I just googled the Richmond Virginia Water Quality Report.
Although pH is 7.7 straight out of the plant, water hardness and alkalinity were low (Hardness 64 ppm, alkalinity around 40ppm) and some of the other mineral parameters were on the negligible side.
This to me is the kind of water South American Amazon basin fish (like oscars) and soft water Asian, and west African soft water species do very well in.
This is not the type water Rift Lake Africans, or hard water Central American and Mexican species prefer.
If it were me, I would research the fish I was looking at before buying, and choose according to what worked with my type water.
Many species are adaptable, some not.
As an example, I kept Central American species, because my normal tap water had a Total Hardness of at minimum 250ppm, alkalinity of around 100ppm, and it was high in other mineral compnentss. It was only with difficulty that Amazonian species did well in my tanks.
Alkalinity of Richmond water is a bit on the low side, @ 40 ppm, this means it does "not" have the natural buffering capacity to neutralize acids (that come from fish waste and metabolism), so...... (especially with larger species, or over crowded tanks) this means a more frequent water change schedule and larger volumes will be needed to prevent pH crashes, more than the average aquarist believes is adequate.
Although pH is 7.7 straight out of the plant, water hardness and alkalinity were low (Hardness 64 ppm, alkalinity around 40ppm) and some of the other mineral parameters were on the negligible side.
This to me is the kind of water South American Amazon basin fish (like oscars) and soft water Asian, and west African soft water species do very well in.
This is not the type water Rift Lake Africans, or hard water Central American and Mexican species prefer.
If it were me, I would research the fish I was looking at before buying, and choose according to what worked with my type water.
Many species are adaptable, some not.
As an example, I kept Central American species, because my normal tap water had a Total Hardness of at minimum 250ppm, alkalinity of around 100ppm, and it was high in other mineral compnentss. It was only with difficulty that Amazonian species did well in my tanks.
Alkalinity of Richmond water is a bit on the low side, @ 40 ppm, this means it does "not" have the natural buffering capacity to neutralize acids (that come from fish waste and metabolism), so...... (especially with larger species, or over crowded tanks) this means a more frequent water change schedule and larger volumes will be needed to prevent pH crashes, more than the average aquarist believes is adequate.
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