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Fish for high Ph water?

2K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  beaslbob 
#1 ·
I searched for hours to find something but I really am struggling, so I signed up for the forums and am hoping someone can help me.
I already have rather high Ph where I live. It's actually above 8.0 and it's making choosing species pretty difficult. I recently acquired a 46 gallon bowfront and stand that I painted and began cycling today. My only issue is deciding on a species of fish. I really don't know what I want but I'm looking for something brightly colored, or possibly a way to keep my Ph consistently lower than it normally is. I'm open to any suggestions at this point, the tank will most likely be pretty open and I've thought about a small group of African cichlids or a single Parrot cichlid. Both seem to fit in well, but I know cichlids in groups often need a larger number to prevent aggression. While I have no cichlid experience, I would love to try them out. I am not exactly a beginner as I've had smaller planted tanks in the past before I moved into this home, just haven't had fish other than my big channel cat in the pond for a while. Thanks in advance :)
 
#2 ·
I am considering doing saltwater. I did at one point own a saltwater tank for about 6 years and it was fine, so while I'm rather rusty now I am more than willing to give it a shot. If I do, I won't stock above 30 gallons so I have a bit of room for error. I'm thinking possibly a pair of clownfish, two gobies and some small shrimp. I haven't done this in a while though so I would appreciate being walked through this a ton. I'm definitely going to buy a canister filter with a UV bulb to ensure everything stays neat looking, ensure I have adequate live rock, and try to go for some VERY easy corals depending on how much lightning costs.
 
#3 ·
Welcome to the group.

As for what fish that is hard to say it all comes down to personal likes and dislikes. But I will help with a few suggestions.

I have 2 Parrots and I enjoy them both, great fish lots of personality and will react to you when you feed or talk to them(yes I talk to my fish). I have a pair in a 55g along with a few gold fish(I'm heavily filtering the tank.

On african cichlids Electric Yellow or Red Zebra will give you bright color and you could do 7-8 in the 46g but you will need to double the filtering. I'm a little bias on those fish because I just bought a group to start breeding:grin2: Those fish are pretty good places to start with african cichilds too.

There are many other fish you can do as well. Angels, Gourami(drwarf gouami also), or tiger barbs. That just off the top of my head. Don't worry too much about the water at 8.0 most fish are farm raised and will do just fine in that water. My water is 7.6-7.8 range and I keep a lot of different fish including lots of South American cichilds which like lower PH water


I can't advice on Saltwater never keep a tank the price of the fish and "Live Rock" keep me away from saltwater.
 
#4 ·
Thank you very much! I was planning on using a canister filter that does about 140GPH so filtration shouldn't be a problem. I think I'll go with a parrot, small group of cichlids or perhaps even saltwater if I decide to make the jump :laugh:
 
#8 ·
If your after something interesting, shell dwellers. Some fish don't look nice but in person, they look amazing. If possible, visiting your LFS could help. Other suitable fish could be livebearers - guppies, mollies, swordtails, platies... But most fish work IMO, fish can adapt to most pH levels especially if they aren't wild caught.
 
#9 ·
If the pH is high due to plant action (lowering co2) then IMHO any fish can survive.


Some fish do require lower KH and gh values tho.


But I have had neon tetras in a planted fw tank live for years with a ph of 8.4-8.8. Kh however was at 4 degrees gh was at 9 degrees and both remained at those levels.


In tank where kh and gh rose neons did not do very well.
 
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