I've always been more of a focal-fish kinda person, but honestly I've simply never owned anything which schooled, so I have no true background to announce a preference.

Which do you prefer? A school/shoal of many small fish, or a single 'show fish', and why?

I know what I like about show fish...

My tanks are tiny, generally speaking. I have four 1G bowls, a 2G bowl, a 3G bowl, a 10G tank, and a 5G tank. Single fish are easier for me to care for, I find I have a greater attachment to them since I'm only dealing with one, and I know that my tanks/bowls aren't overstocked with them in it. When I have just a single fish, such as a betta, it's easier for me to think of them as a pet, whereas a school seems more like something I'd wind up objectifying a little too much (as in, it'd be too easy to ignore them, for me).

Large schools of tiny fish for me. 40 cardinals in a 60 gal looks amazing

Its hard for me, thats one of the choices I had to make for my 55G.
I think larger fish tend to have more personality, bettas aside.

I think a heavily planted 60G or so with a small school of 20 neons, and a pair of bolivian rams looks fantastic.
I also like the look of a 60G with a oscer in it.

And remember, a fish is a fish.
I aghree that it can be easier to think of a betta is more of a pet than a school of rummy noses', but they're both fish.

Well, it's not like I'm forcing it to wear a reindeer costume come Christmas. It's just one of the reasons why I enjoy single fish. :grin:

I am honestly curious about the shoaling draw... it's just a little too prosaic for me. Back and forth. Back and forth. I pace enough on my own. *laugh*

I do tend to over-look most schooling tetras and rasboras but if you put them in a large group - amazing.

Having said that, danios and a select few species of tetras/rasboras/rainbowfish seem to have character. It can take a while to see - but it's there

Still, I suppose I'd count as a 'show fish' person seeing as I'm gourami-obsessed Even the smaller ones are full of character and none are realy 'schooling fish' - though some are social and swim around together in larger tanks.

Anyway, I think a realy attractive tank is one with a balance between all extremes. A big school of tiny fish and some larger 'centerpiece' fish always look great together (as long as the big one doesn't think the small ones look too tasty )...

Can't choose- perhaps that's why I like livebearers so much. They are sociable but still individuals, they've got different patterns and different personalities, but you can also get something of the group effect.

I like all schooling fish except tetras because every tetra that I have in a school always hide but my single fish like my pleco and bettas they don't hide unlike these whimpy tetras that are in a school and are so scared they can't even swim around while the light is on

I think it depends on what types of tanks you own, i think schooling fish look pretty bad in small tanks simply because they look so unatural to me, but in a big 125gal tank they really come into their own being and pace about in bright colors and large numbers, quite dazzeling. If you have a small tank its better to just have one centre peice fish in my opinion so it can get alot of attention, but in a large tank its difficult to give one fish all the attention as most big tanks are dedicated to large numbers of fish rather than just one or 2 species.

I think i love schooling and solitary/non shoaling fish both as much as each other, i love my livebearers and plecs because they have so much personality and their characters range so much from fish to fish but on the other hand i couldn't imagine not having my peaceful neon tetra shoal to watch and chill out with or my herd of corys all playing together exploring the tank .

well, i think schooling fish look better than single fish in small tanks. i would rather put 1 or 2 big fish in a big tank that have a whole bunch cause i dont like counting to make sure they are all there and if other people see your tank and see its not crowded, they might learn that stuffing the tank with fish isnt good.

I'm more interested in the individual fish as pets, so of course I like single specimens or mated pairs. I think people who like schoaling fish are more interested in the overall look of the tank, because a large schoal really does look impressive, but you can't really bond with them like you can a more interactive individual fish.

True, but you can study them; animal behaviour and that sort of thing; it doesn't have to be interior decorating. I haven't got room at the moment, but I could see myself with a large school of say giant danios and a little notebook, making notes on pecking order and sexual behaviour etc.

I like groups of fish, and you can definately bond with shoals of cories; they check me out just as much as I do them (the old ones do, at least). If/when I get a larger tank, I want to get a pair of oscars because they do seem more intelligent and "pet-like" than a bunch of small cories, but my cories will always be fun to watch, especially early in the morning or late at night when they don't notice me there ^.-

I like both together. You get the best of both worlds and then some. You get the cool individual (or in my case paired) fish. You get the beauty and calm of a large shoal. And you get all of the interactions between the two.

I collect corydoras which are schooling fish, but they are very different in their behavior than tetras.

I like them because they are social fish. They don't just swim together in a group, but rather they seem to interact with each other. They go off in small groups to play and crowd, sometimes one on top of the other, into caves.

While a school of tetras is beautiful, I think their style of "precision swimming" is more cool and impersonal than that of the corys. These friendly little fish sometimes go in all directions at once, often bumping into each other. They are a lot of fun to watch.

I agree with Inchworm, I saw a tank of panda corys at my LPS and they were so amazing to watch. I couldn't get over how cute they were. I just have the one betta at the moment, but once I build myself a new bookshelf that can hold a 30+ gallon aquarium, I plan on getting a tank with some sort of shoaling fish. I may just go for those pandas. Although I'm already starting to see a bit of personality to my little betta, I have to admit its mostly for decoration. I like him and he is pampered in his 5 gal. tank, but I have a dog to bond with. You can't watch tv with fish or have them sleep with you on a cold night. *waits to get flamed* lol.

I don't think any shelf even if you attach the support beams on the studs it wouldn't be strong enough to hold a 300 pound tank.

Maybe I should have said bookcase to eliminate any confusion. I'm going to build it specifically to hold a tank, the books being more or less secondary. After I draw an intial design I'm going to bring it to my school's woods teacher for approval and comments. I'll likely end up going a little overboard as to its weight limit, but I always like to be safe rather than sorry.

Depends for me, I love cichlids, and have kept them alone, but I would take a school of clown loaches over anything, ofcourse including the tank to keep them in.

Well I really like schooling fish only if there small ones like tetras,corys, etc. But then I also like single fish only if there big. I havent kept any but I always wanted one.

-Arrowhead