Fish suitable for hard water

[Rob 28]

Hi guys,

My tank is only 3 weeks old and I have the fish listed below in my signature. Can you advise me on what fish I can add that would be happy in my hard water with a Ph of about 7.2-7.5 ? Most fish I have read about like acidic water rather than my alkaline. The only ones I know of so far are Swordtails. What about Corys ?

 

[Kribensis]

hiya, the fish you have arn't hardy enough for a cycling tank, what re your water stats?

 

[Rob 28]

Nil ammo, nitrite just come down to nil and nitrates 20ppm. Just finished cycling but am thinking about adding for the future not necessarily just now.

 

[Kribensis]

hmmmm your cycle has ended rather quickly, did you add any substrate, filter media or water etc from an olready matured tank?

 

[Rob 28]

I thought it was quicker than what ive read too - but then i added stress zyme and lots of real plants so i think the plants (and the snails that were on them) helped quite a bit. Its definately cycled tho as out of curiosity i have been testing everyday from day one and have had the nitrite for 2 weeks gradully rising, peaking the other day and now it has gone down to nil in two days whilst the nitrates have shot up which is what is supposed to happen eh ?

 

[Kribensis]

i would leave it another few days or so before ading any more fish, keeping an eye on your water stats.

Swordtail's thrive with a ph like yours.

 

[noelberg]

If the pH is only around 7.2, then a lot of fish will do ok. If a member of an acid loving species is born and raised in a higher pH environment, then that fish will be much more tolerant of a high pH than its cousin in the wild. IMO the pH at the lfs is more of an issue than the recommended pH for the species. Of course some species will not do well at all up around 8, but 7.2 is nearly neutral.

Of course Bogwood, driftwood, or peat moss medium will help lower pH without endangering water conditions. Always an option with tetras, etc.

 

[drobbins27]

You have a great pH trust me, some ppl get stuck with 8.2 Just about ne freshwater fish will do fine in your pH range, excluding African Cichlids

 

[kribs mate]

i agree 7.2 is ideal.... although i would love your 8.2ph for my africans

 

[Paradise_Gourami]

platies guppies and mollys like their water alkaline too

 

[crazie.eddie]

Any fish will do fine, you just have to acclimate them slowly and carefully. My water is slightly alkaline and I have cardinal tetras living in there, which prefer slightly acidic waters.

 

[Rob 28]

Nice one. There was me thinking it was so high and its perfectly ok!

Thks all

 

[petitericeball]

your stress zyme will work with the calcium i think it is.. og wait ur talking about ph i have no exp or am not going to for awhile since the things that use peat etc. are like 90$ and i prolly wont use a 90$ filter on my 5 or 10 gallon tanks... yeah but i think peat lowers ph if im not mistaken. dont know how it works like if u have to take it out once the ph is low enough o r just leave it in there.. someone else can tell u more about it...

and also some1 told me that if ur getting it in your area then their prolly already acclimated to your ph.. and 7.5 isnt like deathly bad.. mines around there..

also ive heard somewhere that the higher ph you have the more affect the ammonia has on ur fish??