Meeki, how hard?

[Tripping Willow 91]

Can anyone tell me what's the hardest water that meeki are naturally found in long term? If you could please provide pH, GH, KH and location.

Here's a couple of mine in pH 7.5, GH 20, KH 10

Thanks ?

 

[duanes]

Normal habitat has GH of 8 and pH above 7.5, as far as hardest or lowest that changes place to place, and depends on the constituents of the surrounding rock and substrate.
In Cenotes in the Yucatan, parameters can be much higher.
Where I live in Panama, where ever I've tested pH, water is at least 8.2 or higher, KH of @ 240 and CH of 180.
Water in Lake Gatun has been tested at a pH above 9.


above a test of my normal surrounding water, note natural nitrate levels are undetectable.
Lake Gatun below.

 

[Tripping Willow 91]

Normal habitat has GH of 8 and pH above 7.5, as far as hardest or lowest that changes place to place, and depends on the constituents of the surrounding rock and substrate.
In Cenotes in the Yucatan, parameters can be much higher.
Where I live in Panama, where ever I've tested pH, water is at least 8.2 or higher, KH of @ 240 and CH of 180.
Water in Lake Gatun has been tested at a pH above 9.

View attachment 1489206
above a test of my normal surrounding water, note natural nitrate levels are undetectable.
Lake Gatun below.
View attachment 1489207

So it's not unusual for them to inhabit water with a very high pH but would they ever be found in water with a GH as high as mine at 358ppm?

 

[duanes]

High pH is part of their norm.
I doubt that your GH would bother the meeki, or most other Central Americans either.

On the other hand, trying to keep oscars, or other Amazonian cichlids might be difficult.
And its not only the fish themselves, but its the kind of bacteria that thrive in hard mineral rich water, because it is different from those in soft water.
Fish from soft Amazonian waters would not have evolved immunity to the hard water bacteria, that the Thorichthys have evolved to live in, in the hard waters of Mexico.
I believe this is why we see so many oscars, and other S Americans, with HITH when kept in hard, high pH water .
The components of water in Central America compared to much of S America, are like night and day.

 

[Tripping Willow 91]

Thanks duanes makes sense