As far as your fish are concerned, you are right about the livebearers - mollies, platties, … need hard water in order to thrive.Beckins wrote: ↑Sun May 03, 2020 16:48 pm
So after I've done my cycling I'm looking at...
6 x cardinal tetra
6x galaxy rasbora
1 x agassiz cichlid
1x double red cockatoo cichlid
maybe some Indian glassfish and a orange and black bristlenose.
I really love black lyretail Mollies and sunburst/red wagtail platys but I dont think I can have them with moderately soft water? :/ lot of people I know who have had fish for years tell me not to bother worrying about the water hardness thing but I dont want to be cruel to the fish.
With your list - the Agassiz and the cockatoo are both types of apistogramma chichlid, so you may need to have a pair for them to tolerate each other in one tank - plus a back-up plan, if they decide to breed or decide they do not like each other. @Gingerlove05 has a few stories to tell, when it comes to apistos.
The only other thought is whether your galaxy rasboras may be too small and would end up as snacks for the apisto(s)..
Good time now to do the research and to play around with options