Can rasbora espei and peacock gudgeons live in a PH of 8.0-8.2?

[itiwhetu]

Thank you for sharing! What plant would you say grows the fastest on that list?

Indian fern is the fastest growing plant around

 

[Rocky998]

You mentioned vinegar. We used to use vinegar at the fish shows to liven the fish up for judging would work a treat on any acid loving fish. I also used vinegar to have a pH drop when I spawned Kuhli loaches. I managed to get eggs no fry.

@Byron Sorry I forgot to quote that post... Here it is

 

[Rocky998]

Indian fern is the fastest growing plant around

Ok! Thanks! I'll definitely check that out!

 

[Rocky998]

So, I have semi-good news... I called up my LPS and asked what their PH runs at and they said it usually runs at an 8.0...They said if I drip acclimate I should be ok but not to get sensitive species.

 

[vanalisa]

This water is not natural... You may want to read some of the things talked about here...

I understand. I've followed this thread as well as those dealing with the preparation for your favorites. I'm just trying to focus on what can work with the water that you do have.
Peacock Gudgeons,
T. ocellicauda, come from Papua New Guinea as do my Pseudomugil furcatus.

Note:

Ignoring the softened water problem for now, have you considered other species of fish besides Rasbora espei? There are plenty of fish that are comfortable in hard water. I think you said this is a 20 gallon high? Shelldwellers would be the most interesting choice in my opinion, though you would have to re-scape your aquarium and you wouldn't be able to keep anything else. You could replace the rasboras with an appropriate Pseudomugil species or maybe Glowlight danios. Centromochlus perugiae would be another really cool species too. There are some really interesting livebearers too, like Montezuma swordtails

@threecharacters
Thanks for the Glowlight danio suggestion.

 

[FF_Member146894]

They said if I drip acclimate I should be ok but not to get sensitive species.

drip acclimating does nothing, it takes a very long time for a fish to acclimate to new water parameters

I won't be giving you any more advice or suggestions, you've made your decision

 

[StandbySetting]

Please do not put vinegar in your tank

 

[Byron]

@Byron Sorry I forgot to quote that post... Here it is

So? What has cruelty to fish have to do with it?

 

[Rocky998]

drip acclimating does nothing, it takes a very long time for a fish to acclimate to new water parameters

I won't be giving you any more advice or suggestions, you've made your decision

I havent made any decision... I do not appreciate you making inaccurate comments on my situation... I have been trying to find something to do for my tank... Ya know, when someone spends over $300 on an aquarium set up they are going to see any options they have on improving their situation in a cheap but effective way. So if you dont feel like you want to help anymore, thats fine... But again, dont make inaccurate and offensive comments. I wont be adding vinegar to my tank after learning that in these amounts it can be harmful...

 

[Rocky998]

itiwhetu is very cautious with things and I trust him... But, I wont be putting vinegar in the tank cause I dont want to harm the fish...

So? What has cruelty to fish have to do with it?

 

[Rocky998]

Ok... Here is a message to everyone... I'm hating the confliction I'm receiving... One idea was to add more plants and materials that would make acids... Then someone was like: "No, domt do that cause blah blah blah blah..." And then I mentioned vinegar and itiwhetu said he's used it, so I thought I had it... Then everyome else is like: "NO, EVERYTHINGS GONNA DIE!" So now I'm stuck in limbo and I just wasted and made my parents waste over $300... I am very frustrated... No actually I'm mad... Like really mad... So, before I literally drain the tank and kill off all these fricking snails in here is there anything I can do that won't kill fish and actually works?

 

[StandbySetting]

My suggestion would still be to pick a species more suited to your water chemistry. Take the positives from the situation, you have invested a lot financially, but you have learned a lot and stand to gain a lot of enjoyment from the fish you end up keeping. Don't be disheartened, a lot of what you read on the web will be conflicting, but my advice would be if it doesn't occur in nature don't put it in your aquarium, and vinegar is included in this. Not to say acetic acid doesn't occur naturally, but certainly not in most aquatic environments.

 

[Rocky998]

My suggestion would still be to pick a species more suited to your water chemistry. Take the positives from the situation, you have invested a lot financially, but you have learned a lot and stand to gain a lot of enjoyment from the fish you end up keeping. Don't be disheartened, a lot of what you read on the web will be conflicting, but my advice would be if it doesn't occur in nature don't put it in your aquarium, and vinegar is included in this. Not to say acetic acid doesn't occur naturally, but certainly not in most aquatic environments.

Well, around here the news is... There are no fish that live in soft alkaline waters... And yes I've tried researching myself... But if you have any ideas that would be great!

 

[Byron]

is there anything I can do that won't kill fish and actually works?

Taking this to mean lower the pH only with no GH/KH involvement, the answer is no. The only way to solve this problem without harming the fish is to dilute the source water with pure water until it has the GH, KH and pH you are looking for. Your KH at 13 dKH is so high it will buffer the pH no matter what you do. And please, just think about this...adding pure acid to an aquarium is going to harm the fish. It would take a lot of acid to counter the buffering of the KH without first reducing the KH.

I agree with Steven and whomever else, that you have very peculiar water. Normally the GH and KH are relatively close, and the pH will be basic if the GH/KH are high, but more likely to lower if the GH/KH are quite low.

I have zero GH and KH in my source water, so the pH naturally lowers to be very acidic because there is no buffering to prevent it. And organics do cause acid and CO2 which causes carbonic acid which lowers the pH. But the high buffering capability of your KH is the road block. Many warn of pH crashes, which occur when he acid in (or added to) the tank increases to the point that it can no longer be buffered, and the rapid acidification occurs (usually killing the fish).

I do not know how to better explain it. My article on hardness & pH on @AbbeysDad's blog may help.

Contact Support

 

[Rocky998]

Taking this to mean lower the pH only with no GH/KH involvement, the answer is no. The only way to solve this problem without harming the fish is to dilute the source water with pure water until it has the GH, KH and pH you are looking for. Your KH at 13 dKH is so high it will buffer the pH no matter what you do. And please, just think about this...adding pure acid to an aquarium is going to harm the fish. It would take a lot of acid to counter the buffering of the KH without first reducing the KH.

I agree with Steven and whomever else, that you have very peculiar water. Normally the GH and KH are relatively close, and the pH will be basic if the GH/KH are high, but more likely to lower if the GH/KH are quite low.

I have zero GH and KH in my source water, so the pH naturally lowers to be very acidic because there is no buffering to prevent it. And organics do cause acid and CO2 which causes carbonic acid which lowers the pH. But the high buffering capability of your KH is the road block. Many warn of pH crashes, which occur when he acid in (or added to) the tank increases to the point that it can no longer be buffered, and the rapid acidification occurs (usually killing the fish).

I do not know how to better explain it. My article on hardness & pH on @AbbeysDad's blog may help.

Contact Support

Thanks... I guess I'll just keep buying tons of distilled water