How many is too many

Hi, I have a 20gl tank with dirt and live plants. I just added 10 neon tetras. I am aware of the 1" rule of thumb, however I am not sure if this will apply with the fish I plan on having. Here is the pic of my tank so far (I added a bit more plants and plan to add more):

http://fishtanktv.com/photo/img-0102?context=album&albumId=6423...

So towards my question. With the 10 neons, how many other fishes can I put in the tank without overstocking it? If I am not there already that is.

Here is a list of what I would like to have, and yes I am aware that the Corydoras like to be in groups:

Fancy Guppys

Panda Cory Catfish

Thank you very much in advance. If you would like to recommend a dif type of fishy to put in my tank I would very much appreciate it. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Peter on August 2, 2012 at 4:32pm

the 1" per gallon rule always applies unless u have some like awsome filtration to keep the water super clean but then still the fish will be cramped. u also have to take into consideration that the tank is 20gallons wen its empty soo adding dirt the cap and plants makes that go down to like 18ish gallons maybe less. So u can have 18" of fish comfortably. since u have 10 neon thats 1" each thats 10" of fish already so around 8" more of fish left to stock unless u have nice filtration in that case u can stock more.

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Permalink Reply by Francisco M on August 2, 2012 at 4:52pm

Thank you.

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Permalink Reply by ŦůRbö ۰ Ҏяѻ ۰ on August 2, 2012 at 5:26pm

I Like to stay with one fish per gallon, depending on the size of the fish. The more fish the more cleaning and water changes. One of my 30 gal has about 15 fish small fish (neons and male guppies) and two large angelfish and a silvertip cat shark about 3 inches long, live plants, shrimps, and such. I had just the angelfish and 5 tetras awhile ago and a full cleaning was twice a month with water changes daily, filter cleaning 2 times a month. Now with more fish is a full cleaning is weekly with daily water changes, and filter cleaning every week.

What im trying to say is that the more fish you have the harder you'll need to work, more frequent water tests are needed, more money is needed to supply water conditioner, filter media, test suppies, food, and such.

Cory's are schooling fish so if you added 3 or 5 of them and a few guppies you'll be fine, but take more effort on your part.

hope that helps. Just my personal experience and thoughts

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Permalink Reply by Francisco M on August 2, 2012 at 5:36pm

Awesome, you gave me a good idea. I really appreciated your advice. Thank you.

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Permalink Reply by Ryan Medric on August 5, 2012 at 8:37pm

forget the guppies, get more neon tets and get a nice school of 3-5 corys!

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Permalink Reply by Francisco M on August 7, 2012 at 10:00pm

Or I could get Cardinals, I know they look the same to the from afar, but at least I could brag to my friends how pro I am by showing off how I can tell the difference that they could not lol ok that was a lame joke. Anyway thanks for the advice Ryan!

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Permalink Reply by Keith Mc-Fish on August 7, 2012 at 11:37pm

if you have plants tho that is helping filter your tank and its also keeping your tank clean, i'd say if it was me and I had that beautiful set up I would do a little more over 1 inch per gallon just because its like an ecosystem in there and you wouldn't need to clean it as much.