Restocking 54-litre Tank, Now That Numbers Are Depleting

This seems terribly disrespectful in light of having discovered the loss of a very characterful fish earlier today but, as I mentioned previously, it's not been entirely unexpected and my mind had been wandering (partly to deal with the likely eventuality) to various algorithms of what I might do if/when that were to occur.

A few options in my mind are to replenish the tank a little with either of the following:
* a few sparkling gourami [it was the female tetras which concerned me might harass slow-moving gourami but that is no longer a situation]
* some scarlet badis [only seen first-hand this week for the first time]
* a shoal of micro-sized fish eg ember tetra, reed tetra (only seen first-hand this week), microdevario kubotai or some habrosus cories [it was the female tetras which harassed the pygmy cories in the past but this is no longer a situation] - any thoughts on these such as whether tetra would be better to keep the 3 remaining male x-ray tetra company, the microdevario kubotai to keep the rasboras company as it looks likely that they'll outlive the tetra, or the cories for something different?

If the final option above, and assuming my tank is actually 47 litres (taking into account decor, etc), I could either go for 6 (89% stocked) with a view to adding 4 more at a later stage, 8 (97% stocked) or 10 (106% stocked). As most of the micro shoals recommend 8-10, I was thinking 8 might be the safest option - or is this a bit risky?

Views welcome; thanks.

As the thread below yours, I'm going through the same sort of thing!

I think Sparkling Gouramis look great, myself. I would have liked some, but don't think they'd mix well with the Honey Gouramis I already have so based on my own tastes, I'd go with those.

I also think corys are great, they seem to be full of personality and provide a nice bit of life to the bottom of an otherwise quiet tank. I've got a shoal of 6 Pandas and it's great watching them play, and the Habrosus look like they'd provide a similar kind of "entertainment".

I can't say much about the Badis, having never seen them in the flesh and I don't really rate tetras much.

I would go for the gourami as they will offer something different to the tank in terms of swimming behaviour. The badis do best in a species only thank as they easily get outcompeted for food.

Thanks, folks. Anyone know much about these guys? https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/micronemacheilus-cruciatus/ In stock at my LFS. Wondering if my lack of aquatic plantkeeping skills might be an issue.

They look wikkid fcmf...  I can totally get why anybody would like those guys... 

FYI, they are being sold as "Hugh's log suckers" but it took me a bit of googling to identify what they were and subsequently their profile on SF.
 
My shortlist/thinking is currently down to either:
* sparkling gourami [for their different activity];
* microdevario kubotai (when the current LFS stock is replenished; current remaining stock are not as good as previous batches) [for their combination of activity and colour - keeps Mr FCMF content];
* ember tetra [for their colour albeit I've rarely found them that colourful in LFSs];
* habrosus cories (if LFS is able to order some more in) [as bottom-feeding fish, now that none of the remaining inhabitants scavenge for fallen food];
* the fish in the previous link [as bottom-feeding fish, with varied behaviour from current stock].

I have slight reservations over the 3rd and 5th, as I fear their small sizes may be at risk of getting stuck behind the filters; while filter wool can be helpful, a downside of my current main filter is the way that the bottom part floats out/away from the glass. The 4th and 5th are probably 'required' more than the 1st, 2nd or 3rd, while the colours of the 2nd and 3rd are probably the most tempting.

Shame there's not a colourful species of mini bottom-feeding fish as that might "fit the bill" perfectly. Shrimp might take on the role of scavenging for fallen food but I don't think I could handle witnessing them eating a dead fish or me finding a semi-eaten body or a skeleton... and maybe the same also applies to the 5th option above and potentially an albino bristlenose plec. I know some folk have said they haven't witnessed this but, if what occurred earlier this week when the second of the two female tetras succumbed during a few days' break away, I think the temptation might have been too much if I'd had any of these inhabitants. Maybe I need some sort of "therapy" to get over my heebie-jeebieness of such scenarios!

QT is set up with silk plants and ornaments in lieu of real plants, with an old mini catappa leaf from the main tank and a couple of new mini ones, minus the filter media, ready for the new arrivals once ultimately decided upon and purchased.

Views / additional suggestions welcome; thanks.

How about panda garra?

Darn - first glance at the pic and they looked like what I was looking for, then I scrolled down SF to the tank size required - 90x30cm. Argh - I need a larger fishtank!

Not to put a dampner on your suggestions, but I suspect that any substrate dwelling / scavenger fish would make short work of fallen tank mates. I have learned to accept that I only find bodies if they've got caught on the filter or are floating amongst the surface plants.

I have not seen my stiphodons eating any dead fish, but that doesn't mean they don't. I lost a rasbora a couple of weeks ago and they didn't seem to take any notice.

Don't forget they need well oxygenated water which means a higher turnover through the filter than most fish. [Though I have to admit that my tank doesn't exactly have a high turnover  ]

My experiences match Sues exactly both that they avoid dead fish on the substrate and that I keep them without much flow and they do fine!...