Stocking plans for first tank - 36g bowfront

I think cherry barbs work better with more than 2, though in my experience they don't really school much. At any rate they're small and you could get away with six or so. Although to be honest maybe you could do without the cherry barbs and do a nice centerpiece fish instead. pearl gourami maybe. i've got a three spot and it's a bit of a bully, but I READ that the pearls are more peaceful. Don't know though. If I can somehow trade my three spot for a pearl I'll be more sure.

Good luck, and welcome aboard.

I suggest you consider a pair of Bolivian rams. I have 2 males in my 37 gallon and they are my favorite fish. Very colorful too.

what kind of corys do you want? You could get 6-8 pygmy corys or about 4 peppered or julli corys. I personally love my x-ray tetras, and I'm happy to see someone with them stocked too. As for the shrimp, I would add them first to allow their population to spike before adding the fish just in case.

If your thinking shrimp your first stock list will probably work. I don't know if Cory's would eat them but not enough to destroy the population. But Ram's would be really hard to keep with shrimp. They are very aggresive feeders of shrimp. I tried it, it did not work out very well. They will eat 90% of your shrimp so if your lucky you might always have a few survivors that never leave the bottom of a rock. So you would never see them anyway unless you watch for when they come out at night the only time they are safe.