How many fish can you put in a 36 gallon bow front tank?

It depends on the species you want to house in the tank. Each species has a general stocking rule and minimum tank requirement that should be followed. There is not one "rule" that applies to all species - you need to consider the requirements of the fish you want.

There are many choices in stocking freshwater tropical tanks.

Do you want a few showpiece fish and some schooling fish for added activity? Do you just want a lot of small active fish? Do you want just a pair of larger fish? Etc.

For example a pair of severum and some barb would be a nice tank. Or a bunch of tetra/danio/rasbora and some dwarf gourami. Or misc livebearing fish like a handful of molly platy swords and guppy.

I second that it depends on the type of fish. If you are going with something tiny, like neons you could have a whole bunch. A fair number of livebearers would do well in a tank that size as well.

do you wants different groups of schooling fish? A couple centerpiece fish with some background fish? Really active community or more peaceful feel? Give a bit more info and I am sure we could all give you some more specific ideas :)

I disagree with Christina, yes more water changes will help you but doesn't mean that your stocking level should "all depend on how often you do water changes". It depends on what type of fish you wanted, did you want to Freshwater or Saltwater? Coldwater or Tropical fish? You should start by cycling your aquarium, it'll take about 4-6 weeks, and then choose your stock. If I were you I would go with 2 Fancy Goldfish. You wouldn't require a heater, just a very strong filter. They are very beautiful fish to look at and they are very hardy for beginners.

Depends on the kind of fish. Schooling fish could be fine with less than one inch of fish per gallon of water while other aggressive or large fish could need 3 or more gallons per inch.

No fish that you put in that tank should be over 7 inches full grown. So, no balas or goldfish for you.

It's a lot of space so a lot of fish can be put into it. The rule of thumb is 1 inch of adult fish per 1 gallon but I have also heard 1 inch of adult fish for 2 gallons. It all depends on how often you would siphon the gravel and do water changes.

It was going to be tropical freshwater