Cichlid Question

[Fishyfanatic]

We have had a 55 gal cichlid tank for about a year and they are at pH 7.0. The lfs said that they would be fine in the 7.0 and we haven't had any problems. How much does pH play a part? We have all of our tanks set at 7.0.

 

[kukerdan]

alot of people are very strict on water paremeters, and mixing this fish with that one, and you cant do this or that, but it always seems that these are the people having problems with fish deisese, fighting, stress etc. so dont get to converned, 7.0 is fine, thats where mine is, and i dont have a single shy, stressed, or injured fish

 

[FishLover14]

Thanks everyone!

 

[severum mama]

My pH is also at 7.0, but I keep SA/CA cichlids only. Most of the African cichlids DO prefer a pH that is higher. I know that you want to keep Africans but from what I know, it is much better to find fish suited to your pH than to mess with your water chemistry. That said, it could work out fine if the cichlids are locally bred and tolerate the same water chemistry as what you have. But even if they tolerate it, I don't think anyone here would agree that it is an ideal situation for the fish. You would have many more options for tankmates if you wanted SA dwarfs, as they are much less aggressive than Malawi cichlids. Good luck stocking your tank, post pics when you get it up and running!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

We buy this powder stuff, I can't think of the name, that sets the pH at 7.0 and dechlorinates the water. Ours lfs sells it ranging from 6.0 to 8.5. We've never had any problems keeping our tanks at 7.0 until recently for some reason my 10 gal dropped from 7.0 to 6.8. I didn't think this was a big deal but my pleco died the day after we bought him and the lfs said that he died because the pH was at 6.8.

Will this really kill my pleco? They said that 6.8 is way too low for pleco's to survive. I find this odd beacuse we were replacing the pleco that was previously in the tank. I had one in it that got too big so we moved him over to the 55 and bought a smaller one. The old one was about 5 inches and the new one was about an inch and a half. So now the lfs is refusing to replace the baby pleco saying that my tank conditions were not ideal for the plceo. Is it just me or is this odd?

 

[severum mama]

Fishyfanatic, what is your pH normally, like if you didn't adjust it? If you don't know, let some tapwater set out overnight and then test it. The reason I ask is because I have always heard that a stable pH is better than changing it with chemicals, have you thought about not using the powder anymore? Your pH swing in your 10 gallon is exactly why I don't ever mess with my pH. I don't know enough about it to know if that is what killed your pleco, but it sounds kinda suspect to me. I'm sure the sudden change was not good for your pleco, but I would have to say they could probably live in pH 6.8. Personally I think they are rippin' you off. I mean, a lot of people who keep blue rams keep a pH similar to that and are able to keep plecos. What kind of pleco was it? Did you acclimate it slowly enough?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I don't know what our normal pH is. We have always adjusted it to 7.0 before adding the water to the tank (many many buckets). The lfs sets their pH at 7.0 so we have always matched it thinking that since the fish come from a 7.0 tank that they will be perfectly fine going back into a 7.0 tank. The thing is, it didn't kill the one that I had in there that morning. We purchased the baby pleco, brought him home and while he was acclimating we took out the big pleco and acclimated him into the 55 gal tank. It wasn't a sudden water change because the lfs keeps their pH at 7.0, temp 78. I keep ours tanks at pH 7.0, temp 78. I thought it might actually be better on him because they had him housed with 6 other pleco's and he was going to a tank where he would be the only one there.

I think they are rippin me off because this isn't the first time the have done it. They did it about a year ago with a Gold Nugget Pleco. We got him home, acclimated him, he was dead the next afternoon. We have never had any problems with pleco's that we got from other stores. I am wondering if they just get bad pleco's. Who knows. It was a common pleco and it took me about an hour 15 min to do the entire acclimation process. The water was colder than our tank by the time we got home so I didn't want to send him into shock by dumping in 1/4 bag of warmer water. I let the bag float for 15 min before starting the water. The method that I used has never failed before. The only time we ever have fish die is when we have an ich outbreak or if a smaller fish gets attacked by a bigger one.

 

[FishLover14]

In my understanding it is neveri got idea to add a lot of chemicals to any tank a lot at a time unless u are treating fish iwht medicine-The best thing to do if your ph is off is to get tap water put the ph solution in it let it dissolve for a day do a 25% water change and add the ph treated water.

JMHO

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The ONLY chemical that we add to the fish tank is the dechlorinator. It also sets the pH at 7.0. It has worked great for us before and we have NEVER had a death as a result of poor water conditions or over-medication. The only deaths we have had was a result of ich, agressive fish attacking others, and stupid human error at the beginning of my aquatic experience. In fact, we never use chemicals except for every once in a great while (maybe twice a year) we use Clarity. But that's only because the tank will get really cloudy and once we use the clarity, the cloudiness is gone. We then do a water change about a week later and it's perfectly fine.

 

[xray]

There are other ways to raise or lower the ph naturally.

To rasie ph you can add crushed coral to your substrate. It will disolve over time and raise your ph.

To lower your ph you can put in a piece of drift wood. It will either absorb alkali from the water or release acid to the water. Which ever it is the end result is a lower ph.

Not everyone you talk to in your lfs is an expert. HTH

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I realize that not everyone is an expert at the lfs but I am working from my own experiences and what has worked for me. We initially used the powder to dechlorinate the water. We didn't know that it would set our pH at 7.0. Now that we do know this, I don't see what the big deal is to keep using it. It is used as a dechlorinator but has the extra additive of setting pH at 7.0. Ever since we started using the powder, we haven't had any major fluctuations in the pH of the tanks with the exception to the 6.8 pH in the 10 gal.

 

[xray]

What is the name of the dechlorinator that you use. I wouldn't consider it a plus for my dechlorinator to set my ph at 7.0. Lake Malawai (which is where my africans com from) has a ph of 8.0. That is where I like to keep mine.

 

[Menagerie]

It is used as a dechlorinator but has the extra additive of setting pH at 7.0.

You are not seeing problems because your water has an excellent buffering capacity. If this were not the case, you would see wild swings and have more fish dealths. It's working for you and you don't want to change it, fine. However, I caution others from trying this because it can have disastrous effects.

Your pleco should not have been affected by the .2 change in pH, if acclimated properly.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The stuff I use is Seachem Natural Regulator. It adjusts high or low pH to 7.0 and removes chlorine, chloramine, and ammonia. I know that this could not have killed the pleco because we had another pleco in the tank before hand and it grew too big.

We nixed the lfs that we were purchasing from and instead of driving the 1 hour and 45 minutes to the next closest lfs, I bit my tongue when my fiance brought home a fish from Wal-Mart. I have a problem with purchasing fish from a Wal-Mart because of their poor tank conditions and total lack of knowledge. Living in the sticks, Southern Illinois, there is not too many options of where you can purchase ANYTHING. We are about 2 1/2 hours from St. Louis and 1 hour and 45 minutes from Cape or Paducah. We are leaning towards mail ordering from now on. Does anyone have any experience will this? Are there any good places to purchase Cichlid's from?

I tested our natural pH and it is 6.9. Is this normal? I'm not sure what the normal pH is from water that comes directly from the tap.

 

[xray]

Tap water is going to very from place to place. I was going to post the mail order question also. I think I'll go do that now!!!

 

[Menagerie]

I tested our natural pH and it is 6.9. Is this normal?

Perfectly normal. The best way to test is to let a glass sit out overnight. If the pH of your tank is 7, then I think you are wasting money on the Seachem Natural Regulator, since your pH is there already.

Living in the sticks, Southern Illinois, there is not too many options of where you can purchase ANYTHING. We are about 2 1/2 hours from St. Louis and 1 hour and 45 minutes from Cape or Paducah.

I used to live in Moscow, ID and can relate. We would drive two hours to Spokane, WA just to shop at Petsmart
Check this thread for places to buy cichlids on-line: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=40208

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Have you ever purchased fish by mail order? We've been thinking about it but I have heard how they actually ship them. I don't know if this is true, but I was told that they starve them before shipment so they don't poop so much in the bags, then they aren't even fed while they are being shipped and by the time they get to your door they are tossed around so much and being kept in the back of a FedEx truck so they are being shaken. Is this really how they do it? Is it more harmful to mail order? If it is, should I just let it go that the lfs would rather make a quick buck than take care of their customers? I don't want to purchase a fish that is going to be so stressed by the time we get it.

 

[Menagerie]

I don't know if this is true, but I was told that they starve them before shipment so they don't poop so much in the bags, then they aren't even fed while they are being shipped and by the time they get to your door they are tossed around so much and being kept in the back of a FedEx truck so they are being shaken.

That's basically how they arrive at your LFS, too. That is why so many die when they get to the LFS.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

So basically I am going to have a 50/50 change of receive a dead fish if I mail order?

 

[Danio35]

To lower your ph you can put in a piece of drift wood. It will either absorb alkali from the water or release acid to the water. Which ever it is the end result is a lower ph.

If you add driftwood into your tank will it cause the water to turn a brownish color? Will it lower the pH fast or slow? If you put the driftwood in with other fish will it stress them out?

Thanks,

Michelle