Hard Water Woes- Which fish work best?

BlueSkies

BlueSkies

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Jul 27, 2006
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Dayton, Ohio
Help! I've been looking online for what seems like ages (two long nights in a row) I'm looking for an addition to my tank without having to alter the conditions of my water. Here the water is pretty hard- around 300 whatever the unit is and my pH is stable at 7.8. Which fish enjoy these conditions???? Anyone out there have similar water conditions. I would really appreciate any insight on this matter. Thanks and goodnight.
-Angie
:dog:
 
in my experience, even species that are supposed to be in soft water do OK in hard water. my water is quite hard and alkaline, pH = 8.0, general hardness = 250 ppm. yet I keep glass catfish and flying barbs (a danio) and they're doing great. the latter have lived for 2-3 years and are still going strong! I think calcium in the water is also good for salt/water balance (it allows their bodies to retain salts without the need to add salt, NaCl, to the water).

I don't know if there are long-term negative effects, though, like shortened lifespan or problems if you want to breed them (which I don't).

If you're having problems with your fish, you can mix your tap water with RO (Reverse Osmosis) water, which will have solutes and minerals removed from it. But if there are no problems so far, my inclination is that it should be fine.
 
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Thanks for the suggestion. I suppose you could be right. I've just had some bad luck with new swords and a rubbermouth catfish who both died before I was able to add them to their home tank. The water hardness was the only thing I could think of that could have done them in. However since I don't have a microscope handy to see all the bacteria swimming around, I'm sure there's a lot of other factors invisible to me.
 
If you are looking for catfish you could get some synondontis catfish they are native to africa and live in very hard water with high ph i keep some of these in my african cichlid tank my ph is 8.4 and hardness is 200-400 and they thrive.
 
MMm, thanks for the suggestion, how big do these catfish get?
 
they get 4-6 inches max they arent in my experience agressive twards other species but may chase each other harmlessly they are about $15 a piece but they are worth it very hearty and active.
http://species.fishindex.com/96 here are some species profiles
 
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watch out, some Synodontis get to 12". I have two black belly upside-down catfish (Synodontis negriventris) and they get to about 4" max. It's a relatively large genus, with many species that do well in aquaria, just do the research first and make sure you don't get one of the ones that will get big.

but those catfish are pretty easy to keep in aquaria, will eat almost anything, and are usually peaceful. like i said, the biggest concern is which ones will outgrow your tank.

good luck!
 
BlueSkies said:
I've just had some bad luck with new swords and a rubbermouth catfish who both died before I was able to add them to their home tank.
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Sounds like an acclimation issue. How did you acclimate them before releasing them in your tank?

Either that, or they were already sick/stressed at the store.
 
plah831 said:
watch out, some Synodontis get to 12". I have two black belly upside-down catfish (Synodontis negriventris) and they get to about 4" max. It's a relatively large genus, with many species that do well in aquaria, just do the research first and make sure you don't get one of the ones that will get big.

but those catfish are pretty easy to keep in aquaria, will eat almost anything, and are usually peaceful. like i said, the biggest concern is which ones will outgrow your tank.
good luck![/QUOTE

True some species actually can get up to two feet but most species average about 6 inches. some also require a little softer water but most species you will find are very hearty and can tolorate a wide range of water conditions.
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