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Stocking for hard water…

Kaliilo

Kaliilo

Member
Joined
13 Jun 2021
Messages
123
Location
Hertfordshire
Hiya
So my bigger tank isn’t set up yet but I can’t decide what to stock it with. Want to decide before I plan how to set it up.

I live in the south east so my water is hard…like 19degrees hard. I have had mini rainbows in the past (gertrudae etc) but I think I used to pick fish hoping they would do okay instead of accepting my water and stocking accordingly so this time I want to have fish that are happy in my water.
If I google hard water fish every list says the same thing…guppy’s or rainbow fish. My tank is 80cm long so isn’t appropriate for the larger rainbow fish so hoping you fantastic people can help me out

Tank is 110l
No co2
Will be heavily planted but plant choice depends on which fish I get.
Hard scape will also depend on what I decide to eventually stock it with
The rest of my water parameters are actually okay. Ph around 7
Will use aqua soil but I’m not against using sand etc on top if a fish prefers it.

So ideas:
I have had platys before and I actually love them but I’m scared of being overrun by babies so would need a way to keep population in check (it’s not always easy to ensure I get all males with platys ) not a fan of guppy’s really. I love seeing fry and I’m not against having babies but not 8million all at once
I love gouramis (Pearl or honey)
I really really LOVE either apistos or Kribensis but the internet is very contradictory on their water preferences. I like a few dwarf cichlids but not the bigger ones (I did see a post on here about someone breeding Macmasteri in London water but can’t remember who)
I’m not a fan of tetras or danios really
Love small rainbows
I tend to like smaller fish
I like barbs, I think some are okay in hard water, can’t remember though


The indesicion is killing me, anyone in a hard water area that can give me some ideas would be a hero!

Open to any other suggestions!

Anyone have any advice or ideas for any of the fish on the potential list? To be clear I don’t want these fish all together…this is just a list of fish I quite like, I don’t even know if I want a community or species only….help!

Amy
 
Among the Apistogrammas. A cacatuoides does well and breeds in hard water.
Madagascar Rainbows are not one of the smallest, but not the biggest either; and they will thrive and breed in hard water.
hth
 
Kribensis is a bit of a catch all term and different species vary in their requirements. Having said that on the whole they're very adaptable and many species are found in a wide variety of locations/conditions.
I'm a big krib/dwarf West African cichlid fan so would recommend them but like most dwarf cichlids they get aggressive when breeding. They can have quite large numbers of fry, which are often hard to move on as shops don't want 100 juvenile's in one go.
 
Myrtle said:
Daisy's Ricefish is a great hard water fish if you want a smaller fish, they won't breed like guppies but you'll likely get a nice colony going if it's heavily planted.
Click to expand...
Ooo I haven’t come across these I’ll have a look thanks Myrtle!

sparkyweasel said:
Among the Apistogrammas. A cacatuoides does well and breeds in hard water.
Madagascar Rainbows are not one of the smallest, but not the biggest either; and they will thrive and breed in hard water.
hth
Click to expand...
I will look up the Madagascar rainbows, not familiar with them. I absolutely love the cacatuoides!! Reassuring to know they don’t mind hard water thanks so much

ScareCrow said:
Kribensis is a bit of a catch all term and different species vary in their requirements. Having said that on the whole they're very adaptable and many species are found in a wide variety of locations/conditions.
I'm a big krib/dwarf West African cichlid fan so would recommend them but like most dwarf cichlids they get aggressive when breeding. They can have quite large numbers of fry, which are often hard to move on as shops don't want 100 juvenile's in one go.
Click to expand...
Ahh sorry I mean the little Kribs…rainbow kribs? They have little purple bellies lol
So maybe if it was kribs I should stick to a species only tank and then have a bit more room for fry? Still 100 fry sounds almost on Platy level o_Oo_O

Great suggestions though thanks guys, I’ll have a look at everything mentioned. Definitely some helpful suggestions
 
Kaliilo said:
Ahh sorry I mean the little Kribs…rainbow kribs?
Click to expand...
Apologies I should have phrased it better. I didn't mean to suggest that you were wrong to refer to them as kribs, just that there are several species referred to in the hobby as kribs and that it can be confusing when trying to pick a suitable species for your situation.
Pelvicachromis pulcher (I think that's what we're calling them now. The name keeps changing), is the 'common' krib.
But then you also have species like:
Pelvicachromis taeniatus
Pelvicachromis humilis
Pelvicachromis sacrimontis
And so on.....
They're also split by collection location such as Pelvicachromis taeniatus 'moliwe'.

If you want to avoid aggression and being over run with fry, just keep one sex. They're very peaceful when they're not breeding. Watching the parents with the fry is one of the great joys of keeping them though.
 
ScareCrow said:
Apologies I should have phrased it better. I didn't mean to suggest that you were wrong to refer to them as kribs, just that there are several species referred to in the hobby as kribs and that it can be confusing when trying to pick a suitable species for your situation.
Pelvicachromis pulcher (I think that's what we're calling them now. The name keeps changing), is the 'common' krib.
But then you also have species like:
Pelvicachromis taeniatus
Pelvicachromis humilis
Pelvicachromis sacrimontis
And so on.....
They're also split by collection location such as Pelvicachromis taeniatus 'moliwe'.

If you want to avoid aggression and being over run with fry, just keep one sex. They're very peaceful when they're not breeding. Watching the parents with the fry is one of the great joys of keeping them though.
Click to expand...
Ahh I got you yeah its pulcher I was looking at. I really appreciate your input, definitely something to think about. I love the idea of fry but yeah being overrun scares me about being overpopulated really fast
 
Myrtle said:
Daisy's Ricefish is a great hard water fish if you want a smaller fish, they won't breed like guppies but you'll likely get a nice colony going if it's heavily planted.
Click to expand...

I was looking at these last night...they are exactly the type of fish I love....bit strange how various places categorise them...Sims have them down as tetras! These are now top of my list as stocking finalists:happy:
 
hypnogogia said:
Any of the Xiphophorus sp. like hard water.
Click to expand...
Hiya thanks for the reply, I know livebearers love hard water but I don't want a million fry constantly and its hard to tell platy females from males. I dont really like guppys and swordtails are a bit too large. Shame though as they are lovely :)
Edited to add - I have also found about about Spotless water so im gonna 50/50 with my tap water to lower my hardness and therefore increase the list of fish I can stock with :)
 
I think Daisys Ricefish are still top of my list. Nice fish, potential for babies without needing a new house to home them in and happy in pretty much any water that isnt ridiculously soft
 
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