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Hi everyone!

I have a 46 gallon tank with the following fish:

2 neon tetras (2 others died)
1 platty (2 others died)
2 plecos
3 albino tetras (forget the full name)
2 bleeding heart tetras
2 snails
2 fancy guppies

What fish would you recommend I get next? I'm thinking I should get more neon tetras first and some more bleeding heart tetras? My ph is pretty high right now, at about 7.8. It was higher at about 8.4 but I did a few water changes with spring water. My alkalinity is good but the water is a bit hard, and it's cycled. Any recommendations would be great!

I would for sure start by filling out your tetra schools. Neons will do a whole lot better and feel more comfortable with 4 more (at least) for a school of six. The other tetras need schools of six also, after that you may be getting close to your stock limit. What kind of plecos do you have? If they're the common ones they get ginormous and will need a bigger tank. Hope this helps.

Welcome to FP!

Last edited by crazyred at 16-Nov-2005 14:45

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I concur--more tetras would, in my opinion, be the best move.

"I am a believer in punctuality, though it makes me very lonely" EV Lucas

thanks for the input! appreciate it. is my ph kind of high for the fish i have?

7.8 isn't too bad...the 8.4 is pretty high. You might try adding some driftwood (from the LFS) to the tank or peat to the filter. Driftwood lowers pH as does peat. Don't use any pH down or any other such chemical...they can wreck havoc on your tank pretty quick. Driftwood in the tank and peat granules in the filter will help bring down your pH in a slow, natural manner. What is the pH that the fish are in at the LFS? Usually, if the store is close to your home the water parameters will be the same and the fish are used to it. Tank bred fish don't have the same strict water parameter requirements that wild caught fish have. If you do want to get your pH down a little I recommend using the peat and or driftwood approach.

Last edited by crazyred at 16-Nov-2005 16:15

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Not only will your fish be better off, but bigger schools of fish are much more fun than whiching 2 neons in a tank. Is your ph that high out of the tap. You might want to add some more driftwood and some peat to the filter. Tetras like that and it will soften and lower your ph.

My Scapes

I would just keep mixing spring or distilled water in with your tap water to keep the ph around 7.8-8.0. I did that with our well water during seasons that the water got hard. Generally the ph stayed at 8.0 but during dry weather the ph would climb to 8.4 or even 9.0 which was a bit high. With that hard of water the peat moss will turn your tank dark brown before it lowers the ph a noticeable amount. Mine only managed to make .2 lower before the tank was too dark to see in. Peat added to the filter also can't be controlled as well as mixing the water before adding it. Peat slowly runs out and the ph may climb a little causing ph swings. It's far better than using products like ph down but I found mixing softer water in with my hard water was far more effective and stable than using peat.

i think nothing is good, i am guess that those are two common plecos, so unless they are being moved, ur stocked +, but if they are going somewhere, more to the school is good.

i think i'll keep doing more water changes with the spring water and see about getting some driftwood. peat moss seems like a good idea too, but don't want the water to darken. after the ph lowers a little bit, i'll get more tetras to fill out the school. yeah i have the common plecos and i did know that they grow quite large, but i'm not sure why i still got them. i'll get them out, although they're going to be tough to catch!