How Many Is To Many?

[Hoppo]

I currently have a 20 gal tank with 5 cories, 3 peppers and 2 sterbi. I want to get more Sterbi and maybe 1 or 2 more peppers. But how many can I have before I start overcrowding.

Thanks

 

[Tizer]

i would say 8 to 10 would be a nice number for that size tank. 5 of each would be ideal but maybe start with 4 of each and see what it looks like.

 

[Hoppo]

Now I was wanting to get a pair of dwarf blue gourami's to fill the upper levels of the tank. Will they get along?

 

[Tizer]

everything gets along with corys. pretty much.

 

[Hoppo]

ok great now that i have a shopping list

 

[§tudz]

I would like to point out that you choice of corydoras mix is not a good one.
C. paleatus (peppered cory) are a temperate species and prefer their water cooler that most tropical species.
C. sterbai pefer their water a lot warm, and this is why they are often kept with discus.

Your cories may do ok in a temp range between the two species prefered setups but will probably not thrive.

As for stocking, you don't supply the dimensions of the tank, as with cories the 1" to every gallon isn't a great way to work it out, it's all about the foot print of the tank, the bigger the foot print the more fish. Corydoras are mainly found in slow moving shallow waters, so the height of the tank is of little importance in comparison to the width and length. So a long 20gallon can have more fish than a standard length 20gallon.

Always try to keep cories in groups of at least 6, mixed species is fine but they do like their own species company.
I have around 6 different species of cory in my cory Tank, and they do tend to sit in species groups, even the C. trilineatus and C. julii sit in their own groups and they are conspecifics.

Hope this helps some what.