Really High Ph - Problem

[Soupy97]

Hey everyone, I set up my tank over the past couple of days, and I still have some more work to do on it. Anyways I just tested my ph today and it came up to about 7.4-7.6 (and that is with two good sized pieces of driftwood in the tank) so apparently my water is pretty acidic. I was originally planning on stocking a rainbow, a keyhole, a pleco, and some apistos, but with the higher ph i might have to take the apistos out. I do not want to use an additive to change my ph.

Any suggestions for replacements? I have a 40 breeder.

I was thinking german blue or bolivian rams but im not sure

 

[Link119]

7.4-7.6 is perfectly fine. Just make sure the pH is stable because that is what is important.

 

[Soupy97]

even for the apistos? I was reading they liked alkaline water around 5.5-6.5

 

[jetajockey]

Yeah they'll be fine in the 7's, chances are they've been raised in it anyway. You could lower the pH but if tannins from the driftwood isn't doing it enough then your next step is to cut in some r/o or distilled water into your water change routine. It's a lot of extra work and will probably not yield too much of a different result in fish behavior.

 

[Sillyfishies]

Also, GBR like it in the 6-6.5 range too

 

[Soupy97]

Ok I'll stick with the apistos then. Thanks for the help.

Not to ask to many questions, but can anyone recommend 3 good breeds of apistos that would work well with the rainbow and keyhole cichlids? There are so many breeds and it's hard to find what I want. Slightly overwhelmed haha

 

[Sillyfishies]

Ok I'll stick with the apistos then. Thanks for the help.

Not to ask to many questions, but can anyone recommend 3 good breeds of apistos that would work well with the rainbow and keyhole cichlids? There are so many breeds and it's hard to find what I want. Slightly overwhelmed haha

Flame red (can't remember name ergh), cacatuiodios (something close to that). Also I wouldn't do 3. Just do those 2 and do 3 of each.

 

[Soupy97]

Ahh ok. I was thinking a male and female of 3 different breeds. So if I do two breeds with 3 of each what should the male to female ratio be? ultimately I'd want all males haha. Thanks for the suggestions by the way, I will look into them

 

[jetajockey]

I've kept and bred rams in the 7s. They can be touchy but it's not pH related.

I'd see what you can find available first, there's a ton of awesome apisto strains but only a handful that are available at any given time. I'm a fan of rotpunkt, triple red cacs, and panduro.

 

[Freakgecko91]

For the record: below 7 is acidic, above 7 is alkaline...6.8-7.4 is (or basically is) neutral.


I also wouldn't recommend so many bottom dwelling cichlids for a tank like that, you'll end up with territorial disputes and most likely deaths from stress. Rainbows are mellow, bu will still be bossy. I'd pick one species (not breed, fish go by species or variant/locale, breed refers to different types within a species, like dogs, which are all he same species, canis familiaris) and depending on that species, either get a pair, or a harem. Apistogramma cacatuoides for instance, prefers to be in a harem, with one male to 2-3 females.

 

[Soupy97]

Ok thanks for the advice. If the bottom dwelling cichlids is an issue, could you then look at my planned stocking list and advise what needs to be changed?

1x Rainbow Cichlid
1x Keyhole Cichlid
About 6 x Apistogrammas
1x Pleco (Maybe Green Phantom)

The big issue with why I am not picking other cichlids is that I am having a planted tank and I know that these fish will be mostly ok with live plants. Others might not be.

 

[Freakgecko91]

To be honest, after having all of the species you listed, I'd go with a pair of keyholes, a pair of rams, and leave out the Apistos, or do a pair of the larger species, like borelli, Panduro (quite feisty so they'd be good). Or look into a pair of laetacara curviceps/dorsigera/araguaiae. If it were my tank, I'd do the two rainbows, 4 keyholes, a school of tetras (probably lemon, bleeding heart, or cardinal), a shoal of cories (I like the more rare varieties, having loxozonous and axelrodi myself), and then for pleco, I'd go with a pair of blue seam ancistrus (only because they are available to me right now, $20). I think a green phantom would be a bit too large for a 40 breeder. A leopard frog or queen arabesque are other good choices.

But that's just me

 

[Soupy97]

That is exactly the reply I was looking for! I liked some of your suggestions so how about this:

2x Rainbows
2x Keyholes
2x Bolivian Rams
4x Cories (julie maybe?) I would prefer a different bottom dweller fish if you can think of one
1x Green Phatom Pleco (There is a species that is under 6")
and something else... (im not a huge tetra fan)

 

[Freakgecko91]

I'd up the Cory school to 6-8, I usually try at least 6 per Cory school.

As for the dither fish, you could look into some of the dwarf rainbow fish. But it's a good idea to have a school of tetras, rainbows, etc with the more peaceful species of cichlids as they tend to be shy, and seeing a school of smaller fish out in the open shows then that it's safe from predators to come out. Sounds far fetched but 100% makes a difference.

As for the cichlid options, looks good, they are all different enough that territory issues shouldn't arise, just makes sure to have plenty of caves. My keyholes prefer to sleep in caves at night.

Another good bottom dweller to look into are porthole catfish. They do fine single or in small groups. They get about 4" and you could add one in addition to the cories. I have a flagtail porthole catfish and love him. They just aren't that easy to find.

The pleco should work, just be aware that green phantoms aren't gonna be super cheap, looking at around $60 for a young one

 

[Freakgecko91]

Keyhole with my flagtail porthole catfish

 

[Freakgecko91]

Rainbow with the catfish



So obviously the keyhole-rainbow combo works. This tank is a 75 gallon. But I have both of those species, the cories, and gymnogeophagus, a species SIMILAR but not that much, to Bolivian rams: works well for me

 

[Soupy97]

Alright, I like your suggestions. Your catfish is awesome!

If you don't mind, ill throw another list at you.

2x Rainbows
2x Keyholes
2x Bolivian Rams
6x Peppered Cories
1x Porthole Catfish
1 Green Phantom Pleco (If I cant find a good deal I was thinking I'd go with the leopard frog. I just want something unique)
5x Rainbow Fish (2 Bosemani, 3 Praecox (I think they will all school))

And then I will be sure to include lots of caves for the keyholes.

I think this is a really good variety but im worried about this being overstocked. I have an eheim 2213 if that makes a difference. What do you think?

 

[Freakgecko91]

Just keep up on water changes! You should be ok, as long as you add slowly. Add a species at a time each week.

The rainbows look really cool all as one species, I really like the praecox, but they will school together from what I have hear, don't have much experience with them.

You won't be disappointed with the porthole, they are so cool, they're very spastic, so one minute they're sifting through sand, the next shooting to the top to the surface

 

[Soupy97]

Alright thanks a lot for the help. I'll consider switching over to just the praecox, they do look cool. I think this new stocking list is a lot better than what I had before. Thanks again!

 

[Freakgecko91]

No problem! Feel free to pm me with any questions!