Unusual tap water (plus other questions)

tophat665

If you get wild caught cardinals, you may find that they have a problem with any PH over 7 (course, I can't keep the G--D----ed things alive in any kind water at all, so I may be biased.) Also, the general run of Dwarf Gouramis can be a little sickly, since they've been mass produced, so if they kick the bucket on you, don't be too frustrated. Your cories and Bristlenose should be fine. Just drip acclimate them (actually, you could probably dump and pray without ill effects, but it'd be better if you ran a piece of airline tubing, loosely knotted twice, from the tank to a container, put the fish in the container, and slowly siphon the tank water drop by drop until you double the volume).

If I were doing this, I'd skip the Dwarf Gouramis in favor of 1 Pearl or 2 Honey Dwarf (Colisa chuna) gouramis, and switch out the Cardinals for Neons, Flames, Black Neons, Glowlights, or Red Minor tetras.

Torn

Thank you tophat665, I've been wondering how people drip acclimatized fish and it sounds like a good idea, I'll try that with all my new fish. I think Pearl Gouramis are beautiful so I might very well opt for one of those instead of the dwarfs. I'll ask at my lfs if the Cardinals are wild caught or tank bred and I'll read up about the different tetras you mentioned too, thanks.

tophat665

Let me throw another idea at you - Some rainbowfish thrive in soft, alkaline water. In a 30 gallon planted tank, you could easily keep Praecox (Neon Dwarf) or mucullochi (Striped Dwarf) (6 of either) rainbows or threadfin rainbows (a dozen), and still do the cories and pleco, particularly if you don't go with emerald cories (Bronchis splendens - I'd avoid these anyway in anything under 50 gallons - they can live in a smaller tank, but they do so much better in a larger one, and if you accidentally get Bronchis britskii you won't have a conniption if they get 5" long.)

Torn

Initially, I did actually want Neon Dwarf Rainbows but when asked the length of my tank (80cm) I was told it was a no no because they need more swimming space. [http://www.fishforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=16362]

The more I read about the Pearl Gouramis the more I'm liking them, so I think I'll be getting one of those and some Tetras. Thanks for the idea though!

Amphitrite

I'm in Scotland and also have extremely soft water. I've had no problem whatsoever with neon tetras and black phantoms which are a nice addition to a community tank. Very peaceful fish, and the males put on a very impressive display in the early hours of the morning/ late at night.

I have an electric blue dwarf gourami which I've had for approx 6 months and is doing very well in the community tank.

Other fish that I've found to do very well are kuhlie loaches and corydoras sterbai (my favourite of all corys). As for the bristlies, I have two which I've had for a couple of years now - I think of them as the 'grumpy' residents in the tank as they really don't like each other, although they would never do any harm.

An alternative for the gourami could always be german blue rams which have stunning colouration and great personality. They like the soft water we have, but are extremely sensitive to water conditions so I would only recommend adding them once your tank was established if you decided they were an option you would like.

Are you planning on planting the tank? What sort of substrate and hiding places will you have?

Torn

I have plants already but I'm really not very good with them. I have a couple of amazon swords, hygrophila polysperma, ludwigia repens (which may not make it), sagittaria subulata, crypt wendtiis, dwarf anubias and some java moss which is on some bogwood but I don't think it has attached yet. The bogwood is pretty large with a lovely natural cave which I thought would be a nice home for the bristlenose if the cories don't take up residence first. I also have an artificial stone-like cave and hollow log with holes in the top and sides. The substrate is a smooth fine gravel.

The rams are gorgeous, worth considering. Thanks.

Amphitrite

No probs, please keep us updated :)