[BuddyB309]

Here what I do, 47000 is nothing for a character. Rig the character with bones. Then apply edit poly modifier to the bones and then shape the bones to a low poly representation of your character. Then hide the mesh of your character. You can animate in real time and you can still see the volume of your character. Then, right before you render, unhide the mesh that is skined to the bones.

I wouldn't recommend using fins on the bones. They just get in the way and tell your nothing about where you character is.