Hi Everyone! I'd love some help selecting the right fish!

[JJM]

My name is Jen and I'm in Canada. I have a 38 gallon freshwater tank that I have had for about 3 years. I have had a number of community fish (platies, mollies, guppies) as well as bettas, a snail, corys, a pleco and others that I have tried. Some have not done well and others have done very well. As I learn, I am trying to get fish that will thrive in the water parameters because I really get upset when they end up dying. (And not all store clerks know what they are talking about!)
I'm hoping that maybe someone has some thoughts. My PH is quite high. It is usually between 8 and 8.2. My KH is 240ppm, and my GH is around 30ppm. Does that even make sense? I would think that both hardness parameters would be similar? I keep the temperature between 78-80. We are on well water, so when I do water changes, I do add 1 gallon of distilled water to 4 gallons of our well water, in addition to adding some tap water conditioner. Right now I only have 3 fish left in the tank - a pleco, a black fin tetra and a female betta. I would like to get some schooling fish, but am struggling with what would do well in this environment. Platies have done very well, but keeping the population under control was a bit of a nightmare! Guppies don't do well for some reason...I read neon tetras do not like high PH, etc.
With all the expertise out there, maybe someone could make a few suggestions? Thanks so much in advance!

 

[A201]

My local water is very hard with an 8.2 PH.
I keep a group of Rosy Barbs & they thrive in it. Rosy's readily shoal and are very active. They even graze on algae. One of my favorites.

 

[OminousHoney]

Welcome!!

May I ask where you're getting your fish from? I've found that chain stores stock are very....iffy to put it nicely.

I have high PH water and keep platy and honey gourami that do well. If you like live-bearers you could always think about separating the sexes to avoid babies!

 

[Fishfur]

Hi from a fellow Canuck. That is a very low GH if it’s in ppm, which it seems to be. Most livebearers prefer moderately to very hard water and yours is very soft, though that is easy to change if you want to.

There are fish that love soft water but most of them also want very low KH & pH so it might be much simpler to boost the GH so you’d have a wider range of fish to choose from.

 

[ProudPapa]

My water is very similar to yours, and I don't cut it with distilled water. Guppies and turquoise rainbowfish have done very well for me, along with pearl gouramis, serpae tetras, pristella tetras, lemon tetras, and several species of Corydoras. Black neon tetras did fair, but the twelve or so I started with in early 2020 have dwindled down to just a few. Celestial pearl danios are doing well also.

You didn't ask about invertebrates, but four species of snails, along with neocaridina shrimp, have done well.

 

[JJM]

My water is very similar to yours, and I don't cut it with distilled water. Guppies and turquoise rainbowfish have done very well for me, along with pearl gouramis, serpae tetras, pristella tetras, lemon tetras, and several species of Corydoras. Black neon tetras did fair, but the twelve or so I started with in early 2020 have dwindled down to just a few. Celestial pearl danios are doing well also.

You didn't ask about invertebrates, but four species of snails, along with neocaridina shrimp, have done well.

Thanks so much! I would love to get a snail again and try shrimp too!

Hi from a fellow Canuck. That is a very low GH if it’s in ppm, which it seems to be. Most livebearers prefer moderately to very hard water and yours is very soft, though that is easy to change if you want to.

There are fish that love soft water but most of them also want very low KH & pH so it might be much simpler to boost the GH so you’d have a wider range of fish to choose from.

That's great advice! I will look to boost the GH. It just seemed off to me too.

Welcome!!

May I ask where you're getting your fish from? I've found that chain stores stock are very....iffy to put it nicely.

I have high PH water and keep platy and honey gourami that do well. If you like live-bearers you could always think about separating the sexes to avoid babies!

You're right about the chain stores. I have way more trouble with fish from there. And, half the time they don't know if they are females or males. I think that is why I had so many platy babies! Thanks!

My local water is very hard with an 8.2 PH.
I keep a group of Rosy Barbs & they thrive in it. Rosy's readily shoal and are very active. They even graze on algae. One of my favorites.

Thank you! I thought the Barbs were more aggressive so I had stayed away from them. I will read more about them.