Reccs for Corydoras for a Rainbowfish tank?

[AlaskanCorydoras]

My next tank will be a 75ga rainbowfish tank. I'm planning on aquascaping it with a large castle and green gravel on one end, and "Black gold" plant substrate (which is a type of sand) on the other, with a goodly number of plants. The inhabitants will primarily be rainbowfish, including Praecox, turquoise, Boesmani, and Australian. I'll likely have 5 yoyo or clown loaches on snail patrol, and a single common pleco for algae defense. Given these fish, what are my best bets for compatibility with Corydoras? I'd like to put 10 in of a single species. . .

Also, has anyone had any luck finding Fairy Corydoras for sale online or mail-order?

[Birger]

likely have 5 yoyo or clown loaches on snail patrol, and a single common pl*co for algae defense

I would like to suggest you stay away from the large clown loach http://www.loaches.com/species-index/cl ... cracanthus in favor of a smaller species such as the mentioned Yoyo http://www.loaches.com/species-index/botia-almorhae

And substitute a

Ancistrus cf_cirrhosus

(bristlenose) for the much larger common pleco, more manageable size and a better algae eater.

Not all cory's will like the same water conditions as the rainbows so you will definitely want to do some research on the fish available to you as to their compatibility

Cories prefer a fine sand as opposed to gravel...their barbels may wear and get infected otherwise...they probably do not care what color it is but in this case size does matter.

I myself would not mix loach's and cories as they both sort of inhabit the same niche within the tank, the loach's being the better choice for this tank as you have described it, IMO.

Castle and green gravel is a matter of personal taste but a more natural look is a beautiful thing.

[AlaskanCorydoras]

The theme for this tank is "Nature reclaiming territory." All my tanks have some sort of theme, cory breeding tank aside. (The theme there is "plants!")

I've found that the Yoyos and praecox in my current 55gallon tank really like my current castle there. They spend more time in that area of the tank than in the planted areas. I plan on having more of the new tank planted, and hopefully the fish will like the denser plants, but the castle is good for providing caves/hiding places for the more shy fish.

Anyhow, I already have the placo I plan on moving into the tank. (Got him before I realised how big common placos got.)

Water quality doesn't seem to be much of an issue. . . Rainbowfish like slightly acidic water, in a good temperature range for corys. I'm mostly wanting corys that are big enough to not worry about the rainbowfish (Which are actually quite peaceful) though I am biased towards trying to hunt down some Fairy Corys.