Lowering Ph....for A Ram

[Faythee]

I fell in love with a Blue ram at the LFS. It is the prettiest I have seen

It appears to be full grown, larger than what I usually see. So maybe would have a better chance at surviving ?

My high 7.5-7.8, but I can't get this little guy off my mind. I have heard of people using peat moss. How do you do this and do you have any suggestions ?

Salesperson tried selling me some powder buffer stuff.....but I know this is a no no.

30 gal. tank with 3 Corys and a BN Plec so far.

Maybe I can pay for it and he will hold it for a few days

 

[LolaLouie]

I use peat to lower my pH, it seems to have a fairly minimal effect reducing my pH from 7.8 to 7.4, to be honest in the future i wont waste my time on lowering pH.

pH 7.4-7.8 is absolutely fine for rams, i have them at that pH as long as you acclimatise them well. if you LFS keeps them at a lower pH drip acclimatise them by placing them in their water in a bucket tying a knot in a syphon, starting it up and allowing the tank water to slowly drip into the bucket over 3 hours. Then just net the fish into the tank.

No matter what you tank conditions though some of these fish (especially rams) are just not hardy and don't travel well.

Oh i noticed you said your tank had corys and a BN "so far" if your tank is newly set up i would not recommend putting a blue ram in, they definitely need a mature tank.

 

[kj23502]

I've heard of driftwood helping to lower the PH. You'd probably have to have a decent amount of it though.

 

[shroob]

If its in a LFS, I would just pop in and ask them what their water conditions are, how long they've had him and if he's eating/behaving normally. If all seems fine then I would be tempted to go for it.

EDIT: Though the comment about rams neededing mature water may outweigh these points

 

[LosC519]

I've kept German Blue Rams in a new but cycled tank with a pH of 7.2. No problems. A large piece of driftwood lowered my pH 0.4.

 

[stang1]

As Lola suggested, waiting for your tank to mature would give your Rams a better chance of survival as they can be very sensitive. It is worth asking what PH your lfs keep them at but the chances are they will be fine in your tank.

 

[Faythee]

The tank is 4 months running. Not sure how long before it is considered mature. I cycled the filter on my other tank. I rehomed the fish I had in it. He said he sells the Rams rather quickly but will get more. I was considering an Angel, 1 or 2 Rams , and some Rasboras or similar. Guess I should wait on the Rams. Thank you.

 

[LolaLouie]

A tank that's been running for 4 months should be fine for a Ram.

 

[Phantaz]

Why is the powder stuff a no no?

 

[LolaLouie]

Because usually the hardness of the water buffers the pH so you may make the water pH 6.5 but the next day it will have shot back up to 8.0 killing all your fish.

It is far better to keep fish in a slightly more acid/alkaline environment that they are used to in the wild than to keep them in a fluctuating one. Which is why methods such as peat and driftwood are preferable as they only lower/highten the pH a little and steadily.

Plus those things are a waste of money as most fish you buy in LFS today can be kept in a wide range of pHs!