Community Advise

Question
Hi,
I was wanting to add new fish to my existing 29 gallon tank. I currently have 4 black skirt tetras, 2 balloon mollies, 2 goldfish (which I am in the process of creating a cold water tank just for them) a pleco and a horse faced loach. Currently my pH is at 7.4. My goal is to lower my pH to 7.0 (once the gold fish are moved) and to slow my water current... Which I dont know how to do. I have been looking at the following fish and I dont know who would make good tank mates and in what quantities I should get:

1) I LOVE ANGELS but my water current and high pH (I think) killed my four babies that I bought last month and I dont know if I should try again  

2) Honey Gouramis & dwarf Gouramis

3) Cockatoo Dwarf Cichids or any other peaceful small cichid that you would suggest

4) Serpae, lemon, bleeding heart, and congo tetras. and hatchet fish

I would like to have a peaceful community tank, I would prefer no bullying or fin nipping, and hardy fish for a semi beginner and fish that will last me more than 2 years. I read that Angels prefer slowing moving tanks but  I am not sure how to accomplish that. I have an Eclipse filter that is apart of my hood. I have petrified wood in my tank and Im in the process of adding more fake plants. How should I set up my tank and which fish should I get??? Last question.. whats your take on the biological sponge filters that work off an air pumps. I want to make sure my fish have good water quality with good bacteria.
THANKS SO MUCH !
Amanda

Answer
Hi Amanda,
The fish you have are really great fish but you might want to watch the black skirts and the balloon mollies. They can really harrass other fish and be fin nippers.  If you had a much larger tank then they might not.  I have combined fish that normally would not be good for a smaller  tank due to fin nipping . I have 9 black skirts, two gouramis, two angels, lemon tetras, parrot fish, rainbow fish, rosy barbs, and one very aggressive male sailfin molly. The black skirts are known to nip angel fish fins but due to the large tank they are in they just hang out together. The molly bothers all my rainbow fish and may have to go. My tank does have quite alot of current but it is somewhat calmed by large plants that reach from the bottom of the tank to the top and the top of the plant floats. that helps to slow it down somewhat.  This is a 75 gallon tank and that is why most of the fish don't bother each other. As for trying to have angelfish in your tank  with the skirts and mollies , you would just have to take a chance. Also, I thought that when I got my angelfish that they would get along fairly well. I started out with 4. They did get along well at first but as they got older several of them would tear up all the fins on one beautiful male. I finally had to remove him and put him into a tank by himself so he could heal his fins. I think If you want a really peaceful tank it will be hard to not have some aggression. I used to think whenever I would read that a certain fish was a "peaceful community fish" that there would be no problems. I am still learing by experience that what you read isn't always the way it is when you set up a tank.  Lemon tetras would probably work. You could put maybe 4. Serpae tetras 4. As for the gouramis,it might work out as long as the skirt and molly don't bully it. They are rather shy and it is hard on them to defend themselves. I wouldn't try to put too many gouramis in a tank together either--read about it and tried to put 6 together in a tank. Didn't work, they all fought terribly.
What would probably work best with your combination would be the serpae, lemons, and bleeding hearts. Maybe around 4 each.  I would add these gradually so your bio load isn't too much too fast. I don't know how long you have had your tank set up but if it isn't very long that could be the reason the angelfish died so quickly.  Also, I don't know if your pleco is a small variety such as the bristlenose or if it is the standard size which will get huge. They produce alot of waste so be sure to clean your tank very frequently. I have to do all my tanks at least twice a week and take out at least 1/3-1/2 of the water depending on how many fish are in the tank or if the fish is a high polluting fish. I also have, along with my regular filters, the sponge filters you had mentioned. I like to use them just for the added biological filtration and it is also good to have if you have to ever set up a tank that hasn't cycled yet. You can place the sponge filter in a new tank and it helps to get the biological bacteria to get established faster. Best of luck.
Hope this helps,
Karen