Blue Ram dream turning into a nightmare

[koimes]

Hi there everybody!

I have been 'maturing' my tank for about 4 months now, Plants (Java fern, Amazons) are doing really well and everything seems to be going smoothly. I just have one huge problem keeping me from getting blue rams:

My pH reading is 7.5.

I have no clue what else to do, well, the only thing I have done to reduce the pH is by adding bog/driftwood (Mopani driftwood to be exact), Tank is tea coloured, fantastic, but the pH reading is still 7.5.

I have a mixture of black gravel and sand, every seller that I bought from said the gravel was 'neutral' So I'm hoping none of them lied.

I think my local tapwater does lie at a pH range of 7-7.5, but I can double check if needed. I have been making 10% water changes every week so this may be the reason.

I have thought of adding peat moss to the aquarium, I'm quite scared of using it tho because I can only buy it from my local florist and they're not 100% sure it's safe for aquarium use. Even if it is, I don't really have experience with using peat moss, I may very well kill the rams. T^T
I have no interest in using a pH 6.5 buffer since it costs ALOT and I've heard many horror stories with regards to being a beginner and using chemicals, but I may have to resort to using it if all else fails.

Finally I have heard that blue rams may survive at pH 7.5, since they've adapted to higher pH readings in captivity.

So my main question is: should I just go ahead with buying the blue rams (I'm also thinking of getting cardinal tetras) even tho I have a pH of 7.5, or should I attempt to tamper with the pH first b4 I buy the fish?

Sorry for the wall of text. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Ghost9001]

The rams would be fine in a pH of 7.5, having a stable pH is a lot more important than keeping it at the pH that they are used to in the wild. Most breeders and aquaculture farms do not mess with the pH so its more than likely that the rams you purchase will be living in a slightly higher pH to begin with.

 

[fish_n_vw]

I would look into the peat moss a little more. And I would say not to use ph up or down, if read a lot of the post on here from people who want africans or discus, but there ph goes the other way. Most people suggest that stability is more important then anything else. I think I recall reading somewhere that rams are one of the fish that if the ph isent on then you will only develop males.... I'm just going off of memory here so I might be wrong as my memory isent always great and I could easily be confusing rams with something else, you just might look into it though. Sorry I wasent much help and if you don't get the help you need in this section then repost in the planted section of mfk, they might have some tips. Good luck.

 

[CAaddict]

id get the tetras first. then the rams after. if the tetras survive then the rams should

 

[Aquanero]

Tank breed fish do not require the lower ph that wild cought fish do so if the fish are comming from a LFS they should be in pretty much the same water you have. The Cardinals are most likly wild fish so if they have been living in the LFS water for a couple of weeks they should be fine. Don't buy Cardinals that have just arrived or you will experiance a higher mortality. Filtering through peat isn't nessisary and fluctuations in ph levels is far worst than providing a stable environment.

 

[fish_n_vw]

Tank breed fish do not require the lower ph that wild cought fish do so if the fish are comming from a LFS they should be in pretty much the same water you have. The Cardinals are most likly wild fish so if they have been living in the LFS water for a couple of weeks they should be fine. Don't buy Cardinals that have just arrived or you will experiance a higher mortality. Filtering through peat isn't nessisary and fluctuations in ph levels is far worst than providing a stable environment.

Not trying to thread jack here but I have ?. Will filtering through peat fluctuate the ph? I have never done this only lightly read about it, and it seemed many people do it for there discus and other soft water fishes. I know that using buffers can make large ups and downs and I alwyas advise against this. But will the peat have the same affects? Thanks.

 

[Aquanero]

Peat will lower the ph but only slightly lower the hardness. It will turn the water tea colored for a blackwater biotope type look. The trouble is matching the ph during weekly water changes. So unless you filter the new water through peat before adding it to the tank or modifying the ph by using a chemical you could do far more damage than good. I have wild cought rams that live happly in my tap water at a ph of 6.8 -7 and slightly soft. Most Rams you encounter at LFS are tank breed or farm raised. I have never had luck with any Rams I've bought from LFS and these wild cought are the first Rams I haven't had any trouble with.

 

[fish_n_vw]

Nice, that makes a lot since, thanks for the info. And good luck with your rams... to the op I hope all goes well for you, good luck.

 

[ryansmith83]

Temperature is more important than pH when it comes to rams, IMO. I keep rams in my water which has a pH of about 7.5. Keep the temp up and the nitrates low, and make sure to start with healthy stock. Some LFS rams can be questionable. Most people that have issues with things like rams or discus start with mediocre quality fish, and that's where the majority of issues stem from.

 

[Aquanero]

Temperature is more important than pH when it comes to rams, IMO. I keep rams in my water which has a pH of about 7.5. Keep the temp up and the nitrates low, and make sure to start with healthy stock. Some LFS rams can be questionable. Most people that have issues with things like rams or discus start with mediocre quality fish, and that's where the majority of issues stem from.

I agree with this 100%.