FishObsessed Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I'm back into the hobby after a long hiatus. Previously I had harder water, so I'm not used to current tap water which has little to no hardness at all. I have a 38 gallon tank stocked with 3 male platies and 16 tiger Barb's (8 regular, 6 green platinum, and 2 Starfire Red GloFish). I clean it once every 2 weeks, syphon the gravel, and do 30 to 60 % water change. The tank is almost 4 mos old. My fish don't seem to be thriving. I've tried an airstone, aquarium salt, a ph adjuster, and beneficial bacteria. The tiger Barb's don't seem as active as I think they should be (i.e....a handful of them just hanging out not moving much for large portions of time du ing the day, unless I get close to the tank). My question is, should I adjust my tap water to suit the fish, or get fish that are suited for my tap water? I feel like I have the perfect water for a Discus but my tank is too small. What other fish are good in water this soft and acidic ph (6.0-6.5)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcalberto Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 You might be successful with some Amazonian fish, like tetras and dwarf cichlids. Maybe even discus. They do enjoy very soft water. Another option would be to use a substrate like crushed coral, or maybe rocks/ a wondershell to naturally raise the water hardness and ph. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 (edited) Yeah, all fish can thrive in that water because is easy to raise the hardness with coral or aragonite. In a way, I feel like I won the jackpot, because you can make any water you want with out an RO system. It will just take a little tinkering and a test kit. Edited September 8, 2020 by Brandy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishObsessed Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 That's a good way to look at it Brandy! I got a WonderShell tonight and we'll see what happens. If that, and other measures doesn't work, then I'll go for more fish like gcalberto mentioned. Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now