Need Some Help With A Ph Dilema.....

[penguinpimp1990]

ok so heres the story, I have a 12 gallon tank with 2 female bettas and an applesnail, the pH stays at around 6.8, and my new neighbors just moved in next door and evidently they have a 10 gallon tank with 4 platys and 1 guppy, (they know pretty much nothing about fishkepping) and since they dont want them any more they asked me if id like them so being the good neighbor i said yes so i ran out and bought a 20 gallon tank to house all the fish together(because my room doesnt have enough outlets for 2 tanks). So now my question is what should be my pH level of the tank? bettas like it acidic, and the snail and livebeares like it alkaline but all the fish can tolerate either acidic and alkaline pH, so if the fish have a pH out of their thriving level what will be long term effects on them? (ie bettas in alkaline or platys in acidic)

 

[blue_ram]

ok so heres the story, I have a 12 gallon tank with 2 female bettas and an applesnail, the pH stays at around 6.8, and my new neighbors just moved in next door and evidently they have a 10 gallon tank with 4 platys and 1 guppy, (they know pretty much nothing about fishkepping) and since they dont want them any more they asked me if id like them so being the good neighbor i said yes so i ran out and bought a 20 gallon tank to house all the fish together(because my room doesnt have enough outlets for 2 tanks). So now my question is what should be my pH level of the tank? bettas like it acidic, and the snail and livebeares like it alkaline but all the fish can tolerate either acidic and alkaline pH, so if the fish have a pH out of their thriving level what will be long term effects on them? (ie bettas in alkaline or platys in acidic)

The PH level should be the natual level of your tap water. Don't try messing with pH. It does more harm than good. I keep my bettas at pH of 7.8, and Cardinal at ~7.4. Never had any problem, and doesn't seem affect the longevity of the fish either. Only thing that might be affected will be breeding, but then again, I've heard people breeding Corys at pH of 7.5+.

 

[penguinpimp1990]

i dont mess with the pH using chemicals, to get alkeline water i use coral chips and to make it acidic i use wood