Darrow wrote:does anyone have any tips on lowering water hardness? i recently tested my 20g as i am preparing to have a betta sorority, and i want to have the most ideal water conditions as possible.
Before I tell you how to lower the hardness of your water I would like to urge you not to do a sorority. While betters are absolutely gorgeous fish, they do not get along regardless of whether they're male or female. No matter how big your tank is, how well you've tried to make sure you have the least aggressive females possible, or how much cover you have it will fail. The nature of betta splendens, having been bred to fight before being bred for beauty so they are just as aggressive as they were before they had long fins and pretty colors. This includes the females. Even if they are not outright fighting, they will nip each other or posture and even little things can set them off. If this does not change your mind
please be sure to have suitable tanks to put the females in when the sorority falls apart.
A few alternatives to a betta sorority are:
A sorority of livebearers, such as platys, mollies, or guppies - fish who also have a wide range of color and do not need the water softened. (You will probably get babies, if you do not want babies you could do a fraternity)
WIld betta - wild betta are generally much less aggressive than their 'domesticated' counterparts, and while they are less colorful they are much,
much more beautiful. They will, however, require much more research as good information is more difficult to find. I would be more than happy to assist you with researching wild betta!
A community tank - while this depends entirely on the betta you get, it's very possible to run a community tank which features a betta as your centerpiece fish. Please be sure to get suitable soft water tank mates that
do not nip fins. Most tetras will not work, however rasboras are an excellent schooling fish for such a tank (and there are several types that come in fun colors).
I'm very sorry if this comes off as harsh or rude, but the amount of betta sororities I've seen crash even when the tank owner was doing their very best to give the betta the best environment possible is unbelievable. I did not mean to offend, feel free to pm if something really truly rubbed you the wrong way.
As for softening your water, there are a few ways to do this.
Driftwood - driftwood provides a nice touch to your tank, though will likely stain your water brown. You can negate this effect by boiling the driftwood for... awhile. Like a really long time. Some people, however, like the look of the tannin stained water. A quick google of blackwater tanks can give you an idea of what the stained water looks like. Carbon in your filter can remove some of these tannins, but I am not sure if it reduces the effect of the driftwood on the hardness of the water.
Indian Almond leaves and Alder Cones - much like driftwood, these also release tannins into your water. Again, some people enjoy it, some people don't. Personal preference.
Api Kits - I believe Api has a few kits for water adjustment, though I have never used them so I cannot add an opinion to their usefulness and/or stability.
Water Softener/RO system - These remove calcium and magnesium from the water, what makes the water hard. They are, however, expensive and if you can't afford one they can be hard to get access to. They can only soften water to a certain extent, but will not stain your water.
Peat - I would not recommend peat. The collection of peat is unsustainable and harmful to the environment due to the time it takes for peat to form (a really, really long time). It is however an option. I am not sure if it stains the water.
