Best Aquarium Fish for Hard Water Tanks
There is little you can do to soften your water if it is hard, so consider these fish!
Some fish have different water quality needs. One of the ways fish can vary from species to species is the amount of hardness they need in their water. Hardness refers to the amount of calcium and magnesium that is concentrated in the water. Before buying fish for your aquarium, research the hardness in the water in your area. A hardness of 9 - 30 is considered hard water. Here are some of the fish that do best in a hard water environment. Marbled Hatchetfish are a unique hatchet-shaped fish that really thrive in hard water, while they will tolerate soft. They are a top feeder, as they have mouths located on the top of their bodies, and do well in a community tank. However, they do require some live food to survive, and enjoy being in groups of five or more. Discus are a popular fish that many people choose to keep in aquariums by themselves in larger specialized groups. These fish enjoy slightly hard water. They come in a wide range of colors, from stunning teal to orange. They do need a large aquarium, as they grow quite large in captivity. They are a peaceful fish and make quite a distinguished addition to an aquarium. Oscars also prefer slightly hard water. These fish have a reputation for being slightly aggressive, but if they are kept in groups of around six, they do just find. Keep in mind that they also grow quite large and need plenty of breathing room. Betas do extremely well in hard water. In fact, they can tolerate hardness as high as 35! If you have hard water, be sure to include one male beta in your tank, as they will add a nice bit of color. Do not include more than one beta, though, because they will fight each other. They do fine with fish of other species. Paradise fish are a hard water loving fish. They can tolerate a hardness of thirty. These colorful fish are slightly less aggressive towards each other than betas, but do better if they are the only one of their kind in the tank. They have a very beautiful teal and red coloring, with flowing fins. Live bearing fish, such as swordtails, enjoy hard and slightly alkaline water. These fish are a lot of fun to keep, as you will be able to breed them quite easily. Make sure to keep several females in the group, even though the males are the ones with the interesting sword fin. Mollies are another live bearing fish that absolutely must live in hard water. They can tolerate extremely hard conditions, and like to have a little salt in their water. Also, add the popular guppy to the list of hard water live bearing fish. They will tolerate slightly soft water, but to truly thrive they need hard water. Finally, gouramis are a fish that like to be in hard water, while they will tolerate some soft water. Gouramis are interesting because of their unique long slender "feelers" that they have on the front of their bodies. These fish are very elegant looking when added to the aquarium.
Published by Writing4you
I am a former math teacher who also loves to write! I am a mom to two beautiful girls. All of my spare time is spent writing. I am addicted to research, and I love to write about almost anything, but particu... View profile
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7 Comments
Post a CommentDear Author... welcome to the wonderful world of EXPERIENCED fish keepers. You have obviously not done real research so to ask for civility (this mho was civil - join a fish forum for the real mcCoy, lol)... You gave out very bad advice then balk when obviously knowledgeable people replied!
To MichganNana the article was so mis informed it is harmful.
55 years experience and several degrees in biology/and other subjects.
Folks, I appologize for my mistakes in this article. Thank you for clearing them up. However, let us keep the conversation civil. If I could delete the article for faulty information, I would, but AC does not allow that, so there is no reason to call names and be rude. Correct the information on an article I wrote years ago, and be civil about it please, or I will begin to edit comments.
Hatched fish are from SA as well...and prefer soft, acid water....dick.
Best fish for hardwater; African cichlids. Love hard alkaline water.
And the author obviously has never been around Oscars - they are FAR from 'slightly aggressive', they are HIGHLY aggressive. And don't keep your Bettas with your Oscars, unless you hate your Betta - he'll be gone before you can blink if you put those two together LOL!
MichiganNana, African Cichlids do very well in hard water, South American ones (such as Discus) prefer soft water. You'll have to be more specific about what you're planning on keeping. You might also want to get your water tested - rust isn't an indicator of hater hardness. Also, don't keep your goldfish with the tropical fish you're considering - goldfish are a cold water species! Basically it'd be like trying to keep polar bears in a rain forest.
I'm with discus lover on this one - this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. BETTAS and Gouramis do not like hard water AT ALL! (and they are not Greek letters, nor is it pronounced as such - use both t's!) You also don't want to put Bettas and Gouramis together, they will fight. Bettas with fast aggressive 'nippy' fish such as tetras will get shredded - in short, don't keep your Bettas with other fish if you don't know what you're doing, or at least ask someone knowledgeable on the subject! Also, it's only the males you have to keep separate - you can keep groups of females together with no problem. I realize you can't cover all variable of fish-keeping in a short article, but at least don't spread mis-information!
And Discus in hard water? Rank, rookie mistake. They'll tolerate hard water, but good luck raising healthy, long-lived fish and forget about spawning them if you keep your Discus in hard water!
And the author obviously has never been around Oscars - th
DON'T follow this moron's advice...... he says Discus enjoy slightly hard water......hahaha.....just goes to show right there.......not only zero clue but completely opposite from the truth.....
This was very interesting and informative. I thank the writer for sharing this information. Where I live, the trailer park has wells and we have a lot of rust in the water. We have to use a filter to be able to drink the water, and we have a water softener that is supposed to help but with the look of orange in our sinks and toilets, I would say that there still is a problem. I assume that means that we have very hard water. How are cichlids with hard water? I am looking forward to this adventure with my new 60 gallon hexagon tank. Right now, I have just one fish and that is a 10" goldfish that i have had for many years. He seems to like the new tank. I used some of his water from the old tank and also rocks that were in the other tank plus added some tap water and used conditioner that is supposed to help the waster. I have a good size double filter and also another filter that is used under the water. I dont have any algae eaters yet. I am hoping to find someone who wants to have