question on pH
- Thread starter freebyrd
- Start date
True. I dont do any SA Cichs so I am a bit biased one way.
Looking to start an all Caquetaia tank though. So thats good to know.
You can put aragonite in the filter, or add it to your substraite as a buffer. It can tint the water "white" temporarily, so don't be surprised.
If the pH of your tap water has a low alkalinity (buffering capacity) you could add baking soda to it when making water changes, start with a low dose, and increase until equilibrium is met.
A quick dropping pH can cause alkaline pH water loving fish to flash, the drop can be a build up of uric acid, which is an irritant. Although as others stated, check for other signs of a paracitic infestation.
If the pH of your tap water has a low alkalinity (buffering capacity) you could add baking soda to it when making water changes, start with a low dose, and increase until equilibrium is met.
A quick dropping pH can cause alkaline pH water loving fish to flash, the drop can be a build up of uric acid, which is an irritant. Although as others stated, check for other signs of a paracitic infestation.
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-chem.html
The above link is a basic and easy to understand explanation of water chemistry. One thing I noticed is you never mentioned what fish you're keeping. You referanced "south central" do you mean both South and Central American cichlids or cichlids from Sothern Central America? What exactly are you keeping? It has been my experiance that it is best not to try to modify your water chemistry too much as long as it is reasonable of course and or choose fish that will do well in your local water. Your tank sounds like it would be suited for alot of the South American species. stable and steady is better than change in most cases. Hope this was helpful.
The above link is a basic and easy to understand explanation of water chemistry. One thing I noticed is you never mentioned what fish you're keeping. You referanced "south central" do you mean both South and Central American cichlids or cichlids from Sothern Central America? What exactly are you keeping? It has been my experiance that it is best not to try to modify your water chemistry too much as long as it is reasonable of course and or choose fish that will do well in your local water. Your tank sounds like it would be suited for alot of the South American species. stable and steady is better than change in most cases. Hope this was helpful.
Thanks for the info. I am keeping:
Festae x2
Atromaculatus
Cf ornatum x2
Silver dollar x4
Citrinellum
Managuense
Cuban
Severum
Lyonsi
Overstocked to some, but I have no aggression at all and maintain maintenance very regularly. External parasites are a possibility but I treated the whole tank with two doses of jungle parasite clear for a two week period in which I was still doing weekly water changes. Very doubtful there is a parasite as I don't see anything strange the only thing I can find that isn't ideal is the pH
Festae x2
Atromaculatus
Cf ornatum x2
Silver dollar x4
Citrinellum
Managuense
Cuban
Severum
Lyonsi
Overstocked to some, but I have no aggression at all and maintain maintenance very regularly. External parasites are a possibility but I treated the whole tank with two doses of jungle parasite clear for a two week period in which I was still doing weekly water changes. Very doubtful there is a parasite as I don't see anything strange the only thing I can find that isn't ideal is the pH
I believe parasite clear is mostly for internal parasites. You should treat for external parasites with just some good old fashioned heat and salt.
^^^^ this....
And unless you have really big pieces of driftwood it shouldn't effect your ph much at all. I have 8 big pieces in my 300 and it lowered my ph from 7.9 to 7.6-7.7.
My advice...... water changes, heat, salt and observe
You won't see anything visually for a while, the first sign is the "flicking" behavior. If it's ich (which it is 90% of the time), you will eventually see white spots. Velvet (less common), will look like a gold/rusty dust. Doesn't really matter, as all external parasites are basically treated with the same methods, and if you catch it early they really aren't a big deal at all. Also, heat and salt won't hurt your cichlids, so even if you happen to be wrong it's not going to matter--better safe than sorry.
