New water source acclimation process

[FreeGT]

So I currently have a community tank with captive bred species on treated tap water. I recently got a steal of a deal on a zebra pleco for $50. I really don't know much about this zebra male, except he is 7 years old. I do not know what type of water he was kept in before I got him, I also do not know if he is captive bred or wild caught.

I hate keeping him on treated tap water, it bugs me every day. I have stayed away from an r/o system because I could not afford one. With tax time coming along, and I have a few things for sale, I will work something out to get a r/o unit.

I've kept this pleco in 8ph tap for about 4 months with no issues, but I would like to buy a female and breed, and this may not be possible with tap water.

I want to know how do you switch a fish over into r/o'd water. Do I start with %75-%25 then move to 50-50 and then 25-75?

Am I making a big deal out of this, will it really matter if I just switch the water (I would acclimate it intially, I mean long term)?

Will fish get used to a certain chemical makeup in the water, or just the number/measurment of alkalinity/hardness?

 

[Myarbro]

I honestly never thought that Pleco's needed such soft water that you would need an R/O. I know there are tons of different kinds and I only own the more common ones and they are fine around PH 7.5.

I would do some major research. If you have done research, are you finding that he DOES need softer water?

Keep in mind that if you use a R/O system, you will need to put essentials back into the water after. There are cheaper, and more friendly ways to lower your PH.

 

[Myarbro]

Ok, did a little research for you and it seems they prefer a PH of 5.8-7.6. Now, just bc it says 7.6, I would not like to keep it in my 7.5 ph water. I don't like getting that close to the PH limits.

Here is another question, if you lower your PH for the Pleco, how will the other fish you have handle it?

 

[nes999]

stable ph is more important number

 

[Myarbro]

stable ph is more important number

I agree. Changing the PH can be harder on a fish than keeping it at the wrong level.

 

[FreeGT]

I agree. Changing the PH can be harder on a fish than keeping it at the wrong level.

So very true, but my tap water is not filtered, and inheritly will not lower consistantly. There are too many buffers in my water (hard water) to really CONSISTANTLY/STABILY lower my ph without filtering it.

Although that ISNT my question. I want to know how a fish handles a change in PH after being held at a high ph tap water, to a soft r/o water (w/ correct buffers added).

I AM getting a new filter setup and I plan on using water in the ph of 7.2-7.5ish. So HOW will a fish react going from hard tap water to something closer to it's PH preferred water?

Should I leave the fish in tap water since it is accustomed to it? Or am I overreacting and will the fish be just fine in ideal water parameters?

 

[MonsterMinis]

IF you intend to breed you will need to lower your PH.. there is no way round proper PH for the eggs. That being said Ide keep your PH around 7.5 otherwise or as close to it. But I agree Stable PH is the best.

The Change in PH should be handled just fine as long as you carefully and slowly lower it. I drip acclimate all new fish I get. be they from the LFS, straight out of the shipment bag, ect... This idea will also work in the AQuarium by doing small water changes daily or every other day until the desired PH level is reached and correct buffer achieved. My Zebra particularly enjoyed driftwood in his tank and this will help to soften PH. Make sure you have a good flow in the tank for optimal O2 exchange. Try to mimic the previous owners set-up as much as you can. Then make gradual changes. Mine also went buggers for sinking cichlid pellets ( this was some years ago before most the knowledge was readily accesable, so you liekly already know most of this.)

 

[FreeGT]

The Change in PH should be handled just fine as long as you carefully and slowly lower it. I drip acclimate all new fish I get.

I am a huge fan of drip acclimation. Should this transition last a few minutes, hours, days, weeks ect.? I was thinking of slowly weaning the fish onto soft water over the course of a week or two depending how much the ph difference was.