Concerns about fish/white growth on decoration

[katgrl]

HI everyone,


I have a 29 gallon community tank I've been slowly adding fish into. I just added 2 emerald copies last night and 1 dalmatian cory. I wanted to get more but that was all that was available at the store. I'm hoping to add more since my understanding is that corys like to be in groups. I have 5 buenos aires tetras, 3 sunset platys (2 female and 1 male) and 1 Hillstream Loach. Below are some of the questions/concerns I have. I'm also going to attach pictures.

I currently have the tank at 72 degrees and have 1 live plant (hoping to add more) and 1 piece of Driftwood. I have a fluvial 207 canister filter.

Questions:
1. The 2 emerald copies I bought last night seem to stay hidden inside one of my decorations (a tree house). I thought I saw one follow/harass one of my plates last night (my understanding is that they are supposed to be docile/friendly) Also, it seemed like 1 of them kept trying to get on top of the other one last night (not sure if that is normal schooling behavior or a form of aggression)
2. I've noticed that my tree decoration has patches of white on it now-please see pics below. Should I remove and wash it out?
3. In regards to future stocking options, should I aim to get at least 2 more dalmatian copies and maybe 1 more emerald-so that they can each have a school of 3 and also, should I try and get another millstream loach or is he ok by himself.
4. Also, in regards to future stocking, I was considering getting 1 Dwarf Gourami-are there any other options and how many more fish can I safely add?

Thank you in advance for all help and input

 

[katgrl]

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[katgrl]

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[skrapeNKA]

2- It's hard to tell from the pictures, but that looks kind of like the stuff I have that grows on the driftwood in my tank (white, wavy tufts that look kind of cottony). As I understand, it's some sort of harmless bacterial colony that appears when the nutrients and water are just right. My pygmy corydoras and red cherry shrimp peck at it occasionally but they don't seem to enjoy the taste I wait for it to die back because it's a pain in the butt to get off the driftwood, they just don't want to let go!

3- The gal at the LFS advised me to get 5-6 of any corydora I was going to add to the tank, so I ended up with 9! As long as you're not running the risk of overstocking more = merrier.