Our tap water is around 7.6. Everything I read and the LFS said that is too high for clown loaches, even though they seemed to be doing fine. It should be 7.0 for clowns. As stated, I tried the ph lower in the kit and it did nothing. The LFS told me to try the true pH lower and I did. I thought things were ok when I posted the last message. The clowns started getting sluggish, so I tested the ph again. Now it was too low - 6.8. I tried the ph raise in the kit, but I think it was too late. I killed all 5 of my clowns. The platys ( 5 plus 7? babies), 2 cory cats, 1 pleco and some plants all seem fine. I did a water change this morning and will wait for the tank to settle down. I think I'm going to get some more clowns and forget about fooling with the ph. They were doing fine until I started adding all the chemicals. I don't know what long term affect high ph might have on them, but it probably would be better than all the chemicals. Any info or suggestions would be appreciated.
Help - water problems! (long post)
- Thread starter Pam Lowrey
- Start date
That's what I decided to do about the problems I was having too. I just did regular water changes (1 to 1 & 1/2 gal of the 5 gal tank) every other day [or sometiems every day]. Eventually things settled down. Also, I have no idea where that 8.4 pH came from - it has never been that high since & is now steady at 7.6.
I keep clown loaches in 7.6-7.8 water with no problems. Messing with pH almost always causes more problems than it fixes, especially if high-phosphate buffers (e.g., Proper pH) are used.
Jim
Jim
