Compatable fish for 7.4 ph

[kristy17]

Hi, new here. I have been thru a about 8 guppies in the past year (not all at once). The last three lasted 6 months. I have kept my ph at 7.0, but recently it has shot up to 7.4, 7.6 a few times and has been hard to keep down. I guess the kh is off too. My fish were slowly deteriorating. But all other levels appeared ok. My neighbor was feeding my fish while I was on vacation, so I think the high ph change and the overfeeding finally killed them. I am interested in starting with some new fish. Anyone have any beginner fish recommendations for a 5 gallon tank, 7.4 ph (what my tap water is anyway), how many fish, with or without the heater?? I guess it would be smart to find a fish store that keeps the ph kind of high too, so the new fish dont go from nuetral to 7.4 so quickly. Platies? Fancy goldfish? Thanks

Kristy

 

[Da_Oz]

Two smaller fish can stay in a 5g tank. But all goldfish need atleast 10g each and most need a tank atleast 30g. Bettas are good fish for small tanks but only one male per tank. Balloon Belly Mollies can live in 5g but if you get a pair you will have fry. But PH is not as big of factor as size of tank. In 5g water temp, and chemistry can change very fast in a small tank.

 

[ajhainey]

If your fish store is local you'll probably find they have the same p.h - me and my local LFS both struggle with the joys of east london water - majorly hard, and a ph of about 8.0. I keep guppies no problem in 8.0-8.2...

I find mollies seem to thrive in my high ph water, if that helps at all. For some reason (possibly just bad stock?) my platies were much weaker.

From my experience I would try just leaving the ph as it is - once fish acclimatise they seem to do ok. 7.4 is not that high!

aj xx

edited to say: only just noticed its a five gallon, which pretty much counts out mollies (group of three a bit too much for a five gallon). I can't think of anything smaller and hardier than guppies to be honest...maybe if you leave the ph alone they'll be ok?

 

[luxum]

Don't mess with your Ph, 7.4 is perfectly fine and most fish will easily adapt to it. What they don't like is when the Ph is swinging back and forth. Stable Ph is much more important than "perfect" Ph. Just leave it alone. Your well meaning neighbor overfeeding your fish, which probably created a water quality problem, is likely what killed your fish.

As far as fish, absolutely not goldfish. They are very messy and grow to huge sizes. Stick with guppies or endler's (males) or a betta in a tank that small.