20 gal tank - good mix of community fish ?

(05-31-2016, 04:05 AM)delta678 Wrote: Thank you for the suggestion, Thor

I'm using Fluval C3 Power Filter, the filter is at the top right corner of the tank, water intake tube is extended to left bottom corner of the tank, this configuration ensures good water circulation.  Fluval C3  is rated 153 gallon/hour. I'm not using carb filter, this should also improve water flow. 

I think the main concern/limit is biological filtration, Fluval C3 does not have a huge pocket for C-nodes (surface/place for bacteria colonization).
But I don't plan to change tank equipment, this is my first tank with fish and plants (have a mix of Anuibas + Amazon Sword) and at this point I plan to adjust fish type and population to tank capabilities.



What kind of small corydoras would you recommend?



My kid is in love with Neon Tetra so this one is a must



Could you recommend way to recognize such high quality fish place from other places? So far I've been looking for fish at PetSmart mainly, one store (out of 3 I visited) has lively Tetras, and some selection of Corys. But I should agree that selection of Gouramis/Dwarf Gouramis is not great. Is there any way to shop online?
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Some species of corydoras catfish are 2~2.5" long, some others can be up to 3.5" or even slightly larger.  
The smaller ones are False Julii Cory Cat, and Palespotted cory cat.   They are usually about 2" long at full adult size.  

Panda Corydoras catfish, Albino Aeneus Cory Cat, Peppered cory cat, Elegans Cory Cat, Skunk Cory Cat, Swartz's Cory Cat, Nanus Cory Cat, are around 2.5" long at full size.  

Neon Tetra and Cardinal Tetra look very similar.  Both are blue with one red strip at the bottom.  The only tiny difference is the Neon Tetra's red strip only goes half way cross the belly, while the Cardinal Tetra's red strip goes all the way.   Most people won't even tell the difference.   
Check out the photos to see for yourself.

Neon Tetra


Cardinal Tetra


See? They are in fact related species. Both are school fish, both are tetra. Cardinal Tetra is slightly bigger than Neon Tetra.


You can buy high quality fish from liveaquaria. I have shopped from them with good experience. If you decide to shop from them, you might as well order all of your fish at once to make the shipping cost worthwhile. Do not overstock your fish tank just because there is free shipping over a certain amount.