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I've been thinking about setting up a Tetra tank. I was wondering what a "good" water profile for healthy, happy tetras might look like. How much (or little) could I stray from those limits with no ill effects? My present tap water, with no chemical alterations of any kind, is as follows:

pH 8.0
GH 25 ppm (VERY soft, about 1.5 *dH if I converted correctly)
KH 300 ppm (not sure what the conversion factor is here)

Thanks!

Your kH and GH look good, the pH is a bit high though, most tetras like soft acid water, a pH of 6.5-7.5 is a good range to aim for. Many here will tell you the fish will adapt to your conditions. Myself I prefer to adjust conditions for the fish. That is hard to do. With water that soft lowering the pH shouldn't be too hard, keeping it stable at the desired pH will be tough to do without raising the gH.
There are a few things that can help, using peat in the filter, using Blackwater extract, it's a peat extract, more concentrated though. Using a buffer that will stabilize the pH may stabilize it at a higher level than you're aiming for though. I'm sure someone else will have a better answer for you on that. The profiles section of this site is a great resource for finding out about the needs of the fish you want. Once you've decided on the fish you want check them out, it can also tell you what fish will be compatible with the ones you've chosen and the ideal parameters for your fish. Hope this has helped in any way!

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Your water should be fine for most of the more common tetras that are farm-bred (Skirts, Bleeding Hearts, Head and Tail Lights, etc).

You really only need to fiddle with it if you are going for more fragile wild-caught tetras (such as Cardinals, Emperors, etc).

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based on the profiles I have reviewed and the availability of species at my local LFS, I was leaning toward 1 (or a mixture) of the following 6 species:

1) Bloodfin Tetra
2) Glowlight Tetra
3) Head & Taillight Tetra
4) Yellow Tetra
5) Lemon Tetra
6) Neon Tetra

I have been looking at a 29 gallon tank, with enough room for a good assortment of these species. Any additional suggestions for setting up the tank for these species?

Lemon and Blood fin tetras are pretty hardy. I think they woudl work. IME glowlights can tolerate high-ish pH, but I think 8.0 might be a little too high for them.

A school of 8 Lemons should work out nicely.

Hi there,
most of those tetras should be fine.
If you could use peat to lower the ph that
would be even better.
In a small tank like a 29g, I would highly recommend
going with 2 larger schools of just 2 species of tetra.
You could do 2 schools of 8 each,
and finish with a small pleco or some corys.


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please do consider having two larger schools (or one very large school - even better!!)rather than a few of many...the fish will reward you with better colouration, as they feel safer, and more natural behaviour. and peat in your filters will definitely be appreciated.

I've read quite a few post recently about adjusting the pH with the use of peat. I'd like to bring my pH down from the current 8.0 as I think it would greatly open up my options for the species I could stock. For those of you in the US (especially in the East or the South) is there any particular brand of "safe" peat that you would recommend? I have a background in the nursery and landscape industry and I know that many types of peat are treated with wetting agents or have been enriched with different plant nutrients.

Thanks for all of the tips so far. I am leaning towards just 2 species...probably 2 medium sized schools of Lemon Tetra and 1 other.

I have a ph of 7.8 and keep cardinal tetras without doing anything to the water.If your lfs has the same ph,chances are the fish have adapted already.Make sure you ask how long the fish have been in the shop,and ask about the stores ph readings.I always wait till the fish have been there a while.cjp.

Look for a peat with no additives, I am not sure of any brands yet, I have always taken it safe and bought the Fluval peat. The easiest way to treat the water with peat is to create peat water in a separate bucket using a nylon and an airstone, test it before adding to the tank, treat it with water conditioner, make sure the temp is right, then add it slowly to the tank. I also use a filter bag of peat in the filter to keep the water softer, it needs to be changed when the KH and GH start to go up, as the pH will go up with them. As your GH is very low to begin with it shouldn't take too much peat to lower pH, test the bucket often and add more to the nylon as needed.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

Thanks for the tips on using peat to modify my pH. I've also seen some folks mention the use of blackwater extracts for modifying pH (I saw one in the shop the other day from Tetra). Has anyone had success with this and tetras?

The blackwater extract is concentrated peat extracts, if you get Kents it has added iron and minerals, so you don't need to add trace. I recommended my brother get it for his 55g as his water is really hard, above 300 ppm, and the pH from the tap is similar to yours, and we didn't want to wait for the time it takes for peat to do it's work.
Many tetras in the wild are found in what is known as blackwater, which is naturally peat filtered water. They are used to the water that issofter, acidic, dark, and has overhanging plants so the light is not bright either. To breed tetras I have been told you must place them in shallower water with lots of peat in it. They can adapt to higher pH of course, but I like to try and match the water conditions as much as is possible or reasonable.

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus