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Ok so I have to disagree with 2 people now, sorry guys. We have to provide accurate information. Adding Potassium Sulphate will not affect KH. Neither are Calcium and Magnesium the compounds which control KH and therefore pH. CARBONATES of these affect the CARBONATE HARDNESS (KH), which as has been explained buffers against pH drop. I use Potassium bicarbonate usually, sodium bicarbonate is a common choice too. Calcium carbonate is almost insoluble so a poor choice. Calcium and Magnesium are measured to test GH not KH. Potassium sulphate is a useful plant fertilizer.

So my little rainbow fish fry from Catfish Creek are growing up nicely, they certainly settled in well and took readily to all available fish foods. The main mystery with them is WHAT species or sub species of Rainbow fish are they??? This next one is the only one of the 6 who is developing the green flash up its side ( sorry this is the only non-blurry picture of it) Could this mean its another type of rainbow since it doesnt seem to be developing the black fin edges only the green and possibly yellow side flashes (the yellow didnt show up in the picture) And finally "What you lookin at?" In the above picture you can make out the yellow that is in his fins surrounded by the black.

looks nice, gonna need alot of trimming when those plants take off though epecially with the bolbitus in the centre you may find it will spread into your anubias

It was probably a bit poorly worded Kiz but this is the point I was trying to make. By Carl Strohmeyer-PAMR 35+ years experienceUpdated 4/27/15 Many aquarists overlook the need for electrolytes; positive mineral cations such as calcium & magnesium and the effect of KH (Carbonate hardness) in their freshwater aquarium (marine aquarium keepers tend to be more aware of these processes/parameters).Minerals such calcium are essential for osmotic function in fish and many aquarists make the mistake of believing that some fish such as Discus or Bettas do not require Calcium or minerals when in reality (based on many studies in biochemistry and relating to Redox Balance) these mineral cations are essential and GH test kits to not give the full picture KH is basically the alkaline buffering capacity of your aquarium (there also is an opposite acid buffering process which when combined with KH is important for planted aquariums or low pH aquariums;A KH (Alkalinity) above 50 ppm helps prevent sudden drops in pH. KH (carbonate hardness) is an important source of energy for nitrifying bacteria that eliminate ammonia and nitrite. In addition, carbonates may be used by plants for photosynthesis when carbon dioxide (CO2) is absent.The production of Nitrates (via processes that are similar to the production of nitric & carbonic acids) will slowly reduce your ph, but an adequate KH will keep a more stable ph. The unfortunate fact is that pH in aquariums isn't stable without other minerals as I mentioned above, such as calcium, magnesium, Sodium, Iodine, Chloride, etc etc... These are what KH and GH measures are partly for.

Oops, sorry. I meant Potassium (bi)carbonate. Brain fade while typing. As Kiz said sodium bicarb can be used too to change KH, but sodium adds nothing to an aquarium, where as Potassium is actually more useful.

I think RCS can adapt to any sort of ph as they are very hearty. Currently I have them breeding in 6.0, 6.4 and 6.8, their colours look great too, no issues.

I've been working towards this for a while now & some interesting results have come from it. Introducing the Skunk Head Pinto! I only have about 5 of these at the moment but I will be separating them to line breed & hopefull in a few (dozen) generations I will have them breeding true.