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well, I have a slight issue. several years ago when I started keeping fish I picked up a couple corys for the ten gallon I started. since then I have come a long way, learning about cycling a tank, water Dh and Kh, and consistent monitering and water changes.

the first thing I was told when I posted on a forum was that I needed a bigger tank for the fish I had at the time, and that I needed more corys so they could school. No one mentioned they needed to be the same corys, so i went out and bought 3 juliis.

they schooled with the peppered cory and bronze that I had, and everything was good. untill I learned that julii's needed small smooth substrate and not the nasty stuff I had. their barbels rotted away and became sores, no one knew what was wrong untill someone asked what substrate I had. I moved the fish to my sick tank, and did a substrate change on the tank...but it was too late, I am not sure if it was the shock of moving or the open sores where their barbels were that caused the death but a week later all 3 were gone.

the last year I haven't done anything with my 29 gallon, but I am about to overhaul it...I just dont know what to do about a proper school of corys.

do I add peppered corys? or bronze? I REALLY don't want to get rid of either, I love them both, giving one away would be my last resort. they both frolic around happily together, I rarely see them sleeping, and when they do they are tucked next to eachother. they school and eat together and don't seem to be the slightest shy or poor behavior from lack of a school.

so, thats the problem. as far as tank mates, i only have two cherry barbs in there. i was thinking a school of very small tetras (embers maybe) to go along with the cories. the tank is over filtered and i do 30% water changes weekly.

i am using a very fine sand as substrate, and will be setting up the aquarium with lots of hiding places and rocks to peruse over.

water stats are: 9 Dh and 7.8 PH. ph is a little high, I use driftwood to help keep it a bit lower.

so, any advice on what to get and how many?

29 gallon, in the USA would be some 100 to 110 liters.

The cherry barb (Barbus titeya or Puntius titeya) is a amall fish, which, incidentally, also prefers to life socially

Were it my tank, I'd go for:

6 Cory paleatus (I think tese are your peppered)
6 C aeneus (the bronze ones?)
6 B titeya

yeah, 109.7 liters.

i just did some reading on the barbs...i was told they should be kept in pairs or threes and weren't a schooling fish. i suppose by now I shouldnt have trusted what I have been told and instead research for myself. I just read up on them from a few differant sources and it says they prefer to be in groups of 5 or more...heh.

on the corys, i was concerned that a full school of each type might be overloading the tank...also the tank isn't a long version, its a standard 30" long tank, meaning less bottom surface.

thank you for the reply!

EDIT: yes, the corys are Corydoras paleatus and Corydoras aeneus

The total stocking level at 12 medium sized cories should not be a problem. They may look a little close when they all settle on the bottom but how often does that really happen. I am assuming that you have considered needed water conditions since I know little about the cherry barbs. I am certain the paleatus and the aeneas overlap quite a bit including temperature requirements. The cherries should not be adding much to bioload so I would go for it once you get that tank cycled again.

yes, the cherry barbs, like the corys, have a very wide hardness,ph, and temperature range. just didnt realise this small of a tank could house that many corys.

is there anything special i should know about corys and a sand substrate? i do light weekly gravel vacs and use a small plastic stick to poke into the sand to stir it up. anything else i should know about substrate care as far as sand is concerned?

my sand is just laying there

I hardly ever vacuum it, or anything. I do have, however, large fish which stirr things up a little