish, it doesn't really matter odd or even.

[Deleted User]

If I get schooling fish in I usually buy odd numbers because I think odd numbers look better, But then I have never had a schooling fish go off and swim on it's own.

[NickFish]

It doesn't matter.

I have odd and even numbered schools, they will all school the same way.

There is will always be a fish now and then that ventures away from the school to forage, or do other fishy stuff. It happens. If they feel safe there is no need to always stay in a school, especially in smaller numbers, which is another theory altogether.

With only 5 neons it is not uncommon for none of them to school at all. In such small numbers they feel schooling will have no benefit to them. The whole purpose of schooling is safety in numbers, when there are little numbers there is no school. Even if they do school it will always be a little shaky.
Chances are, the fact that your neons are schooling now has to do with you adding more fish, not with you changing to an even amount of fish.

[Sharon]

I think odd numbers look better as well:ssmile: ...I'm not sure why, as it seem to defy logic....

[abaigael04]

I like odd #'s better... though I have even right now. Have heard odd amounts are better, but not actually sure if it is true.

[escamosa]

Thank's everybody, i just thought it was strange that it was the pattern in my tank's.

[korith]

As long as you got enough of them for them to feel comfortable and school that works.

I don't think it matters to the fish, just to us. Myself I like keeping multiples of 5, that way it's easier for me to keep track of how many I have in the tank. If I lose a fish, I'll try to replace it with another to get back to a proper count.