Water hardness

[AndrewP]

Thinking about get some pictus catfish and it seems they like really soft water. This is a problem because my water very hard. I'm talking like 150ppm. Would the catfish be find in my hard water? Or what should I do?

 

[JMeyer]

Can't speak for the catfish but maybe your LFS sells water that would be better

 

[SherLar]

Ideally, they like neutral or slightly acidic, softer water. However, my water comes from the tap at a PH of 8.4, and pretty hard, with a high calcium and magnesium contents, even after running through an in-line filter. Perfect for cichlids; supposedly not very good for Pictus. I've had 4 of them for about 3 years though, and they seem healthy, active, and happy. They all reached their full size of about 5" within the first year. They're pretty hearty fish, and will probably do ok in your water provided you transition them slowly.