Cichlid Ph's

hey guys,


how do i get the pH for cichlids to be about 8.5-9.4? do i just use crushed coral as a substrate? if so do i have to rinse the coral?

if not do i just buy the pH buffers from my [acronym:8eccb76f3d="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:8eccb76f3d] and that will make it in between there?


i plan on making the future 55 [acronym:8eccb76f3d="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:8eccb76f3d] into an oscar tank.... for now

[RoK]

Oscars are South American cichlids and don't need a high pH. The african cichlids are the ones that need it. The oscar will do just fine in lower pH. Anywhere from 6.0-8.0 is fine as long as it's constant.

[dr_girlfriend]

rok is right. sa cichlids don't need a high [acronym:1476e94a5c="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:1476e94a5c]. but if you wanted to do an african tank, I would chose either a cichlid substrate or just add some [acronym:1476e94a5c="Crushed Coral (if substrate) or Counter Current (if referring to a Protien skimmer) or cubic centimeter (if referring to a measure of volume)."]cc[/acronym:1476e94a5c] to your filter. In my shell dweller tank i have a bunch of shells, so that takes care of it for me. Plus my [acronym:1476e94a5c="power head or Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, depending on context"]ph[/acronym:1476e94a5c] is about 8.0-8.2 out of the tap.

[mattrox]

Oscars are indeed South American and would come from softer waters.

However, it pays to remember, some Central American cichlids come from high pH waterways. Pays to double check. I have seen Centrals been lumped in with S.A. and it leads to confusion.

ok thats what i want to do, i thought that oscars were african


are the african cichlids much more aggressive?

if so are Jewels and Pikes african?

nevermind i found out what pikes are, can i get 2 pikes and an oscar in the same tank?

and i decided im not going african i would end the poll, but i cant

[krap101]

sometimes home depot sells 50 lbs for 5$ (aragnite)

[severum mama]

You can NOT fit 2 pikes and an oscar in a 55 gallon tank. Seriously. You really shouldn't even keep one oscar in less than a 75 gallon tank [acronym:4f8c77bc7c="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:4f8c77bc7c]. I posted about this in your other thread I believe.

ok back on topic about these african cichlids... what are the meanest ones?

[severum mama]

Well, since you were posting about Oscars and pikes, then I was obviously not off topic to begin with, as these are South American fish. Jewels, I believe, are African cichlids that don't require as high of a pH as the rift lake cichlids. May be wrong about that though. Anyway, aren't the meanest African cichlids the Malawi mbuna? I suggested these to you in your other thread, as you could have a very interesting Malawi setup in a 55 gallon tank. They don't get huge though, so I'm sure you'll have a problem with that. Problem is, huge fish simply don't belong in a 55 gallon tank. Period.