Corys In Hard Water With High Ph

[amcalab]

Unfortunatley, my water is hard and has high PH ( 7.8 ). This is my first tank and i don't want to mess with the water chemistry (i.e., PH buffers). Will Corys be OK is such water? Does their hardiness and adaptability vary with different breeds. I have black substrate and was thinking the Nanus Cory would look good with its gold body and black spots/stripes.

 

[nmonks]

Most of the common cories should be just fine. You might want to start off with one of the hardier species, like peppers or bronze cories just to see how you get along, if you haven't kept tropical fishes at all. But by and large cories are pretty accommodating as far as pH and hardness go. In fact, most fish are more fussy about water quality than water chemistry. Give your new cories a 25% water change every week, some nice soft sand to dig in, and some floating plants or caves for shelter, and they'll be happy as larry.

Cheers,

Neale

Unfortunatley, my water is hard and has high PH ( 7.8 ). This is my first tank and i don't want to mess with the water chemistry (i.e., PH buffers). Will Corys be OK is such water? Does their hardiness and adaptability vary with different breeds. I have black substrate and was thinking the Nanus Cory would look good with its gold body and black spots/stripes.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi amcalab

The best advice I can give you, since you are in doubt about your water, is to suggest you look for a good, independent lfs in your area. Buy your fish from among stock that have been kept in it for a few weeks rather than new stock that have just come in and might not have adjusted to it yet. Corys do not always adapt to changes in pH easily, and the change should be done gradually so they do not suffer from pH shock. Once they are used to the new water, they will probably do well.

Another thing to do is to join a local aquarium society and talk with the members who have had experience keeping fish in your water. The chances are good that you will even be able to buy corys that have been spawned and raised in it. You'll get an opportunity to meet a lot of nice people too.

C. nanus is an unusual cory species and not readily found. If you're new to keeping them, it would be best to start out with a more sturdy species such as C. aeneus and C. paleatus, if your tank water is kept at the proper temperature range for them. These corys have been tank and farm raised for generations and are usually quite hardy.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi!
I''m in the same situation as yourself. In fact, when I bought my peppered corys (paleatus) my ph was 8.4 and the water is hard as old boots. But I got them locally and have had no problems. A year and a half later they seem very happy, active and looking good, they have spawned repeatedly, though I've never been organised enough to get a breeding tank going, so have never raised any fry. The only time I had trouble was during the first summer, when I didn't realise how the bacteria were building up in the hot weather- lost one of them to bacterial infection. Since then, I do twice-weekly gravel vac whenever the weather gets hot.