Paludarium fish?

Spen2cer · May 6, 2020

I have a 20 gallon filled about 15 gallons full of water, and was wondering if there were any fish you think would work well in a setup like it. A picture is posted with it, so hopefully I can get a better idea of the direction of the tank.
Thanks!

JuiceBox52 · May 7, 2020

What is the GH of your tap water? You should be able to find this on your local water providers website

Spen2cer · May 7, 2020

JuiceBox52 said:
What is the GH of your tap water? You should be able to find this on your local water providers website

It says 290-320 ppm, none in my direct area. Looks like it is somewhere between 17 and 19 GH

JuiceBox52 · May 7, 2020

The only thing I can think of for that GH and tank size is mollies. If you wanted to soften the water you could do half reverse osmosis and half tap water. This would give you a GH of 7 and you would have a lot more options

Spen2cer · May 7, 2020

JuiceBox52 said:
The only thing I can think of for that GH and tank size is mollies. If you wanted to soften the water you could do half reverse osmosis and half tap water. This would give you a GH of 7 and you would have a lot more options

I was thinking guppies or a small tetra group.

Colin_T · May 7, 2020

Pseudomugil signifier are small and do well in hard water.

If you want the tadpoles to live and metamorphose, you are better off leaving the tank without fish and possibly reducing the hardness. Most tadpoles live in rainwater, which is very soft. Most fish will eat tadpoles and if the fish get sick, the medications used to treat the fish will usually kill any frogs or tadpoles in the tank.

Lajos_Detari · May 7, 2020

Are you planning to keep tadpoles in your tank?
Your tank seems to have tadpoles.

Spen2cer · May 7, 2020

Lajos_Detari said:
Are you planning to keep tadpoles in your tank?
Your tank seems to have tadpoles.

No, I am using them as food. I am keeping them there to keep the cycle going and not feed all at once.

Lajos_Detari · May 7, 2020

Spen2cer said:
No, I am using them as food. I am keeping them there to keep the cycle going and not feed all at once.

LOL.. Good idea!
First time I saw someone using tadpole to cycle the tank.
Just make sure that they dont carry disease.

Byron · May 7, 2020

The GH is indicative of fairly hard water, so livebearers and the fish Colin suggested are options. With livebearers though, this is a small tank and mollies are much too large; Endlers would work, males only to avoid fry though Endlers are not overpopulating as much as the other livebearers.

Spen2cer · May 7, 2020

Byron said:
The GH is indicative of fairly hard water, so livebearers and the fish Colin suggested are options. With livebearers though, this is a small tank and mollies are much too large; Endlers would work, males only to avoid fry though Endlers are not overpopulating as much as the other livebearers.

My ph is 7.5, so I don't know why the Gh affects the choices so heavily

Byron · May 7, 2020

Spen2cer said:
My ph is 7.5, so I don't know why the Gh affects the choices so heavily

There is a myth in this hobby that fish can somehow magically adapt to water that is substantially different from their habitat. There are species that do have a relatively wide range, but most do not.

Each species of freshwater fish has evolved over thousands of years to function in a very specific environment; environment includes water parameters. The fish's physiology is designed to operate within this fairly limited range, and as soon as the fish is forced outside that range, it develops problems. Small-sized fish are much more sensitive to this than much larger fish, though it is still present. That is because the smaller the fish, the higher the metabolic rate, and this requires more energy. As soon as the fish is forced into spending energy trying to compensate for the wrong water, it weakens more and more, becomes more stressed, and always has a shorter than normal lifespan. It just cannot cope.

Water is continually entering the fish via osmosis through every cell, entering the bloodstream and internal organs. The evolution of the species dictates how the fish use or responds to this water, and it is critical to its health. The attached scans of an excerpt from the Manual of Fiish Health will illustrate why this is so important.

Spen2cer · May 7, 2020

Byron said:
There is a myth in this hobby that fish can somehow magically adapt to water that is substantially different from their habitat. There are species that do have a relatively wide range, but most do not.

Each species of freshwater fish has evolved over thousands of years to function in a very specific environment; environment includes water parameters. The fish's physiology is designed to operate within this fairly limited range, and as soon as the fish is forced outside that range, it develops problems. Small-sized fish are much more sensitive to this than much larger fish, though it is still present. That is because the smaller the fish, the higher the metabolic rate, and this requires more energy. As soon as the fish is forced into spending energy trying to compensate for the wrong water, it weakens more and more, becomes more stressed, and always has a shorter than normal lifespan. It just cannot cope.

Water is continually entering the fish via osmosis through every cell, entering the bloodstream and internal organs. The evolution of the species dictates how the fish use or responds to this water, and it is critical to its health. The attached scans of an excerpt from the Manual of Fiish Health will illustrate why this is so important.

Oh. Got it. Everyone on the forum praised gh so highly, but U never got an explanation on why it mattered. Thanks, Byron!

Retired Viking · May 7, 2020

Spen2cer said:
Oh. Got it. Everyone on the forum praised gh so highly, but U never got an explanation on why it mattered. Thanks, Byron!

Think of it this way if you put a soft water fish in hard water it is like you eating a diet high in fats and sugars, it will have a negative affect on his body over time because his body is designed to store up nutrients. If you put a hard water fish in soft water he will not get the nutrients he needs because his body is not designed to store up nutrients and will suffer over time.

Spen2cer · May 7, 2020

As of right now, I'm thinking of doing an all male guppy tank

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