FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Does anyone know what the optimal water hardness and pH levels would be for an angelfish, a red/blue paradise fish, and a few baby tiger barbs? Do the levels vary significantly for each of these fish? Thank you for your help!

the fishes that u have listed atren't too picky, how ever the angels like soft water, with a lower ph. but usually only wild fishes need those water condition, usually lfs angels are use to common water, of around 7.

to add to erics, ur water is probably around 6.9-7.5 which is fine, but if u were to get wild angels a lower ph of 6 would be good. some fishes for ex. lake tanganyikan like high ph like 9. but the fishes should ok with ur water.

Last edited by bettachris at 03-Sep-2005 17:46

They will adapt to the water you have as long as it is not off the charts (by this i mean very high pH or low pH .. for example 9). Shouldnt really try to mess with pH either if it is in an exceptable range.

Paradise fish really won't care at all. These fish are amazingly hardy and would probably survive a ph and hardness beyond that of the other fish. Angels have been tank bred so long they adapt to most ph that isn't extreme. Mine is in a ph of 8.0 and doesn't care. Tiger barbs are another hardy fish. My only concern with mixing those fish is that paradise can be agressive to other fish with long fins and may or may not work with the angel depending on the personality of the individual fish. Tiger barbs on the other hand are notorious fin nippers and in a tank with 2 fish having long fins it's a very high chance your angel and paradise fish will have no fins left.

Thanks for the tip sham! My tiger barbs are babies right now and I haven't noticed them nipping any of the other fish's fins so far. My room mate and I probably will not have the angelfish for much longer, as I recently found out our tank is much too small to house these fish. I really hope that the barbs and paradise fish continue to get along as I find them both fascinating. If not, I will most likely end up giving my barbs to a friend who already has a few in his tank.

Just one more question...
If I do end up trading in the barbs, would lemon tetras be a suitable replacement?

depends on the numbers, the tank size is 10, but how many fishes are we talking about.

After subtracting the angelfish which will be returned today, I will have only one fish in my tank: a blue/red paradise of about 2.5" (including fins).