the plan at the moment is to go ask my lfs if they will take the neons and see what they have in cory's whilst I'm there. If they will take the neons I'll see if I can just get a pair of cory's to start with so I don't over load my filter and then I can build from there. Can I mix them up or do I need to keep all of the same type? What I mean is could I have say 4 in total - 2 bronze or pygmy's and 2 of the ones you suggest (C.habrosus? need to do the research on them first)
I know the cory's come in various different types (I'm still researching at the moment) and it would be good to know the best way to keep them
+1 to rehoming the neons - any LFS should take these no problem.
What is the gravel like in your tank? Take a bit and roll it between your fingers - if it is sharp or scratchy in any way, it isn't suitable for corys. The best substrate for corys is sand, and after that very smooth, rounded gravel. If they damage their barbels or undersides this can lead to infections.
You need to keep all of them same species - a common mistake people make is 'cory pick n mix'. That's not to say you can't mix groups, but you can't make a shoal of 6 different types. For example, I have 6 albino and 6 peppered, but wouldn't consider 3 of each as making a group.
The most important thing for 'regular' corys is tank footprint, rather than litres - they don't really swim in the water column that much, although they do sometimes take a gulp of air from the surface (some more than others - this is normal) or swim among plants. The regular (larger) corys need to be in groups of 6 plus. However with your tank size I'd say 5, I don't think it could take 6. I wouldn't be looking at the albino and bronze types, as these get pretty big compared to how they are in the shop. My female albino is a beast, about 3.5 inches and as round as an egg! Pandas stay a little smaller and might be a good choice.
The dwarf/pygmy ones, however, spend more time swimming in the water column, and do better in larger groups - say 10-12.
But there are so many varieties - spend time doing plenty of research.
My honest opinion? I don't think your tank can take a large group of corys - I just don't think the footprint is large enough, they are very active. It would require a lot of dedication to thorough gravel vacs so that they are not swimming on too much waste. They are also quite the waste machines themselves...
I had 6 in a 2.5ft/90 litre tank and that seemed about enough to me - I don't think I'd go smaller. This is just MY opinion of course, I'm sure others would disagree.
If you really wanted to though, I'd say 4-5 pandas, with a view to getting a larger tank and upping the numbers
