# Tropical fish for hard water?



## herper147

First of all im a noob when it comes to fish and only started the beginning of this year and I was havnig trouble with a few fish dying on me and not having a clue why. I went to a LFS and they told me it could be because of my water hardness and that there are many species that I should really avoid and it limits me to what I can really keep so here are the results after a little search online:
The water hardness for your property is *274mg/l CaCO₃*
This means your water is classified as hard
PH= 7.306

So I was looking at starting a new aquarium and was either looking at making it for Bolivian rams or a tank of angels but was told today both of those are a no go unless I put a lot of treatment in the water?

So what are some hard water fish for a 2foot tropical tank? And does having hard water really stop me from keeping certain species?

thanks


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## GlassWalker

I'm in a similar situation, except I haven't got my 1st fish yet! My cycle is about to finish, and two types of fish I'm aiming for initially are guppies and platies. These are quite small, so should be ok in this size tank. According to various guides, they are suited to higher hardness and pH water.

As a thought, have you got your actual water tested to make sure regarding its hardness and pH?

Unfortunately it does seem a large proportion of tropical fish are from soft water/low pH waters. I'm not experienced to answer what would happen if you were to put them in water other than that which they prefer.


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## herper147

The only fish that have died for me are neon tetras and these prefer softer water and i read they quite often dont last too long in hard water so i figure it just shortens their life span.


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## gaz2374

Why not just install a ro unit under the sink , you would be able to keep what you wanted then just put additives in to replace what the ro takes out

I have one but belive my area is relatively soft so can keep pretty much what I want only needed the unit when I had marines


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## Stan193

You could use this to find some ideas

Tropical freshwater aquarium fish: Find fish


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## Ony

RO is a hassle, I'd look at ghostwalkers thread first and see if any of those suggestions appeal/are suitable for your tank. If you still prefer soft water fish RO is very easy to use and does have benefits beyond lowering PH/TDS. Adding chemicals like 'PH down' does more harm than good and there is no chemical available that lowers the more important TDS (total dissolved solids).

off the top of my head, suggestions not in the other thread:

sawba resplendens
male paradise fish (super grumpy, not a good community fish)


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## tropical_shark

A lot of fish can be kept in hard water! A lot of freshwater fish are breed in captivity now so are tolerant of a lot of condition. 

If you really want Angelfish you can keep them in hard water and I know this because we have one! Also we have cardinal tetras in hard water (very similar to neons but have full lines in both colours along the body) they are meant to be much more sensitive than neons! Neon's can be a bit picky and with the fact they have their own disease (neon tetra disease) could be that they just didn't settle! 

I have some questions how long has the tank been running? and what is the size? It is possible your fish died because it was a new tank or you stocked it too quickly or to early!


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## herper147

I have lost a few tetras but the orginal ten i bought i still have 4 of today, it seems like only the strongest survive so at the moment i am left with the hardiest of neons.

I have been reading and many people have said similar and said that modern fish are tanl bred and can live in any water conditions but will not breed unless the ph and hardness are exactly like the wild. They fish i mainly want are bolivian rams and angels so could these be kept together?

The tank is 3feet long by 1foot deep and about 1.5 feet high


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## Ony

Whats happening with your first tank btw, did you get to the bottom of those water quality issues?


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## herper147

Yeah tank is fine now, never really got to the bottom of the issue as the tests were fine but since then i have lost no fish from that tank and have taken the guppy and fighter out so just have neons a dwarf gourami and a swordtail and its all going good, wont add anything to that tank i dont think


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## herper147

So can anyone give me a solid answer if captive bred angels can survive in hard water? or is it a no go?

thanks


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## Ony

Angelfish seem to be quite adaptable but you should probably do some research on the species you want to keep. We still don't actually know your water hardness and 2' is going to be *far* too small for most, if not all angelfish species. 

Pterophyllum “scalare” – Angelfish — Seriously Fish


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## mdoire

Can you buy bottled water and mix them? It works for me. However, I only have two medium tanks and it does not costs me too much money.


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## mdoire

For many fishkeepers, the hard, alkaline water supplied to most homes in Southern England and the Midlands can seem like a curse. The water supply to homes in London, for example, can over 200 mg of calcium carbonate per litre, a hardness level comparable to that of Lake Malawi! By contrast, the majority of the tropical fish imported from South America and Asia naturally inhabit very soft water. These fish prefer water with a calcium carbonate concentration of less that 50 mg/litre. Hardness also affects pH. The hard water supplied to aquarists in London has a pH of well over 7.5, but aquarium fish such as angels, Rasboras, Corydoras, and Neons do much better if kept in tanks were the pH was below 6.5. 

Livebearers 

Among the livebearers, the Poeciliidae are pre-eminent, at least as far as popularity goes. These include the guppies, platies, swordtails, and mollies, all of which make excellent choices for the hard water aquarium. In recent years, the Endler's guppy has become especially popular, and while aquarists debate whether the commercial stock is truly 100% Endler's guppy or some mix of Endler's and regular guppy, there's no question these brightly coloured, active little make an excellent contribution to the community aquarium. Whichever guppy you choose, bear in mind that they are small and easily bullied. They shouldn't be kept with more aggressive species or substantially larger ones that might view them as food. Pufferfish in particular seem to have a taste for the long fins of male guppies. 

Source:
FWHardness


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