Reel McKoi wrote:



I like Tetras but my water is hard and alkaline. I'm going to do some
research and see what'll thrive in water with a PH of 7.2 to 7.8. I
don't want cichlids again unless I can find some small peaceful ones
locally. We have some good petstores here now I want to check out. I'm
not going to rush into anything.

I have kept tetras in my hard, alkaline water - bear in mind a lot of
them are already acclimatized to the local water before you get them
from the LFS but IME you will also have some losses......right now, in
my hard as chalk water I have Neons, Cardinals, Rummy noses, Glowlights
and Embers - strangely enough, the Cardinals have done the best, even
though they are supposed to be more sensitive to water conditions but
then maybe they are hardier - who knows......

The best cichlids for hard high pH water are Africans (Mbuna etc) but
IRRC you have kept these before so need no warnings on their
personalities.......If you are looking SA cichlids then avoid Rams etc -
these really do not thrive in these type of water conditions - you might
get away with some angels though - again these fish, because so popular,
are acclimatized to a variety of conditions and although your water may
not be optimum for breeding you could probably keep some for display....



What's the tank set up like?

It's got a Aquaclear filter and a lot of real plants. There's a large
piece of real driftwood for the plecos to rasp on. There's a fine brown
gravel on the bottom with some rocks. It kind of looks like a lake bottom.


More plants the better IMO but you also need to make the decision as to
whether you want a great planted tank or are not too fussed about your
fish uprooting stuff.......the driftwood will help soften the water and
lower the pH to a certain degree - my tank with loads of driftwood has a
far lower pH than out of the tap or any other tanks with less....


A few nice rocks but no caves. I'm going to look at small active
colorful peaceful fish. I like clown loaches but they can get large. I
know I want a small school of corys.

A small group of Clown loaches should be fine in a 55 gall tank and yes,
they are fun - one of my favourite fish :-) - go for at least 3 and 5 if
you can......if they get too big then you might need to trade them in
but I doubt that will be anytime in a hurry......I also love cories but
IME you need to ensure that you get the right balance with bottom
feeders and competition for food - loaches and plecs will outdo them and
the poor things will go hungry....

With CLs, Plecs and Cories you need to provide hiding spaces - whether
caves built with stones/rocks or driftwood with hollows - my guys get
the driftwood option - nothing funnier than seeing 3 over large CLs
jamming themselves into a driftwood hollow with just their noses poking
out.....

There are also many other options open to you - Rainbows thrive in hard
water - Boesmanis, Reds - not threadfins though......Gouramis do well,
live bearers like Mollies and Platys and if you can find them female
bettas (not the drab ones - keep an eye out for those that are just as
attractive as males - it you see them buy them - you don't get to see
them very often). Rasboras also do great - so if you are looking for
small, schooling fish and don't want to risk tetras these are an option
- if you can find the flame rasboras they are a very vivid orange - look
like they are basking in the glow of a real fire hence the name......

Let us know which fish you decide on

Gill