CARDNAL TETRAS!

[spAcE mOnkEy]

hi
i want to put a school of cardnal tetras in my 20 gal tank. can you guys tell me if it would be ok? i know they like soft water and a ph around 6.7. i am not sure how to find the water hardness of the tank. does the ph tell you the water hardness? and would the cardnal tetras be ok in my 20 gal tank? i am going to get somemore plants. i have not had good luck with neons in my other tanks, the are very sensitive! i dont like neon tetras they have that silvery bottom and cardnals have red

 

[EddieW]

I too prefer cardinals to neons

They can be a bit sensitive but I have found cardinals to be a bit more resistant than neons. To find out the hardness you would need to get a specific test kit. If your water is very hard then tetras are susceptible to kidney problems due to the high levels of calcium. They also do need to go into a fully cycled established tank.

The water around my way is quite hard (about 150ppm) and i have not had any problems with my cardinals.

HTH, Eddie

 

[tstenback]

HArdness test kits come in GH general hardness and KH carbonate hardness types. When we talk about soft water it is GH that we are speaking about. KH is the alkalinity or buffering capability of your water or the ability for your water to resist changes in PH. HTH

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

how would i make my water soft if it was hard?
i went to my LFS when the "new guys" were there and they said it was just in the pH level and they said the pH would say if the water was brackish or not.
what does GH dH and KH mean? i never new about them until a couple weeks ago

 

[J_acon]

I thought you were short on cash