Stocking Suggestion?

[Shifty1303]

Hi all!
 
I am a moderately experienced enthusiast having kept tropical freshwater fish for 5-6 years now but have been attending university for the last four so have become more disconnected with the hobby than i would have liked. i am finishing university soon however and am looking to stock up my tank again which has been kept understocked intentionally to reduce maintenance for my family when im not at home.
 
I have a 22 gallon tank of which roughly 20-30% is occupied with plants etc and live in a hard water area with a pH around 7.4. currently in the tank I have a peppered cory (which i've had for 6 years now!), bronze cory, three glowlight tetras, a five stripe barb, a tiger barb, and three snails. this mixture is largely down to gradual depletion of former schools of fish, the tiger barb having been acquired accidentally from a store tank full of five-stripe's. in the past i have also kept guppies and dwarf gouramis with varying success.
 
so im looking for advice on the best species i should look to stock up with soon and how many i can conceivably maintain? i understand the tiger barb can pose an issue wrt guppies or similar but despite how awkward he can be im not willing to give him up but neither am i looking to get more barbs. ideally id like some top-level surface feeders first. im also interested in the idea of getting some shrimp too. would these suit my water conditions etc? and are they worth having?
 
Cheers for any help!!

 

[Wansui]

This is a good artical on keeping shrimp - http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/261585-shrimp-care-guide/ 
Cherry and Ghost shimp are very easy to care for and they make a good addition to the tank. As far as more fish, I can't help to much as I'm still a novice, I'm sure a more experianced fish keeper can help you with that. Good luck

 

[juhason]

I know you don't want to get more barbs but you should really think about it.... anyways some good top dwellers are hatchet fish (but you need a foolproof lid, as they are jumpers) and white cloud minnows (but don't keep them in anything warmer than 76-78 F). Personally I would move the tiger barb to his own tank (they are monsters... especially alone) and get him buddies, or get rid of him, and up the school of the five stripe barb and tetras. Maybe even get some more corys. Then you could add some sort of top dweller. You have a lot of schooling fish already though so getting another schooling fish (which both hatchet fish and WCM are) could potentially make you overstocked. 

 

[McCool]

I would work on what you have before adding anything... Honestly I would take the barbs out completely. I know that isn't what you want to hear, but personally, they simply don't work. I also prefer them in a bit larger tank. You could upgrade. If you switched to a thirty gallon, you could get a nice school of barbs going, up the cory and glowlight levels, and do some bamboo shrimp.If it was my tank, I would out the barbs and then I would add another 3 or 4 cories and 6-7 glowlights. After that you could find a nice centerpiece fish. Maybe a gourami or betta?