I'm looking to get a few lake Tanganyikan cichlids for my tank but it is currently filled with soft water. I currently have a few tiger barbs in there just to get my tank cycled and will be removing them to start up another tank with. I was planning on slowly adding hard or RO water to the tank once I got the new fish. So how does soft water effect them?
2007-11-24 10:29:13 · 6 answers · asked by Sparky 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
Lake Tanganyika is a very hard, warm lake, and many Shell Dwellers aren't that far from their natural roots there, so acclimating them to super soft water could be an issue... To really provide for your fish, you should be using sand and shells, right? Luckily, crushed coral sand, and natural sea shells will raise your hardness considerably as they slowly, naturally dissolve, boosting your carbonate hardness... This won't be a problem at all for your Tiger Barbs, which are VERY hardy. Do not add RO water though. RO water is actually soft and acidic, so you would really not be helping yourself out there... If you can get the water to a fairly neutral pH, the hardness should follow, and you shouldn't have too much trouble. Whatever you do, do NOT use chemicals to change the pH. They are extremely unstable and create varying parameters, which are MUCH more harmful than the "wrong" pH or hardness. Contact me if you have any questions.
Soop Nazi
2007-11-24 15:10:46 · answer #1 · answered by nosoop4u246 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Soft water can be an issue if like soop said, they were taken right out of Lake Tanganyika. Not very often are you going to see F1 cichlids out on the market or being sold to the common fishkeeper. Most of your cichlids you see in the stores and online as well are tank grown. They have for the most part already become acclimated to living in a different ph and hardness already.
When you are adding the new fish to the tank, I'd use the bag method. Keeping them in the bag, allowing them to temperature adjust. After about 10 to 15 minutes allowing temp equlibrium to work, add a cup full of the tank water to the bag. Continue this for about an hour if possible. This should give you a clue if they are going to have issues with your hardness and ph. I don't think it should be an issue however. Most all of my cichlids are Malawi's and my Ph is about 7.7 but I do add cichlid conditioner when doing water changes. This does seem to help as a few of them have begun spawning over the last few months. I do have a 180 gallon tank as well, and that maybe a factor to consider as well.
All in all, just acclimate them to your tank. As long as it is not in the extreme range, like super low or high, you should be just fine.
2007-11-25 10:26:55 · answer #2 · answered by I am Legend 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cichlids are pretty hardy- they do better with hard water, but if you change the water slowly, they'll habituate. Among other things, you can stress gill tissue through rapid changes in carbonate content (hardness), and as it happens, soft water can interfere with surfactant (the stuff that keeps gill tissue from sticking together) extrusion, if the fish is settled in normally carbonate-rich water. I'd suggest that you get some dolomite into the tank (or any other carbonaceous rock, but dolomite is the best- it buffers hardness and pH to cichlid-idyllic levels for the african varieties) to give 'em some harder water, and make your changes slowly. The barbs aren't going to wilt and die from a few days of sharing space with the dolomite, but the dolomite will bring the CO levels to perfection. Couple of days will do it.
2007-11-24 10:47:08 · answer #3 · answered by benthic_man 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It will kill them. Tanganyikan cichlids need hard, alkaline water from the moment you plop them in the water. You should go to the pet store and ask them about the levels in the tank where you see the fish you want. Go home and get your tank levels as close as possible to the levels at the store - you'll probably need chemicals for that sort of pH jump. Once your levels are there - and stable - go ahead and get the fish. Until then, you can cycle the tank with fish food.
2007-11-24 10:40:18 · answer #4 · answered by Corinne 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋
The ideal pH should be about 7.0 for fish. But if you want to bring it up slowly, you could put more in every day and test it. My pH has swung low before and thats what I do and it works really well. You can still use pH up too. good luck. <3 ~BostonTerrierLuv16~
2016-05-25 06:03:11 · answer #5 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as the PH and temperature are where the should be, there should be little or no difference between hard and soft water.
2007-11-24 10:36:53 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋