Need some advice on air pumps.

HI guys,
Currently I have a 55 gallon tank with the current fish and plants:
Fish:
7 Neon Tetras
3 Danios
2 Guppies
2 Mollies
2 Balloon Belly Mollies
4 Albino Cory Catfish
1 Golden Gourami

Plants:
Elodea
Anubias
Green Mondo Grass
Hornwort

I was wondering when to keep the air pump on. Currently my lights are on a timer along with the air pump (so the air pump and lights turn off at about 7:30 PM and turn on at 7:00 AM). I also wanted recommendations for any other type of fishes that can live peacefully with the other fishes. Thanks for all the help.

 

I never turn my air pumps off. What made you decide to turn the bubbles off with the lights? There is no reason to turn off the bubbles. It is actually good for the tank to keep them going at all times.

 

I agree with bizaliz3 on the air pump advice

As far as stocking goes you have a few issues. Your danios and corys need 6 or more to be comfortable as these are schooling fish. While the danios and gold gourami's are technically temperature compatible, you will need to keep the gourami at it's minimum temp to keep the danios happy. I'd consider rehoming the danios/neon tetras or the gourami and get fish that are more compatible with each other.

 

There is an O2 to temperature ratio: as temperature increases, O2 decreases.

Plants respirate O2 and utilize CO2 for photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, they are producing more O2 than they are utilizing and releasing the excess. At night, they are unable to photosynthesize and only consume O2.

Keeping your bubbler on, especially at night, maintains a constant O2 saturation.

 

Keep mine on all the time. The plants you have don't need to be technical about it. Keep a close eye on the mondo, it rarely if ever makes it without the right conditions, not really aquatic.

 

Okay. I have plugged my air pump into another socket so it will always be on. Thanks for the advice. So are there any recommendations for other fish? (I will try adding more danios and albinos) As for the tank temperature, it is currently at 24 degrees Celsius. I can lower it to about 22 degrees Celsius if that would help? Please advise me.