# Number of Fish



## darryle91 (Apr 25, 2016)

Hello! I bought a 20 gallon aquarium. Since, this is my first time to have aquarium at home. I want to ask how many fish is the limit of 20 gallon aquarium?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Welcome to Cichlid-forum!

Depends on the species...were you wanting to stock cichlids?


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Depends on the size of the fish. Some won't even fit in a 20G, some will breed happily in that size tank!


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## darryle91 (Apr 25, 2016)

I bought two peacock bass and neon tetras.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Uh oh, the peacock bass is a 28" fish.


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## dledinger (Mar 20, 2013)

"Peacock bass" is a common name for more than a dozen different species of varying sizes. The idea that it is a 28" fish is not an accurate statement.

There are species which regularly exceed 36", and species that will never reach 20".

Yes, of course they're all big and not suitable for an adult life in a 20 gallon, but(in my experience) it's a stretch to put an unobtainable level of precision on a fish size when the OP has not even ID'd the species.


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## Granamyr (Dec 16, 2015)

What you don't think this fish should be in a 20 gallon aquarium? I think that would be cool the fish could talk to him all day since his head would be out of the tank 

https://thegreatwhitehunter.files.wordp ... eacock.jpg


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## dledinger (Mar 20, 2013)

I'll tell you one thing.....I'd love to go catch a few that size.


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## Granamyr (Dec 16, 2015)

dledinger said:


> I'll tell you one thing.....I'd love to go catch a few that size.


that would be awesome to catch a fresh water fish that large. I just wish that sellers would confirm with the client about what tank size they have when they are selling a fish that is going to literally get bigger than many tanks


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

I suspect the OP was pulling your leg, note that he said he bought two Peacock Cichlids and Neon Tetras. At least, I hope he was joking.


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## dledinger (Mar 20, 2013)

Granamyr said:


> I just wish that sellers would confirm with the client about what tank size they have when they are selling a fish that is going to literally get bigger than many tanks


I go in the local stores and here and they're overrun with giant HLLE scarred oscars, redtail cats, clown knifes and sick looking arrowanas. I'm sure they were all dumped in a 55 and subsequently returned a year later. Now they all sit in bare bottom 40 longs next to the feeder fish.

Anything to make a dollar.


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## Granamyr (Dec 16, 2015)

dledinger said:


> I go in the local stores and here and they're overrun with giant HLLE scarred oscars, redtail cats, clown knifes and sick looking arrowanas. I'm sure they were all dumped in a 55 and subsequently returned a year later. Now they all sit in bare bottom 40 longs next to the feeder fish.
> 
> Anything to make a dollar.


Which is super sad because they probably chase away half the people they do that to from the hobby. Where if they were responsible and sold them fish that were appropriate for their tanks they might enjoy it still after a year and they would have MORE customers to continue to sell to. Forward thinking though it seems these days is lost kinda like this guy looks like he is :fish:


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## dledinger (Mar 20, 2013)

It happens in this board, too.

People advise based upon info that they read on the internet without having any experience of their own.

It's a recipe for disaster.


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