[Smeagol]

Is there a maximum number of fish that can join a school? For example, imagine I have 10 black neons that are always swimming together. Can I keep adding more and more black neons, and keep making the school larger and larger. Or, at some point will the school reach a maximum population, beyond which any additional neons would be excluded from the school?

 

[Grah the great]

Nope. Many schooling fish live in schools of hundreds, if not thousands, in the wild, so if your tank is big enough to handle the bioload and swimming space requirements there is no set maximum number. I'm not sure about shoaling fish, though (which are like schooling fish, but tend to form territories and be more irritable with each other - think celestial pearl danios).

 

[Steve001]

Is there a maximum number of fish that can join a school? For example, imagine I have 10 black neons that are always swimming together. Can I keep adding more and more black neons, and keep making the school larger and larger. Or, at some point will the school reach a maximum population, beyond which any additional neons would be excluded from the school?

The limiting factor is the gallon amount contained in this tank of yours.

 

[frog111]

The other consideration is whether the fish feel some sort of threat or not. Schooling is a defensive behavior. So even if there is some other fish that might possibly threaten the schooling species, they will school more and more tightly. No threat stimuli, they school less and less tightly