As long as extremes are avoided our rays can live happily in a wide range of water. You have to think, the rivers they come from are not stable. Yeah the pH is around a 6.5 most of the time but the water levels are always dropping and rising. When the dry season hits some of the water in SA cannot even support fish and millions die off. Then the rain comes and everything changes drastically. A river is not like an Ocean that is stable and never changing.
Are rays better off in high ph/tds waters
- Thread starter skynoch
- Start date
Actually oceans are in many ways like a river but many different rivers in one.what do you think currents are? Theirs areas in many parts of oceans that these under water rivers called currents meet and create insane feeding grounds and breeding grounds. Rays and sharks and mammals all rely on these currents to tell what time of year it is . Their is also a certian type of islander group of natives in indo pacific that I can't remember the tribesmens name but they can tell seasons by looking where the sun is and how the current moves. These type of people would build boats and island hop bringing plants and food along.its very interesting actually. The ocean probably changes more so than a river does actually . It changes daily low tide high tide.this creates the underwater rivers called currents you cannot see. Theirs also many lakes and rivers that are tidal .
The amazon river changes yes but the water is always coming from the same place. Snow melt from mountains and Rainwater .
The amazon river changes yes but the water is always coming from the same place. Snow melt from mountains and Rainwater .
remember it's not necessarily the pH that is harmful to the fish, it's more the gH. general hardness is where you deal with things like calcium and other mineral deposits.
best bet for info would be a google search on general hardness and fishkeeping.
best bet for info would be a google search on general hardness and fishkeeping.
So carbon and sediment filteration on all incoming water sources might be the best? Or would a sediment filter even remove these minerals? Not a fan of RO, seems unstable and too much work/cost.
I've been reading up on rays for future purchase and from my knowledge of water chemistry from keeping just about everything else I would imagine a moderate TDS of 200-500 would be ok.
pH, as long as stable within the parameters suggested is ok and like mentioned above GH/KH is where you should be concerned.
I run most of my tanks with just a large carbon bottle filled with catalytic carbon to remove chlorines/chloramines but I am somewhat privileged with pH out the tap at 7.8-8.2 which is great for the majority of my tanks.
For most of my Dwarf shrimp I have to run RO/DI water and remineralize and increase TDS/GH
pH, as long as stable within the parameters suggested is ok and like mentioned above GH/KH is where you should be concerned.
I run most of my tanks with just a large carbon bottle filled with catalytic carbon to remove chlorines/chloramines but I am somewhat privileged with pH out the tap at 7.8-8.2 which is great for the majority of my tanks.
For most of my Dwarf shrimp I have to run RO/DI water and remineralize and increase TDS/GH
i wouldn't go all out RO cuz you're totally killing your water. it's all about balance. too much is bad, and too little can be bad as well. we haven't studied these creatures nearly enough to know for sure what kinds of minerals can be beneficial in the right amounts.
we know copper is lethal, yet we use copper pipes in our houses and do not see problems.
i would assume that certain levels of minerals would be fine. it would more be a problem with higher concentrations.
my water is quite hard, and i have such severe calcium buildup. i can wash my dishes in the dishwasher and when i pull the door open, my black dishes are grey-white and crusted with calcium. my only options really are to install my water softener and look into an RO unit, which also is not that great for my planted tank, which the minerals in the tapwater rock for.
I think copper pipe would be dangerous if it did not oxidise as a layer and stop the copper leaching in to our water...if it did not then our pipes would dissolve.
I fully agree with Calgary that stability is the key...in an ideal world we would have amazon simulated water but it leads to unstable water when we try to replicate it. I would rather have stable water than unstable replicated water.
I fully agree with Calgary that stability is the key...in an ideal world we would have amazon simulated water but it leads to unstable water when we try to replicate it. I would rather have stable water than unstable replicated water.
new to rays... but I keep my 2 retics in 450ish tds, ph sits at 7.8 -8.0 and my gh/kh are both off the charts.... I also keep an aba aba knife, clown knife, clown loaches, and spiney eels in this water... and everyone is thriving. I concur with stability stability stability.... the water in the house goes threw a softener... but I usually fill from an outdoor facet that isn't hooked inot the softener. Well water is great for the planted tank though... the biggest problem i've had is with algae, mineral rich water, and any amount of nitrates and light and it goes crazy... pothos been helping alot.. many of my tanks read 10ppm or less nitrates regularly ( still do regular weekly water changes)
And anytime new fish are added.. I drip acclimate best as possible, and match TDS levels. been awhile since I've lost fish.. and then that was some clown loaches.. took me awhile ( had to buy my TDS meter to figure out why i kept loseing them) and had to do some massive water changes on a "perfect" tank...not sure how it happened but my tds where over the max setting on the meter.
And anytime new fish are added.. I drip acclimate best as possible, and match TDS levels. been awhile since I've lost fish.. and then that was some clown loaches.. took me awhile ( had to buy my TDS meter to figure out why i kept loseing them) and had to do some massive water changes on a "perfect" tank...not sure how it happened but my tds where over the max setting on the meter.
It's also a timeline sort of thing. I guarantee a newly exported group of flower/tiger would be better way better off brought into a tank with a steady ro drip vs shocking them.after they take to foods and start to harden up in captivity than I think it would be ok to start slowly acclimating them and getting them accustomed to your water. But for sure in the beginning replicating what they just came from will benifit you alot more vs just dumping them into water they are not accustomed too. I beleive this is one of the leading causes.if we could do things slower I think we'd see alot more success bringing in fragile rays
