Keeping All platys in a 70l tank

[Colin_T]

I've managed to catch them all. Not sure I'm doing the right things keeping platies in soft water.

If you really like platies and have soft water, you can buy Rift Lake water conditioner that is mineral salts, and use it at a lower dose rate (about half strength), and it will increase the pH, GH & KH of the water. You would have to add the mineral salts every time you did a water change but it would let you keep them in water that is suited to them.

 

[Lamie]

If you really like platies and have soft water, you can buy Rift Lake water conditioner that is mineral salts, and use it at a lower dose rate (about half strength), and it will increase the pH, GH & KH of the water. You would have to add the mineral salts every time you did a water change but it would let you keep them in water that is suited to them.

Would seachem Malawi/Victoria buffer work?

 

[Colin_T]

Would seachem Malawi/Victoria buffer work?

That only raises the KH and pH and does nothing to the GH.

You need something to raise the GH (general hardness). The minerals normally used for this are calcium chloride and magnesium chloride.

You can raise the pH easy enough by adding limestone, sandstone, shells or dead coral skeleton/ rubble to the tank. These will push the pH up to 8.5 if you add enough. Livebearers don't need the pH that high and anything above 7.0 is fine for them.

There are videos on YouTube that sort of tell you how to make Rift Lake mineral salts but you need to be able to get the minerals, and that's not always easy to do.

 

[Lamie]

I think I might look at the soft water fish. I can't get the river rift water conditioner. Maybe I'll start a new thread on if anyone knows of any soft water fish that are kind of like platies

 

[Essjay]

Would this be a better choice for 'hardening' the water, Colin?

Seachem - Cichlid Lake Salt

www.seachem.com

 

[Colin_T]

There are some nice tetras and dwarf cichlids that do well in soft water. Emperor, rosy, diamond, black phantom, red phantom tetras.

Apistogramma cacatuoides are a lovely bottom dwelling cichlid.

There are a number of small gouramis (not dwarf gouramis Colisa lalius) that do well in soft water. Avoid the dwarf gourami tho, nothing but trouble there.

 

[Lamie]

Apistogramma cacatuoides Wow they look cool!