Fish Compatibility and Tank Number

Question
I have a 30 gallon tank with a clown loach, a green cory catfish, a turquoise rainbowfish, and a praecox rainbowfish.  What other fish are compatible with these, and how many more can I put add to the tank?

Answer
Hi Morgan,

The general rule of thumb with freshwater aquariums is an inch of fish body (excluding fins) per gallon of water.  So you're looking at a total of 30 inches of fish.  You can disclude the cory, since he's a bottom feeder and isn't taking up much swimming room, but I would include the clown loach since they're usually more active and bigger.

Corys and clown loaches actually prefer to be in schools.  A group of five or more is ideal for both, and you'll be amazed how little you'll end up gravel vacuuming when you do your water changes. :)

Any other types of rainbows can also go in your tank.  These also like to have company, so the more the merrier.  Look for red, yellow, Bosemani, Australian, Madagascar and Celebes.  These are the most common at pet stores and are very beautiful.  If you can find a threadfin rainbow, though, I don't think you'll be in the least bit disappointed!

If you were looking to keep primarily larger fish, you could go with angels or giant danios.  Gouramis are also great, as long as you have only one male per tank.  Females get along with everyone just fine, but if you have more than one male per tank there will be territory disputes.  Look for the pearl, pink kissing, blue, gold, and opaline gouramis.  My favorites are the pearls.  Stay away from the very colorful dwarf gouramis like the Flame and the Neon Blue, as the only ones available in pet stores are males and will chase and nip the fins of other fish for no apparent reason.  A school of small tetras would be nice, as well; I would stay away from neons because they sometimes die too easily, but black neons, serpaes, buenos aires, black skirts, lemons and diamonds are all very nice.  Also look into rasboras like the harlequin and the scissortail.  If you need to do more research or just want to see what all these fish look like, check out www.liveaquaria.com.

I hope this helped, please let me know if you have questions about specific compatibility or anything else.  Have fun!

-Lindsay