Yet Another Stocking Question

[2Whit]

Hello all. I'm in the process of upgrading from a 10 gallon tank to a 20 G long (planted, sand substrate). I've got a school of 5 happy, healthy harlequin rasboras that will be making the move who will shortly be joined by a comparably sized group of cherry barbs. That said, I have 2 questions:

1) I'd like to add some cory cats as well. Originally I was planning on one of the dwarf species - probably c. hastatus given temp and pH - so that I could have a proper shoal of at least 4. I would have to get my LFS to order them special, however. So, I was wondering if I could get away with putting in a group of one of the smaller non-dwarfs (say, pandas) without running the risk of crowding the tank and, if so, how many?

2) The rasboras were thrilled when I was finally able to up their number from three to five, and really don't seem like they could be any happier. Of course, the magic number that most people seem to quote for schooling fish is a minimum of 6. Should I add one or two more since I, theoretically, will have the space or just let them be? I wonder the same about the barbs, though I know cherries aren't quite as socially dependent as some of their brethren. Thoughts?

Thanks for the help!

 

[saltynay]

I would get a shoal of 5 C.aenus (any colour morph) pandas are sensitive to water quality whilst aenus are a bit more hardy. Raise the rasboras to 6 and have a group of 6 cherry barbs if you go over the 1" gallon rule it doesn't matter much as long as you can recognise the signs of distress.

 

[2Whit]

C. aeneus? Really? Huh. I'd been avoiding them because I thought they'd get too big, but they're certainly easier to get. Thanks.

 

[deceptacon]

c. hastatus... I ordered some from Arizona Gardens (they sent me habrosus twice.. I wouldn't recommend ordering fish from them), they must be sensitive fish - I couldn't seem to keep them alive. I started with 12, and eventually they all died off. Had them in a 20 long also. It was sad, they're the cutest I've ever seen

 

[2Whit]

Oh, gosh. I'm really sorry to hear about your fish, Deceptacon. Thanks for the warning, though.