What other fish should I add to my tank?

[MadisonHolland]

Hi, I have got:

• 6 neon tetras
• 2 hatchet fish
• 1 beta
• 1 Balloon Molly
• 1 Cory Catfish

So, I am looking for cute and peaceful and compatible. I have had many issues in the past with violent fish which the store said would be great but have resulted in losing two balloon mollies.
My parameters are:

• PH= 8
• Ammonia= 0
• Nitrite and Nitrate= 0

No fish have any disease or problems and are in a 60l cycled tank

 

[seangee]

Hatchet fish should be in groups of at least 6 - depending on what species you have the tank size is probably an issue.
Corys should be kept in groups of at least 5 (preferably more). They also need a sand substrate.
Neon tetra are ok in a group of 6 but 10 would be much better.

What is your water hardness? Specifically GH. Bettas prefer hard water, Mollies require very hard water and everything else on your list prefers moderately soft water.

I certainly wouldn't be thinking of adding any additional species at this stage. Adding more corys of the same species will change your one's behaviour quite dramatically. If you post your tanks dimensions and the species of hatchet fish someone can advise if you should get more.

You should also be aware that betta are not regarded as good community fish. I'm not going to make recommendations on that because those discussions can get quite heated

 

[Essjay]

We need to know how hard your water is before suggesting more fish. You should be able to find that somewhere on your water provider's website; or ring them to ask. We need a number and the unit (there are several units they could use). Or take a sample of tap water to an LFS and ask them to test for GH - again we need the number and unit.

I agree with everything seangee says except this

Bettas prefer hard water

Bettas are soft water fish!

 

[seangee]

Bettas are soft water fish!

Oops - sorry

 

[MadisonHolland]

We need to know how hard your water is before suggesting more fish. You should be able to find that somewhere on your water provider's website; or ring them to ask. We need a number and the unit (there are several units they could use). Or take a sample of tap water to an LFS and ask them to test for GH - again we need the number and unit.

I agree with everything seangee says except this



Bettas are soft water fish!

I don't have a water provider because we don't have particularly soft or hard water, please can you explain the testing of tap water process as this is what I use. I am new to fish keeping and am 15 so I am not able to travel to an lfs

 

[Essjay]

The water that comes out of your tap must come from somewhere. This will be either down some mains pipes from a reservoir or river etc, or from a well. Your parents/guardians should be able to tell you which, because if it comes from a reservoir etc they will have to pay a water bill to a water provider, or if it is from a well they'll have to have the water quality checked every so often.
If they pay a bill, ask them the name of the company, or even the website address off a bill. Then go to that website and see if you can find their section on hardness. If you can't find it, tell us the name of the water company and we'll see if we can find it.
If your water comes from a well, your parents/guardians should have a water quality report, and that may or may not contain hardness info.



Natural water sources - rivers, lakes etc - have minerals dissolved in them. Some have lots of minerals (hard water), some have only a few minerals (soft water). The fish that live in these natural water sources have evolved so that their bodies can cope with that type of water. If you put hard water fish in soft water, or soft water fish in hard water, their bodies struggle to cope. The wrong type of a water stresses fish and stressed fish get sick and die easier.
Of the fish you have, mollies must have hard water - water with lots of minerals dissolved in it. Their bodies have evolved so that they can deal with all those minerals. If the water isn't hard enough mollies get sick very easily.
Neon tetras, hatchetfish, cories and bettas need soft water - water that has only a few minerals in it. In hard water they won't get sick as easily as mollies do in soft water, but all those minerals in hard water collect inside their bodies and they don't live as long as they should.

We should try to keep fish that come from water with the same hardness as our tap water. We should always research any fish species before we buy them. The best website for researching fish is http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ The fish profiles on there tell us how big the fish grows, what size tank they need to be in, what water hardness and pH they need, what temperature they need, what food they like, what kind of tank decorations they like, and so on.
For example:
neon tetras http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/paracheirodon-innesi/
bettas http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/betta-splendens/
I can't give links to the other fish because I don't know what type of cory, hatchetfish or mollies you have.

 

[MadisonHolland]

So, I have checked and we use seven Trent water however, I did try to look for your information requested but I don't understand which content you are looking for so I have included a link below
https://www.stwater.co.uk/my-supply/water-quality/check-my-water-quality/

 

[Colin_T]

The link requires a UK postcode to find out what is in the water. But you want to try and find out what the water analysis is. It should have a list of things they test for including pH, alkalinity, general hardness, chlorine/ chloramine, dissolved solids, etc.

When you go to the link it has a tab called "OverView", its on the left of the tabs. I am guessing it might be in that because it says Water Quality Report as you scroll down the page.

 

[Essjay]

UK water companies don't give alkalinity, and the water quality list does not include hardness, just the amount of each individual parameter. But they do have a section that gives the water hardness separately from the water quality list.


If you type in your postcode, then click on check my water, then scroll down the page you'll find a section with the heading 'hardness', and a list underneath. This is your hardness in words (ignore that bit) and in three different units. You need the number on the hardness german line. This is one of the two units used in fish profiles and once we know it, we can convert the number into the other unit they use. (One of my sons used to live in Coventry so I used his old postcode )

 

[MadisonHolland]

UK water companies don't give alkalinity, and the water quality list does not include hardness, just the amount of each individual parameter. But they do have a section that gives the water hardness separately from the water quality list.


If you type in your postcode, then click on check my water, then scroll down the page you'll find a section with the heading 'hardness', and a list underneath. This is your hardness in words (ignore that bit) and in three different units. You need the number on the hardness german line. This is one of the two units used in fish profiles and once we know it, we can convert the number into the other unit they use. (One of my sons used to live in Coventry so I used his old postcode )

Hi thank you for your help I have found the data:
Hardness German
16.48

 

[MadisonHolland]

The link requires a UK postcode to find out what is in the water. But you want to try and find out what the water analysis is. It should have a list of things they test for including pH, alkalinity, general hardness, chlorine/ chloramine, dissolved solids, etc.

When you go to the link it has a tab called "OverView", its on the left of the tabs. I am guessing it might be in that because it says Water Quality Report as you scroll down the page.

I have posted the hardness in German units below

 

[Colin_T]

16.48dGH is about 295ppm. That is pretty hard water and ideal for livebearers like Guppies, Mollies, Swordtails & Platies. However, wild caught tetras, hatchetfish, angelfish, discus & catfish that come from soft water probably won't be too happy with it. If they are captive bred they should be less of an issue tho

 

[MadisonHolland]

16.48dGH is about 295ppm. That is pretty hard water and ideal for livebearers like Guppies, Mollies, Swordtails & Platies. However, wild caught tetras, hatchetfish, angelfish, discus & catfish that come from soft water probably won't be too happy with it. If they are captive bred they should be less of an issue tho

Hi the hatchet fish were captive bred so will they be okay (should I get one more as they like to be kept in groups?) I will check about the neons but will my beta and cory catfish be okay in this water?

 

[Colin_T]

neons, bettas, mollies, and common Corydoras are all captive bred. Hatchetfish are wild caught a lot of the time so check on that. But if you have had them for a while and they are ok, then they should be fine.

if the tank has space then get more neons, cories and hatchetfish. But watch the betta and the hatchetfish, he might have a go at them coz they hang out by the surface where he does.

 

[NickAu]

But watch the betta and the hatchetfish, he might have a go at them coz they hang out by the surface where he does.

Once the Betta starts making bubble nests I cant see him tolerating surface dwelling fish near the nest.