Rocks Affecting PH

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GouramiGuru

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 25, 2010
Messages
21
So, I have been fishless cycling my tank for a while now (a few weeks to a month, haven't really kept track of dates) and am done cycling and am ready to add fish, or so I thought.

For one reason or another, I put my aquascaping off and off, and am at that point where my water is ready for fish, but my tank itself is not one hundred percent ready, as I have not added rocks or caves or anything to go along with the substrate.

I found some really breathtaking EBJD's the other day, and was really set on picking them up, but then I got to thinking about rocks and the tank decor and such. The tank needs some hideouts, and I might be able to go ahead and pick some stuff up when I pick up the Jack, but my question is this: If I add the Electric Blue Jack Dempsey first (because they are some of the best looking I have seen, and I do not want them to get sold before I pick one up) is there any safe way to do the majority of the aquascaping with rocks and terra cotta pots and such later on without shocking the fish due to the changes in PH and such?
 
Can you buy them and have the store hold them? EBJDs are expensive fish to take a risk with.

You can always do the vinegar or muriatic acid test. Pour a little bit on your rocks. If it fizzes, don't put those rocks in the tank.
 
Can you buy them and have the store hold them? EBJDs are expensive fish to take a risk with.

You can always do the vinegar or muriatic acid test. Pour a little bit on your rocks. If it fizzes, don't put those rocks in the tank.

I 100% agree; not only are they an expensive fish to risk, but also a very beautiful one. There is one in particular with a little bit of darker markings mixed in with the light, bright blue, and he is truly beautiful -- if he is still there the next time I go in I will have a hard time resisting, lol.

I will of course do the vinegar test; if the rocks do not fizz, and I wash the rocks and all that, is it likely to affect the water chemically in any way that could shock the fish who would have been in the tank for a day or two with substrate only as decor?
 
Can you buy them and have the store hold them? EBJDs are expensive fish to take a risk with.

You can always do the vinegar or muriatic acid test. Pour a little bit on your rocks. If it fizzes, don't put those rocks in the tank.

And unfortunately, I do not think they will hold them for me, but I will find out for sure.
 
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