Worrying About Water Conditions, Do You Worry About Them Too?

[MollyFresh]

Hi, I am a Semi new fish keeper and i bought a book called " What FISH? " and it gives me information on alot of different types of tropical fish. My Natural tap water conditions are Very soft and Off the chart alkaline water and none of the fish in this book like this type of water. It really doesent matter which fish I want, I want them all. I'm just so worried that I can never get any fish because they don't like my water. Is it just me or do other people worry about their water conditions too?

 

[aaronnorth]

never worry, fish adapt to their conditions, unless they are very 'fragile' like discus that have to have soft water/ low pH. When i inroduce new fish, i pour a cup of water in the bag until it is full so they are not shockes as much.

 

[MollyFresh]

this book I have says what kind of water they like so what I did was think in my head " Oh, well if this what water they like, I want to make sure they get it" because if I don't change the water to their liking Im gonna think that they are unhappy.

 

[Ian H]

no i dont worry, i know that my water is stable and i have an average/low ph (average atm but will be lower when i add co2)

 

[MollyFresh]

what if I went and bought bottled water from different areas of the world and tested it to see if It has the right conditions?? See my goal is to breed all types of breeding fish, from egg layers to livebearers, mouth brooders, to the ones that make bubble nests, etc.. Its just something I want to do. when i had male and female balloon mollies, they never bred so I thought it was the water, that is what started me getting all worried.

 

[MollyFresh]

But what if you have really bad water?? See someone who has naturally Average water wouldnt be worried but me? Well my water is so far off from what they like it bothers me.. even though Im suppost to not worry.

 

[aaronnorth]

if you ar wanting to breed then water quality is far more important. To lower your ph you could try peat but it wont move much, your only other option is RO water.

 

[Tolak]

Look up the water conditions for angels. My water is hard, pH of around 7.7. I breed plenty of angels in these water conditions.

Unless you are planning on breeding a more difficult species I wouldn't worry about water conditions, most common fish found in a lfs will adapt to your water.

 

[rabbut]

never worry, fish adapt to their conditions, unless they are very 'fragile' like discus that have to have soft water/ low pH. When i inroduce new fish, i pour a cup of water in the bag until it is full so they are not shockes as much.

Someone should tell my discus that then They sit in a tank with a pH of 7.5 and a GH of 9dgh. Two were bought from a breeder whom keeps any fish he isn't spawning at the same pH and a hardness of 15dkh. Yes discus are fussy about water in tearms of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate along with disolved organics and other polutants, but IME they aren't as fussed about pH. Admitedly, my water is soft though, and in my very limited breeding experience, hardness is more important than pH

If you have to use an alternate source of water, don't use bottled (not neat at least), as it often contains too many minerals. Neat distilled and RO water has the opposit issue with too little minerals.

Most livebarers will benefit from a higher pH and hardness level, but they breed fine in my soft tap water. Gouramis (bubble nest breeders) like it soft, as do tetras (egg scatterers), so if your water is soft, I wouldn't worry about the pH, more the hardness. Most mouth brooders that I'm aware of are malawis, so need a high pH and carbonate hardness level.

If you must use RO or Distilled water, add a decent mineral retopic to replace the minerals that the purification process has stripped from your water

HTH
Rabbut

 

[nmonks]

If you're keeping Mollies, you should definitely "worry". Mollies are not easy fish, and in freshwater conditions especially are sensitive to high levels of nitrate (as well as ammonia/nitrite). For every aquarist who keeps Mollies just fine in freshwater, there is another who has a constant battle with finrot, fungus, etc.

So, if you're keeping Mollies, keep them in (at least) slightly brackish water. I'd recommend 6-9 grammes of salt per litre. Don't use tonic salt -- it's useless. Use marine salt mix (Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, etc.). Why? because marine salt mix contains minerals that harden the water and buffer the pH, both things Mollies require.

People who don't worry about water chemistry/quality may be lucky, but sooner or later things can go wrong, and at the very least you should know your local water chemistry and select fish appropriate to it. You should ensure your filter is mature, take care not to overfeed, and do 25-50% water changes per week. Do that and you'll never really need to "worry" about your water or your fish!

Cheers, Neale

 

[aaronnorth]

Thanks for that rabbut, i have never kept disus so dont really know that much about them

 

[Tolak]

I should know better than to go against what Neale posts, I feel lucky today.

I totally believe in starting with plain dechlorinated tap water with any fresh water species I keep, this eliminates variables should any problems arise. I might have been breeding mollys instead of platys this summer if a buddy of mine hadn't started breeding them first. He is breeding them just fine in plain tap, pH 7.7, gH 180's, tds around 200. He might be one of the lucky half, but the same could be said for many species.

I also believe fresh water with no additives other than dechlorinater if needed is the best route to go with most all commonly found freshwater fish. If you have any sort of problem take it from there, there are plenty of products on the market, some useful, as the marine salt you mentioned, many are plain junk. I just find it odd that all the folks I know & hang out with who do or have bred mollys have had no reason to add salt, marine or otherwise.

The biggest issue I have is telling a newer aquarist to start adding things to the water. I wouldn't suggest this unless absolutely needed, this can make consistent water in the tank difficult to maintain.

Worry; To afflict with mental distress or agitation : make anxious

I don't worry about my water, or most any other thing, I'm not the worrying sort, it is totally counter productive. I completely agree with you on the point of knowing everything you can about your water supplier, keeping tabs on what may affect your water supply, and taking the appropriate measures. Water changes & appropriate diet go without saying. As far as choosing fish according to your water supply, most commonly found fish will acclimate quite easily. This includes mollys. I wouldn't be breeding angels if I went by what is considered ideal water for angels, but breed they do.

Worrying does not even enter into the picture, generally when people are knowledgeable about something they tend not to worry. I think the trick here is passing along knowledge, eliminating any sort of worry.

 

[Sunny_Bee]

I worry a little about my water, but more so about keeping it stable than at a set level of parameters. I have very soft water too and that can lead to pH crashes, so I use a chemical buffer. Other than that, as long as my fish are looking good I'm not too concerned.

However, I will say this. Most books recommend acidic water for tetras which mine have and they do seem to thrive in it.

 

[nmonks]

I totally believe in starting with plain dechlorinated tap water with any fresh water species I keep, this eliminates variables should any problems arise.

I would tend to agree with this, provided you have some idea of what your water chemistry is and have chosen species accordingly. For example, if you're living in the north of Scotland where the water is soft and acidic, throwing together a tank of Malawi or Tanganyikan cichlids without thinking about water chemistry would be foolish. But putting aside the obvious exceptions like these, most tropicals will adapt to anything between 5-20 degrees dH, pH 6-8. It is much more important that you keep water quality good than fuss about water chemistry, and I *always* tell people *not* to alter water chemistry unless they understand what they are doing -- and why! Or put another way, I recommend against keeping fish that need specific water chemistry if your local water chemistry is unfavourable.

I might have been breeding mollys instead of platys this summer instead of platys if a buddy of mine hadn't started breeding them first. He is breeding them just fine in plain tap, pH 7.7, gH 180's, tds around 200. He might be one of the lucky half, but the same could be said for many species.

Don't really believe this (not your experience, but that it works for most people). Over at Wet Web Media, you would not begin to believe how often I get to answer messages about mollies with finrot/fungus. They really are bothersome fish in this regard. Whether the salt helps against nitrate, or they actually need salty water to do well, I'm not completely sure. But if you want 100% success with mollies 100% of the time, then they should be kept in brackish. If you're prepared to take a chance, then keep them in freshwater. Simple as that.

I just find it odd that all the folks I know & hang out with who do or have bred mollys have had no reason to add salt, marine or otherwise.

I suspect this has something to do with water quality. In England you'll often get levels of nitrate up to 50 mg/l right out the tap. Keeping mollies in medium hard water with 50 mg/l is very unreliable. Adding the salt detoxifies the nitrate, and makes them so much hardier. I don't deny that people can keep them in freshwater aquaria: after all, they're as much freshwater fish as brackish water fish in the wild. But if you want a foolproof method for less experienced hobbyists who don't know what their water chemistry is and don't understand water quality, adding marine salt mix makes all the difference. Since the doses required are small, to me it's a no-brainer.

As far as choosing fish according to your water supply, most commonly found fish will acclimate quite easily. This includes mollys. I wouldn't be breeding angels if I went by what is considered ideal water for angels, but breed they do.

Up to a point that's true. But your angels will (surely?) be tank-bred hybrids. Wild-caught Pterophyllum species are much more finicky. The same holds for discus; try breeding wild-caught Symphysodon at pH 8, 20 degrees dH! You also have the problem that while a fish might spawn in the "wrong" water chemistry, you may not necessarily get a balance of males and females in the brood. Kribensis are classics for this, and if you're breeding kribs and mostly get one sex, then you haven't really succeeded (in my book, anyway). At best you're halfway there.

Cheers, Neale

 

[vinylman]

Two 30% water changes a week keeps me from worrying. PH hasn't moved from 7.2 in over three years; I'm starting to think about Discus................