Hello and a couple of Qs….

[Essjay]

Your hardness is perfect for your neon tetras but low for your guppies. If you make it hard enough for the guppies it will be too hard for the tetras. I know you like the guppies but it would be much easier to leave the water alone and let them live out their lives. Yes, they won't live as long as they would in hard water but there is no real happy medium with the fish you have.
There is an alternative, but of course it involves some expense - get a second tank, move the guppies into that and 'harden' the water for them. If this is an option we can tell you how to make the water harder.


The other tests look good. Keep an eye on them until you are certain that both ammonia and nitrite are staying at zero. If either show above zero, a water change is needed to get the reading down to zero.

 

[guppiesandtetras]

Your hardness is perfect for your neon tetras but low for your guppies. If you make it hard enough for the guppies it will be too hard for the tetras. I know you like the guppies but it would be much easier to leave the water alone and let them live out their lives. Yes, they won't live as long as they would in hard water but there is no real happy medium with the fish you have.
There is an alternative, but of course it involves some expense - get a second tank, move the guppies into that and 'harden' the water for them. If this is an option we can tell you how to make the water harder.


The other tests look good. Keep an eye on them until you are certain that both ammonia and nitrite are staying at zero. If either show above zero, a water change is needed to get the reading down to zero.

Phew! So glad the ammonia situation is under control but I will test regularly to be sure.

Can I just ask - Should I be doing daily tests for the time being? If so, how long for?

Sad re the guppies in soft water If I could start over I’d be asking for fish species recommendations here first. Hey ho, we live and learn.

What’s the life expectancy of the guppies likely to be in these conditions?

 

[Essjay]

Re the life expectancy, it is difficult to say, a how long is a piece of string question. There are guppies kept in hard water which live only a few weeks due to the conditions at the breeder - many commercial breeders use any fish to breed regardless of health, and conditions are often terrible resulting in weak fish arriving at the shop. Then there are better quality guppies kept in soft water which can live a couple of years.


If it was me, because this is a new tank I would test every day for a couple of weeks, then go to once a week for a month. Then if ammonia/nitrite remain at zero, maybe 6 months of once a month, then test whenever you feel like it. And if you ever add more fish, test for several days to make sure the bacteria/plants are coping with the extra ammonia.
But if the fish ever start behaving differently, test the water straight away. Watching the fish is the best way to spot something wrong.

 

[guppiesandtetras]

Re the life expectancy, it is difficult to say, a how long is a piece of string question. There are guppies kept in hard water which live only a few weeks due to the conditions at the breeder - many commercial breeders use any fish to breed regardless of health, and conditions are often terrible resulting in weak fish arriving at the shop. Then there are better quality guppies kept in soft water which can live a couple of years.


If it was me, because this is a new tank I would test every day for a couple of weeks, then go to once a week for a month. Then if ammonia/nitrite remain at zero, maybe 6 months of once a month, then test whenever you feel like it. And if you ever add more fish, test for several days to make sure the bacteria/plants are coping with the extra ammonia.
But if the fish ever start behaving differently, test the water straight away. Watching the fish is the best way to spot something wrong.

That’s super helpful, thank you again for the advice

 

[MonsieurLaGrenuoille]

I have got this one I can recommend you, SERA MINERAL SALT, I have also got a couple for shrimps, bee and some from Celebes, perhaps it's easier for you to get one product for shrimps, in this case you should take the one for Neocaridina davidi, the other for bee shrimp is suitable if you want an acidic amazonian tank etc.

 

[MonsieurLaGrenuoille]

I have kept guppies in a tank with akadamia, what is a active soil for shrimps, healthy and happy for years, I personly think the guppy fish is very adaptable and when the other parameters are OK you should try them in your water, why not? These active soils remove the carbonates off the water, that means the calcium, and these are extremate water conditions for many non amazonian animals.

 

[guppiesandtetras]

Thank you. It seems my predicament is the two species I bought (advised my the shop.. ) have conflicting water hardness requirements.

Is there a middle ground? or can it only be ‘ideal’ for either the neons or the guppies

 

[MonsieurLaGrenuoille]

In this tank I commented above I had also the neons to the guppys and one betta, also shrimp, well except for the guppies and the shrimps the water was OK, the fishes for the shops are bred in captivity for commercial purposes since many years and are quite adaptable, I would say in a lot of cases there is a middle ground, for guppies and neons I would say PH 6,5-7,2, dGH 5-11, I'm pretty sure it would be OK for a lot of standard assortment fish. But better is to decide what fish should be kept and then only put such ones with similar requirements.

 

[MonsieurLaGrenuoille]

I know, and it fits very well with hallucinate - they play on words has made me smile just when I really needed it today

That's superbe I could make you smile, thats the purpose of being here, besides of helping some people that needs it.