Oh! And thank you for another warm welcomeplankton wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:56 am Welcome to the forum.
I think your 18+dGH may too hard even for the tetras.
Corys (well, the bigger ones like aeneus) should reach at least 20 years, around 25 is the average, so the hard water must take between 2 and 7 years off them.....
Panda size is around 12-15years, the dwarfs (pygmeus/hastatus/habrosus) around 10.
I never heard of Corydoras living more than 15 - 18 years, their average life span is 10 years.
Aquatic soil I hope. I found only short term and with our water it wasn't long.ThePizzaMan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 13:03 pm And, actually, whilst I'm on the topic - if I use soil as a bottom layer substrate in my tank, will it affect the pH values in my tank?
I haven't kept Corydoras since the early 2000's so it's been a while and information changes with time. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!plankton wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 16:56 pm @ThePizzaMan it depends on the soil......
@Martinspuddle Not according to the experts apparently.
My pandas get to around 12 years, if they survive the first year from fry, but they're possibly getting a little in-bred, even though I do introduce new stock from time to time......so I do tend to believe the experts.
Similarly with loaches, clowns and yo-yos can get to 40, the smaller ones like zebra close to 25.
Of course, the conditions have to be pretty close to perfect.
Reverse Osmosis water, 50/50 mixed I find is the easiest, water softening pillows, pH adjusters (these are better for raising pH in softwater) and Peat moss, (only buy aquarium or aquatic peat products) can be used to soften your aquarium water. It's added to the aquarium filter but peat will make your water tea coloured, great if your looking to do a blackwater set-up.ThePizzaMan wrote: ↑Sun Jan 19, 2020 12:34 pm Just out of curiosity, are there simple (read; inexpensive) ways to soften water in a suitable manner for fish keeping?
