High Gh Tolererant Fish

[Stewartb]

My local water has high GH >22 d, of course this limits the variety of fish I can have. But what is the consequence of having fish that are said to be tolerant up to 15d, or even requiring very soft water? If there is a list somewhere of high GH tolerant fish that would be helpful.
Is it possible to aclimatise all/some species to be hard water tolerant?

 

[lloyd]

its a bit of a taboo subject as everybody seem to have different view's. my view is that fish are a lot more adaptable than you may think and a lot of soft water fish are quite happy in harder water however, if your gonna keep a fish you should provide the best habitat you can for them. i dont stick to firmly to the rules about hard and soft water fish as long as you avoid extremes like blue rams in real hard water or wild soft water fish in real hard water but most aquarium brede fish are very adaptable. as long as you stay away from wild fish there are loads of possibilitys though.

a few fish that prefer harder water are

mollies
platys
swordtails
most african cichlids

most aquarium bred barbs and tetras will be fine though

 

[OldMan47]

Spend your effort on either the African rift lake fish or the livebearers. Many fish will tolerate the conditions that you give but things like calcium in the water, one of the components of GH, will prevent many fish from having fertile eggs. Thus you could watch other species in your tanks but would never be able to breed them, which in my opinion is one of the joys of fish keeping.

 

[Stewartb]

Spend your effort on either the African rift lake fish or the livebearers. Many fish will tolerate the conditions that you give but things like calcium in the water, one of the components of GH, will prevent many fish from having fertile eggs. Thus you could watch other species in your tanks but would never be able to breed them, which in my opinion is one of the joys of fish keeping.

Thanks for the reply, to be honest right now I really just want to set up an attractive and balanced tank. In a way I'd prefer to avoid the hassle of baby fish (I'm having probems trying to get rid of some large fish fish at present), maybe in future though.
I see some fish eg white cloud mountain minnows (I know they prefer a cooler temp btw) that apparently accept a water hardness up to 19d, assuming mine is 22d what would happen if I were to have these fish? Would they be hurt, or is is just that they wouldn't be as likely to breed and maybe have duller colours - what medically would happen?

 

[OldMan47]

You have much harder water than I have ever experienced but in general common livebearers are fairly impervious to hard water. I would not even be tempted by WCMM with water as hard as yours.

 

[Stewartb]

You have much harder water than I have ever experienced but in general common livebearers are fairly impervious to hard water. I would not even be tempted by WCMM with water as hard as yours.

Here is a heap of info I got from my local water company (it really is a lot):

First lot:


This water supply zone is classified as supplying Very hard water.
Total hardness values expressed in carrying units (for the last calendar year)
Calcium (milligrams per litre) Calcium carbonate (milligrams per litre) Degrees Clark Degrees German (ºdH) Degrees French (ºf)
118 325 22.75 18.2 32.5


This postcode is part of the Zone 30 Upton Scudamore water supply zone.
Water can contain a variety of natural mineral salts depending on where it has been abstracted from.
We carefully purify all drinking water ensure that potential contaminants are removed.
This table shows the average values from samples taken over the last calendar year.
Summary of common water quality determinands for ZONE 30 UPTON SCUDAMORE
Determinand Number of samples taken Mean value Regulatory limit Unit of measurement
Aluminium 50 10.2 200 ug AL/L
Colour (by absorptiometer) 52 2.0 20 mg/L Pt/Co
Conductivity 52 578.0 2500 uS/cm
Copper 15 0.1 2 mg Cu/L
Fluoride 8 182.5 1500 ug F/L
Iron 52 10.2 200 ug Fe/L
Lead 8 0.3 25 ug Pb/L
Manganese 52 1.0 50 ug Mn/L
Nickel 8 2.1 ug Ni/L
Nitrate 9 10.9 50 mg NO3/L
Sodium 20 14.7 200 mg Na/l
Total Residual Chlorine 136 0.3 n/a mg Cl/L
Key:
Regulatory limit is the prescribed concentration or value (limits as defined by European Union and National standards) if applicable.
mg/l - one part per million.
µg/l - one part per billion.
mg/l Pt/Co - scale for assessing the visual clarity of the water.
µS/cm - measures mineral composition.




The 2nd lot I was able to attach as a file

View attachment Wessex Water Detail.pdf


Stewart

 

[OldMan47]

That 2500 uS/cm is a huge number for fish keeping. It would work well with things like pet shop mollies or Africans but not very well with much else. I am sure I have missed a few species that tolerate water that high in minerals but you may have trouble with most egg layers and even many livebearers in that water.