How important is PH?
- Thread starter PooCooper
- Start date
it is important in some ways, and unimportant in others.
Often, a fish profile will say that neons need, say, a pH of 6.4-7.0. This info is often based, however, on the natural conditions taht they are found in - aka where they originate from. The neons that you buy at the LFS are probably farm raised and have been subjected to different water parameters than are found in the wild. That said, most people run on the same water as their LFS, so most fish have been acclimated to your region's pH beforeyou even get them. Neons can actually live in a pH of 8 (not suggested, but it happens)
I say to think of pH like humidity to humans. If you lived in an area where humidity never went above 30%...then moved to a region where it maintained around 90% - it would be a bit of a shock. You'd be uncomfortable at first. But you'd acclimate to it and soon it would feel like normal.
So, pretty much, the thing about pH is to keep it constant. pH really becomes a factor when it is swinging and fluctuating. One of the biggest no-no's you can do related to pH is to try and use a chemical to alter it - such as the pH up and pH down that is in the pH test kit you bought. All this accomplishes is temporarily lowering/raising the pH - the source of the pH has not been altered...and therefore the water will bounce back to the original pH. So you add more chemicals...so it bounces back up...etc. It turns intoa fluctuating cycle. Rather than adjusting a pH to suit a fish, its better to chose the fish that suit your pH
There are ways to better alter a pH, but first you'd need to have a pretty good reason to do it.
All in all, it isn't THAT important - it only becomes a problem when chemicals are involved, when you're trying to breed fish, or when you are trying to keep VERY pH specific species. Or if your pH is below 6.2-4 ish or above 8 ish. Even then, many species are capable of living above/below these boundaries.
Hope that helped some...
Often, a fish profile will say that neons need, say, a pH of 6.4-7.0. This info is often based, however, on the natural conditions taht they are found in - aka where they originate from. The neons that you buy at the LFS are probably farm raised and have been subjected to different water parameters than are found in the wild. That said, most people run on the same water as their LFS, so most fish have been acclimated to your region's pH beforeyou even get them. Neons can actually live in a pH of 8 (not suggested, but it happens)
I say to think of pH like humidity to humans. If you lived in an area where humidity never went above 30%...then moved to a region where it maintained around 90% - it would be a bit of a shock. You'd be uncomfortable at first. But you'd acclimate to it and soon it would feel like normal.
So, pretty much, the thing about pH is to keep it constant. pH really becomes a factor when it is swinging and fluctuating. One of the biggest no-no's you can do related to pH is to try and use a chemical to alter it - such as the pH up and pH down that is in the pH test kit you bought. All this accomplishes is temporarily lowering/raising the pH - the source of the pH has not been altered...and therefore the water will bounce back to the original pH. So you add more chemicals...so it bounces back up...etc. It turns intoa fluctuating cycle. Rather than adjusting a pH to suit a fish, its better to chose the fish that suit your pH
There are ways to better alter a pH, but first you'd need to have a pretty good reason to do it.
All in all, it isn't THAT important - it only becomes a problem when chemicals are involved, when you're trying to breed fish, or when you are trying to keep VERY pH specific species. Or if your pH is below 6.2-4 ish or above 8 ish. Even then, many species are capable of living above/below these boundaries.
Hope that helped some...
You can also try google to find out some more info about the pH. In my own opinion, for the most part of course because there are exceptions, as long as your pH is around Neutral (7ish) you should be fine with most fish species. It also depends where your getting your fish from. I Keep Ram's, which supposidly need soft acidic water to be healthy, in water that has a pH of 7.4-7.6, and a gH of 8. Great looking fish, but here's the kicker, most places you look claim they are hard fish to get to spawn, and acidic water is a must to trigger spawning. Well my Rams spawn on about a 5 day rotation in those water conditions, and the eggs stay fungus free. Now here is where the pH thing comes into play, if the fish you buy were raised in acidic or alkaline water they should probably be kept in that kind of water. That said though, you can slowly adjust your fish to another pH, key is slowly. Even discus can be kept in slightly alkaline water like I have without problems. So in most store bought fish situations (unless the store is conditioning their water, which generally doesn't happen) the fish will be fine with a neutral pH or the pH of tap around the area. It is a factor, but in my own opinion, its not a hugely critical one.
I am keeping Central and south american cichlids. I had a convict get sick and die and I check ammonia nnitrites and trates regularly and do regular water changes. So the only thing I had left to check was ph. It was off the chart akaline-wise. These cichlids are supposed to have nuetral to acidic. Could this have led to my convicts demise? Also I have well water, which probably accounts for the ph.
Cooper I don't think that was the reason the convict died, infact they generally prefer slightly alkaline water. How long did you have the fish? also the well water is why your water is alkaline, but I also use well water and the pH is around 7.8 (I think the reason its lower in my tanks is because of driftwood) What exactly is the pH of your water? Also if you do want to change it you need to find out what the kH is in your tank. This is a buffer for the water essentially that will stabilize the pH, a high kH means your water is extremely stable, however its also difficult to change the conditions.
How long did you have the convict though? If you have had it for a while and it suddenly died, I very highly doubt it was the pH, though it is kinda high. Perfect water for African rift lake cichlids though.
I had the convict for two weeks, Best colors I had ever seen on a female, Active until satyrday she got fat and died.