Ph 7.6 Acceptable, Or Should It Be Brought Down A Level

[stackem evs]

Got a community tank, full fishless cycle, just had first 3 barbs move in. Levels all at zero, PH is at 7.6, would it be worth bringing that down a level? Or happy if kept below about 8.

Thanks

 

[nukeonekitty]

Depends on the fish.

 

[@ombomb]

Generally, if a fish is used to pH XXX, change the pH is a bad idea. There are extremes like Discus or African Cichlids, but most fish are happier that the pH is stable rather than trynig to get to a specific level.

 

[kelp]

Hello,
this is not my thread, but I'm also curious about this.

I am setting up a community tank where the fish require pH's towards the 6.0-6.5 range, but the tap water in my area is neutral to hard(7.6-8.0). Is it better to lower the pH and risk shocking the fish each time I do a water change, or leave it as it as and allow the fish to live at a higher pH then they prefer?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

tinkering with ph is a very risk business

i would always try and buy fish that are happy with the ph of my water rather than change it.

if you've got your heart set on something and your ph is a little way off then you shoudl speak to the lfs, find out what ph they keep the fish in and what it has been bred in. if this is a long way off your ph your going to have to do some incredibly careful acclimitisation to get them settled.

however a stable ph is the most important thing, so once acclimitised a lot of fish will be fine provided it doesn't fluctuate.

 

[k.o.d]

A stable pH is more important, constantly tinkering with water parameters will stress the fish lowering their immune system.

If they are happy, dont change it. We keep our stingrays at a pH of 7.6 by buffering the water with oystershell, they are happy and have acclimitised well and they are (supposedly) difficult creatures.

Discus have been kept and successfully bred in hard water.

Steve