Blackwater Aquarium

[LCieParagon]

I'm going to dabble with a blackwater aquarium. Does anyone know if I can introduce a betta to this environment? Keep in mind my pH will be around 4.5-5.5. Temperature will be 80-81 degrees.

 

[Brookster123]

That's there ideal habitat.. right? Don't they live in rotting foliage laden puddles?

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[LCieParagon]

That's there ideal habitat.. right? Don't they live in rotting foliage laden puddles?

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I agree about their substrate, but is their natural pH that low? If I introduce a betta splendens from an LFS, their standard pH is around 7.5 or so. Mine will be 2-3 points more acidic.

 

[Gillie]

Unless you are breeding wild type bettas there is really no reason to risk the fish. Getting water that soft easy, but keeping it stable can be quite tricky. You can use oak or indian almond leaves which will leech tannins into the water and soften it a bit and you will have a blackwater setup without the crazy ph swings, although you will probably have to use ro water during water changes.

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[LCieParagon]

My tank size will probably either be 37 or 40 gallons. What would good stocking options be then? I want the pH to get around 5 or so. No discus. I don't want them

Unless you are breeding wild type bettas there is really no reason to risk the fish. Getting water that soft easy, but keeping it stable can be quite tricky. You can use oak or indian almond leaves which will leech tannins into the water and soften it a bit and you will have a blackwater setup without the crazy ph swings, although you will probably have to use ro water during water changes.

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[Gillie]

In a tank that size I would go with a trio of apistos, a school of nannostomus eques or tetras (if you have no real desire to raise fry) and some corys. Just my suggestion because I am an apisto guy. Filtration through peat will also help you achieve your desired ph(I've never gone that low for a display tank, just when I was breeding a difficult species otherwise I kept the ph around 6.5). Frogbit or some other floating plant are nice additions to blackwater aquariums.

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[LCieParagon]

In a tank that size I would go with a trio of apistos, a school of nannostomus eques or tetras (if you have no real desire to raise fry) and some corys. Just my suggestion because I am an apisto guy. Filtration through peat will also help you achieve your desired ph(I've never gone that low for a display tank, just when I was breeding a difficult species otherwise I kept the ph around 6.5). Frogbit or some other floating plant are nice additions to blackwater aquariums.

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No doubt that I will be filtering through peat. I already have that taken care of. I'm going to get an EHeim canister filter. I'm really excited for this project. It seems like a lot of fun. I'm just worried I won't be able to find many fish that would survive in a pH around 5. I want it to be a true blackwater, low pH tank. I definitely want a Nanochromis transvestitus in the tank, but I need more than just one fish for a tank that size, and they only grow a couple of inches. I'm going to use elm and almond leaves as my substrate, and filter peat through the canister.

I don't think kribensis cichlids can tolerate a pH that low, otherwise I'd get them too. I like Apistos too. I have a pair of Agasizzi's cichlids in my 36 gallon. I didn't know cory cats could take a pH that low.

 

[Gillie]

I didn't know cory cats could take a pH that low.

Haha I was talking about corys in another thread I didn't mean to throw those in there. Any of the cory species that could thrive at a 5 ph aren't likely to be commercially available.

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