What is the ph, gh and kh out of your tap? Its good to kow these numbers. If the tap water ph is high above 8.0 The best way to lower ph without having a constantly shifting ph is to use RO/DI water. Lowering ph is alot harder than raising it. Like mentioned above peat moss will help keep the water soft. Driftwood will also do the same thing. Just remeber that peat moss will turn the water a tea color. New driftwood wil also do this. This will simulate a blackwater environment.
I have a pair of nanochromis transvestitus. They are young still and havent breed for me. I just got them in april. My tap water has a ph of 7.0 and the water is soft. So I'm already ahead. I do make DI water for my reef tank,. I cut thetap water with the DI water to keep the water very soft. From what I've been told, they will breed in water with a Ph of 7. However, the water must be very soft. Your GH should be very low (2 or 3 deg). Just make sure to keep the KH above 3 deg. This way you dont have ph swings. The tank they are in is heavily planted and CO2 is added. This keeps the PH at about 6.0
