new to the fish experience

Question
Dear Chris this is a really awesome web site,my question one of three,actually is we bought a 30 gallon tank,we have 5 neon tetras two orange colored tetras a placo a beautiful male guppie no female he has a gorgeous tail,  and I dont really know what the other one is it was supposed to be a tetra,it was almost transparent when we got it, now its turning a light orange color and the q is about this fish it swims to the top of the tank ninety miles an hour it looks like it is a vibrating fish then skims the top for about 2 mins and then falls to the bottom and lays down like he is catching his breathe then hes off again what is going on? we have had the tank since the first of Dec I have cleaned the tank twice its clear all the other fish are fine,I dont know what the ph is I add the right amount of softener to the tank and feed once a day in the morning is that enough for all the fish? one other question is about the placo he sure does a lot of pooping lately we didnt think he was doing his job because he never moves justs hangs out by the heaterall day we turn the lights off at night and he moves then.he is quite fastPlease tell me what iam doing right or wrong thanks for any input sorry so many questions

Answer
Chris has been unable to answer your question due to computer failure. You can ask another volunteer expert or post your question on the forum at our sister site About.com in the freshwater aquarium section. There are many knowledgable members there that should be able to help. The website address for the forum is;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/mpboards.htm

Thank You for your patience. Chris should be available again in 2 weeks.