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Fish for Hard London Water (20 Gallon)

pollyandpear

Member
Joined
16 Jan 2023
Messages
291
Location
London
Hi all!

I am new to this forum, and to aquariums and fish keeping in general.

For years I've wanted to own fish, specifically a planted tank as I love plants!

My friend kindly gave me her unused tank which is L 60cm x D 30cm x H 40cm, so I believe around 20 gallon.

I appreciate that setting up an aquarium isn't cheap, and having done some research I am learning this!

The first thing I want to do is decide on my future fish.

I've joined another forum who have been super helpful, and given some great advice.

Unfortunately, it seems a lot of the fish I'd like to own, won't be suitable due to either/ both the tank size, and the hardness of the water where I live (West London).

I really like the plecos/ cat fish and khuli loaches (I like slightly weirder looking fish!).

I wandered if anyone else living in London could suggest any fish they've had success with that would be suitable for a 20 gallon tank, and hard water.

Thanks so much all!
 
Welcome Polly!

I also live in London and in my experience most fish are very adaptable (with a few exceptions).

Plecos, other catfish and Kuhli Loaches will be just fine in our tapwater.

One key thing is identifying the source of the fish you want to keep, if not the original location, the current location. So for example, a wild caught apistogramma might struggle in London tapwater, but an apistogramma that has been bred in or is already currently living happily in London tapwater, will do just fine.

Seriously fish is also a great resource for finding the upper and lower parameters for different fish species, but it is not gospel. I've not kept any fish that didn't appear to be happy but then I don't go seeking fish with very specialised requirements.

To end my ramble and actually answer your question; you want stocking suggestions for your 20 gallon tank. For plecos, I would suggest Bristlenose plecos as they max out around 3-5 inches. Otocinclus catfish would be more suitable size-wise, but just make sure they have enough to eat (algae, vegetables, botanicals) and they prefer to be kept in groups. Smaller Corydoras like Pygmy corys, Habrosus, Hastatus are tiny inch long catfish that would do great and are easy to please.

Kuhli Loaches are great but just be aware that you might (probably) not ever see them. They spend most of their time hiding.
 
You see that gives me hope but on the other forum (not bashing them at all btw) they seemed to suggest all of those would potentially tolerate our water but not thrive.

I'm seeing so many conflicting answers!

Absolutely would not look for wild caught fish anyway - where would I look for fish bred in this country? Thank you!
 
I'm seeing so many conflicting answers!
That is the nature of fishkeeping unfortunately 😅

There's plenty of knowledgeable people and information-rich archives on this forum though, I'm confident you could get a reliable answer to just about any question.
where would I look for fish bred in this country?
Not that many fish will be bred in this country to be honest, only by local hobbyists.

Your best bet is to check out your local fish shops. The majority of them keep the fish in tapwater unless they specifically state otherwise to you or on the displays.

In London there's a few that I frequent; Aquatic Design Centre in Balham
Maidenhead Aquatics in Morden
Maidenhead Aquatics in Merton
Wildwoods in Enfield

Are any of those shops within reasonable reach?
 
Ah thank you! That was going to be my next question, which aquatic shops are well rated. None of those are close but I can make the effort to visit them, the one in Balham I think is closest!

I live near Notting Hill :)
 
Ah thank you! That was going to be my next question, which aquatic shops are well rated. None of those are close but I can make the effort to visit them, the one in Balham I think is closest!

I live near Notting Hill :)
Aquatic Design Centre is a good one. They have a good selection of fish.

Unfortunately I'm not familiar with any places in West London.
 
Hi @pollyandpear

Please take a look at the following link:


Plenty of fish to choose from!

JPC
 
Hi all,
Welcome to UKAPS. Honestly hard water isn't a deal breaker, we have plenty of members who live in the vicinity of London, Bristol, Cambridge etc. all places with a hard tap supply.
I really like the plecos/ cat fish and khuli loaches (I like slightly weirder looking fish!).
Some catfish like harder water, if you haven't visited <"PlanetCatfish"> is a good forum. I'm a rainwater user, but I live in an area with hard tap water and I know people who have bred <"Corydoras panda"> in out tap water for example. Cherry Shrimp would be another good option for hard water and it makes a lot of the <"more exciting snails"> a possibility.

Have a look at <"In praise of hard water">.

cheers Darrel
 
Wow thank you I will look at all those resources.

Can you recommend a good aquasoil that is cheaper than tropico?

I think if I can get a bristlenose pleco/ group of otos or corys and then a group of celestial pearl danios, a few shrimp and snails I'd be so happy!
 
I live in London and have a female Bristle nose plec and 6 cory Sterbei all happy in tap water. (I also have hatchets but they are jumpers. )
 
I'll take a look at the asian stone catfish - or the super red version of the Pleco? I've heard that is smaller.
My aquarium has build in lights - are these enough or do I need another light? Also which filter/ heater would you guys recommend. I was looking at the Base Bioplus Thermo 100 Filter & Heater, if there is a cheaper alternative that would be great.

 
Hi, pollyandpear,
I had lived at location with super hard water and aquarium's surface was getting up almost in white color.
I suggest you hot to grow up guppy.

Enjoy!
 
You can get red bristlenose but you might be thinking of a red lizard/red whiptail catfish, which are generally a little slimmer/less bulky and should also do ok in harder water. (Around 4.5”)

@dw1305 ‘s suggestion of planet catfish for research is a good one, and as catfish are generally fairly long lived and you don’t have much space for multiples, it’s well worth doing a bit of research and picking one you will enjoy for years to come.

I’ve a Candystripe that is doing well in 11/12 Gh/Kh but it’s also a chunkier bristlenose type build, and does mostly come out when the tank is a bit darker of an evening (not uncommon in quite a lot of catfish)……although, if I ever fancy a daytime visit, an algae wafer will see him out in less than a minute……despite them apparently preferring meatier foods. 🤷‍♂️
 
I think if I can get a bristlenose pleco/ group of otos or corys and then a group of celestial pearl danios, a few shrimp and snails I'd be so happy!

Personally I'd drop the bristlenose because of the size they can grow to and they also occasionally eat your plants.
Otocinclus would be a better bet, but they can be a bit finicky, especially if you end up with poor quality stock, they also don't do well in immature aquariums. Not trying to put you off these, just giving you an honest heads up.

Small corydoras, they'd be perfect.
I also think the tank size you have would be ok for a small group of cpd's.

Obviously the above is imo, others opinions will vary.

Can you recommend a good aquasoil that is cheaper than tropico?

If you're planning on corydoras why not go with sand, they'd love it and it's cheap.

My aquarium has build in lights - are these enough or do I need another light

I suspect the light is fine 🙂
 
Thank you! Perhaps I will look at Corydoras then! Any specific types I should look for?

I thought I needed aqua soil for the plants :) I plan on planting lots of plants!
 
Most corydoras will be fine except for strict blackwater species or the few bigger species around like robustus, brochis species and a lot of the long shouted species although these aren’t that easy to find.

As for plecs I wouldn’t go for a bristlenose, they can get quite large and are messy, territorial fish. As mentioned by others one of the smaller whiptail species would be good or maybe a clown pleco. The only issue with clown plecos is that these produce ‘sawdust’ chewing wood, however they are a great smaller species which is readily available.

Cheers
 
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