Need Stocking Ideas With Water Hardness Info Provided.

[GuppyGoddess]

Hi everyone,

I just checked out the water quality report for 2007 (most recent) for the city I live in and am wondering which fish would do best in these conditions. . .

So far my focus has been guppies and Bettas. The bettas seem mostly okay, but my guppies haven't faired too well.

These are the averages from 2007:
Alkalinity: 20.3
Calcium hardness: 8.9
Ph: 8.6
Hardness: 11.3

I do not have the API master kit right now, just the ammonia & nitrite ones, so I don't know how much difference there is between the city's results and what is actually coming out of my tap. But, based on the figures provided, which fish would have the best odds? My tanks are SMALL and I want to keep them that way. I'm considering a 20-gallon, so even with that size, I need little guys.
(oh and now I know why my pygmies - all except one - have died. They need soft water.)

 

[OldMan47]

With water that hard and that high in pH, you are probably looking at African rift lake fish. Even my high pH loving mollies would find that water a bit too much. This assumes the hardness numbers are in german degrees and not in ppm. If those were ppm readings, the water is far too soft for most livebearers but would be suitable for soft water South American species.

 

[mattlee]

most rainbow fish like a higher pH water, not sure about hardness though! i have dwarf rainbows in pH 8 and hard water and they are good so far....

 

[GuppyGoddess]

With water that hard and that high in pH, you are probably looking at African rift lake fish. Even my high pH loving mollies would find that water a bit too much. This assumes the hardness numbers are in german degrees and not in ppm. If those were ppm readings, the water is far too soft for most livebearers but would be suitable for soft water South American species.

The figures are PPM. I'll pick up a ph testing kit next week to double check the figures. I thought the readings meant hard water?

 

[drobbyb]

most rainbow fish like a higher pH water, not sure about hardness though! i have dwarf rainbows in pH 8 and hard water and they are good so far....

Rainbows also like soft water Really they aren't too picky about the pH value. They thrive in soft to hard water as long as you acclimate them properly.