question: keeping corys in hard water???

Tali

Out of the 4 i have gotten i have only been able to keep 2 alive. My water is great except that i have hard water. My panda cory and peppered cory are doing great and are very active! The other 2 died at different times and i got them from different stores. But they both got pale then lethargic and died within a few days of getting them. Just trying to figure out if i just had bad luck or is hard water bad for them?? Oh my tank is pretty heavily planted, and they get shrimp pellets. They do a great job cleaning the gravel, low plants and large rocks.
Thanks!

kitten_penang

as in all cases like these.test the water params.then you'll know for sure.if you can't get a test set then take the water to the lfs.or if your super sure the water is clean and stable but just too hard add peat to the tank

Tali

yes i test my water every week since its still kinda new. the parameters are stable so i guess ill look for peat to add to my tank. thanks!

Fishguy2727

IME soft water fish do tend to be more likely to not settle in well in hard water.

I do not think peat is the answer. It will make your water look like tea and is not stable long term. If you want to go the route of softening water the safest and most stable way is to use RO water and do water changes with half tap and half RO. This very effectively softens the water while still preserving some hardness and the other minerals present in tap.

kitten_penang

yup but RO filters are expensive if you can find a place to get RO in a bottle then that can be used.

Fishguy2727

Most shops sell it for around $0.50 per gallon. You can also get distilled water from the grocery store. Distilled water should always be 0 TDS, but this method is usually a little more expensive and not efficient unless it is a small tank.

Byron

What kitten meant by water parameters is GH (general hardness), pH and temperature. What you are testing is likely ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. These are not parameters but conditions.

You can ascertain the GH of your tap water by contacting the water supply people; many now have a website. The pH they might tell you as well, but you should have a pH test kit as this is an important test to make periodically. Temperature is self-explanatory.

While the water parameters (all three) can affect fish, it may only be weakening them through stress, allowing some other issue to cause their death. What do tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate show?

Also, corys are highly social fish, and must be in groups. It is best to have 5 or more. Some species tend to need others of that species more than some other species, but generally I aim for no less than 3 of a species where you have two or more species. This will add stress to the fish as well.

You can read more on stress here:
Stress and Freshwater Aquarium Fish

Byron.

Tali

nitrate 0, nitrite 0, chlorine 0, alkalinity aprox 40-80, ph 6.8. There was a problem with the water softener system in my house but we just had it fixed, so hopefully that will help and my next water change ill add in some RO water. Yes i wanted to have 4 corys but i didn't want to keep getting more and having them die.

Fishguy2727

What test kits are you using? Make sure you are following the directions carefully, it is almost impossible to have 0 nitrate.

Tali

its the tetra 6-in-1 strips, not the best but gives me a good idea how my water is.