EVERYONE WHO HAS C.A. TANK,WHAT IS YOUR PH AT?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
D

Dale76

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 10, 2009
90
0
0
Johnstown pennsylvania
A everybody just really curious as to what ph people are keeping their central american tanks at? You study up on natural habitats and specific fish and always get same answer a broad range from 7.0 up to 8.0-8.2. Just wondering what a good ph would be for the fish to thrive and grow and have the most natural environment possible???? Driftwood yes or no? C.A. cichlids rule:headbang2!!!!!!
 
Depends on the different species :) The general rule is keeping it between 7-8, like you said, but the specific pH is something you can lookup on, when researching the individual fish, and it's habitat
 
It doesn't matter for most tankbred fish (and most wild fish at that!). CA's are very adaptable. It is more important to be consistent than to strive for a certain parameter. You can actually cause a lot of stress if you're constantly messing with the chemistry of your water.

I'd suggest you sit a bucket of tap water overnight and take a reading the next day. If your tap water isn't crazy one way or another, you'll be fine.

For what it's worth, many to most CA's come from fairly hard & alkaline waters to EXTREMELY hard & alkaline waters. Many of the crater lake cichlids, for instance, come from waters much more extreme than African rift lake fish.
 
my ph is 8.4-8.6 for my oscars, jack, red devil, f1 convicts, green terror. but for reference i know not central but south i have that same ph for my wild caught geo red heads to f1 severums and many others. i personally don't think it matters that much as long as it is stable. i never had a fish die because the ph is to high.
 
My water comes out of the tap with a ph of 7.8 and it's also moderatly hard. My Centrals seem to thrive in these conditions. Like cchhcc said the best thing you can do is keep the water chemistry consistent. Trying to raise the ph and keep it there won't work unless the water has a certain buffering capacity. Keep the water clean by removing waste on a regular basis with water changes and most of the CA cichlids will do great.
The one thing I've noticed is my fish seem to spawn more often and produce more fry in these conditions than in softer more acidic water. We've moved fish back and forth between myself and my cousin who lives in another part of Long Island that has soft and nuetral to slightly acidic tap water. Proven pairs that would spawn on a regular basis stopped producing completely when moved to his tanks. They were still healthy and would eat well but would never come into breeding condition.
 
GMFISHNUT;3675519; said:
My water comes out of the tap with a ph of 7.8 and it's also moderatly hard. My Centrals seem to thrive in these conditions. Like cchhcc said the best thing you can do is keep the water chemistry consistent. Trying to raise the ph and keep it there won't work unless the water has a certain buffering capacity. Keep the water clean by removing waste on a regular basis with water changes and most of the CA cichlids will do great.
The one thing I've noticed is my fish seem to spawn more often and produce more fry in these conditions than in softer more acidic water. We've moved fish back and forth between myself and my cousin who lives in another part of Long Island that has soft and nuetral to slightly acidic tap water. Proven pairs that would spawn on a regular basis stopped producing completely when moved to his tanks. They were still healthy and would eat well but would never come into breeding condition.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. my thrive in my ph. my red devil is growing over 1" a month.
 
Consistencey is the key...my oscar and red devil (yes, he's by himself) are happily thriving in normal dechlor tapwater right at 7. I have driftwood with the oscar (a hollow log) and weekly water changes and the growth, appetite, activity, and color are good.
 
I'm with Honda. I keep all my fish-from Discus to African Cats in 8-8.2 pH. The water's hard but it's super stable. And with lots of water changes my fish grow fast.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom