Guppy and Swordtails in soft water

[Stephen]

Sorry to hear of your losses. 

[TropicalFishForums]

[plankton]

How warm is the water?

[jacksdad]

the water is 23 degrees. I've been reading the details on the anti-bac meds, it says I need to add their own brand aquarium salt to get the full benefit. I would just use Epson salts, but is it worth it?
I've done a bit of online research, it looks very much like Dropsy, the first danio to go had a red rash all round its vent, then the next one just sat near the bottom not moving, and the last one had a bloated gut. The albino cory looked perfect, but the one I bought with it died after just a few hours, so maybe they were already weak.
The 2 remaining danios are going crazy, chasing each other all the time, should I add 3 more, or wait for a few days?

[Stephen]

I would not replace the danios as your water is very soft maybe a little too soft for danios.
Try getting some soft water tetras as a replacement such as Neon tetra or Lemon tetra as previously suggested.

Epson salts is a fairly good treatment for dropsy and similar, I would only use it in a hospital tank and away from the main tank.
Isolating the ill fish from the healthy fish is always a good idea.
Others may say different.
Use one teaspoon (5ml) of Epson salt per 20L of tank water.

[jacksdad]

Once again I was told the Zebra Danios were perfect fish for my new set up! Now I've lost five in 9 weeks, I'm wondering what to do next. As I said earlier, the gravel and plants have changed the water to CaCO3 80 ppm, but that's still very soft. I've got 11 neon tetras, 3 pepper corys, and the last 2 danios, plus 7 nerite snails.
I was planning to replace the zebra danios, but you are saying no. I was told (on here) they are very hardy fish, and perfect for starter fish in a new set up.
As it looks like I'm very limited to what fish I can actually keep in soft water, I'm now thinking of giving up on the whole lot, I'm spending a lot of money just trying to get the tank set up, I've never had problems like this before, plus I don't want to mistreat the fish!
Anyone in the Oldham area want a cheap half established setup?

[VC]

I’m sorry for your losses.

I’m relatively new to fish-keeping and would be absolutely devastated if I lost a lot of my fish. I was gutted when I lost my first corydora as it had only been a few weeks and I’d worked so hard on setting up the tank and cycling it. But I guess it is all part of the hobby and adds to your own experience and learning.

Before I got my fish I had it in my head that I’d start my first ever tank with platies and / or guppies because the majority of articles and videos all describe these fish as perfect, hardy, beginner fish. It was only when I came on here that I was told they wouldn’t thrive. I also learned that there are plenty of fish to choose from that love our soft water. For example there are so many colourful tetra variants and once they’re in a large school they look amazing. Just need to check that all other community fish can share the same pH and temperature range. I found that certain tetra and corydoras shared a common range.

What I’m trying to get at is: please don’t be disheartened and give up, especially since you’ve worked hard on your tank. Now you know that livebearers aren’t suitable, find the fish that are. I’m sure people on here can give you some community suggestions (I got my ideas from here!)

I purposely understocked my tank to begin with and then weeks later I added to existing schools to bulk them up (and added a few shrimp). It has worked so far!

[Kwak Rider]

Soft water should open up your fish selections not restrict them, loads of suitable, more interesting (IMO) species available. Tetra's, Barbs, Rasbora's and Dwarf Cichlids would be a good starting point.
I personally wouldn't add anymore fish until a couple of weeks since the last death.