How many fish should I get to start an aquarium?

How many fish should I get to start an aquarium?

Marc Grover (Professional Aquarist) gives expert video advice on: Are goldfish easy to take care of?; How many fish should I get to start an aquarium?; How do I choose a healthy fish? and more...

That's going to depend on the size of the aquarium. There's a myth out there that about an inch per fish per gallon is okay, and that's an urban legend. It doesn't really work that way and there's a lot of other things involved with it. If you take a typical 20 gallon fresh water setup, I tell people anywhere from three to five fish to start with, depending on the size of the fish. If you were to get three Tiger Barbs, that would be perfect for a 20 gallon tank. If you were to get smaller Tetras, even though the bigger body shape, it is a smaller fish, you could get up to five fish to cycle the aquarium.