The Daily Cichlid

My approach when it comes to Ph is based on the "KISS" Method or the Keep It Simple Stupid mind set and instead of working against your tap waters Ph it is best to work with it and choose fish and aquarium setups based on the water chemistry that comes right out of the tap. Once you have a good idea about what you have to work with originally you can decide on the simplest option for your tank.

For Example:   

My water chemistry is 8.2 right out of the tap with a KH or carbonate hardness of 350 ppm, a GH of  120 ppm. Perfect for African Cichlids. Do I need to buffer the water? No. My water can sustain the mineral upkeep the Cichlids need and by the time it would start to run out of minerals I would have completed 3-4 water changes and at 25% per week replenishing them each time. 

Many people look at me funny when I say things like Ph is in direct relation to how hard your water is. I know that it is a huge generalization of a complicated subject but the fact of the matter is you will never read a KH of 350 ppm or GH of 120 ppm from water that tested 6.5 on the ph scale. 

It is simple, work with what you have by testing your water first before buying your aquarium decor and any of the other species specific things that you will need once you have decided what type of Cichlids you would like to get. This is the best and most stable way of deciding which Cichlids you can or would like to keep. You can also lower and raise your PH gradually and naturally by adding aragonite or drift wood. 

1) Set up and add fish to your aquarium that match the Ph of the water that comes from your tap to keep things simple and to keep your fish healthy in the long run.

2) Always acclimate your fish using the drip method. Float the bag in your aquarium for 20 mins to get the temperature in the bag to the same level as the aquarium. Slowly add your Aquarium water to the bag while dumping excess water over a span of an additional 20-30 mins until the bags water is filled with 90% aquarium water. Dump the bag water out completely and then dump the fish into the aquarium. (Best to have a water change bucket close by to dump the bag water into so that you can get the fish in the aquarium quickly)

3) Stability is sometimes better than perfect conditions that last for a while but either slowly or drastically decline or skyrocket. Don't worry about killing your fish if the ph recommended for them is 7.5 and your ph is 8.0. 

For example: A friend of mine had a ph of 8.0 that came directly out of his tap and his fish required a ph of 7.0-7.5, using Ph down or similar product, he brought his ph down to 7.0. The next day he went to feed the fish to find most had died over night. This is a common and lethal mistake, the water wants to stay at 8.0 and therefore there was a ph spike causing his fish to die. Ph at the lowest and highest ends of the spectrum is usually more difficult to adjust or control and often adjustments end up doing exactly what you were trying to prevent, premature fish death. Fish have adapted to various levels of Ph throughout their life spans but they still can't adapt to quick changes or spikes.      

Ph of 6.0-7.0 is considered to be acidic or soft water conditions and only South American or Cichlids that require soft or acidic water conditions should be considered with these type of conditions such as Rams, Discus and Angel Fish. You can buffer your water and increase the hardness with products like crushed coral or aragonite and aquarium safe salt but the bottom line is that because acidic water is unstable, methods to increase its hardness are usually unstable as well meaning that they do not last for long. 

Ph of 7.2-7.6 is considered to be neutral meaning that it is not considered to be hard or soft water. It is more stable than soft water and less stable than alkaline or hard water. The good news is that Neutral water conditions can be easily manipulated with things like Ph buffers such as crushed coral, aragonite, and salt and will remain stable for longer periods of time. Neutral water conditions can be a blessing because you have more choices. You can keep either South American Cichlids( if you choose to keep the water where it is) or African Cichlids (if you buffer the water) Neutral water also may be easier to keep stable if you decide to keep the Ph lower using chemicals like Ph down or even drift wood. keep in mind that eventually drift wood will lose the ability to lower your Ph over time. Neutral water can be used for nearly every type of freshwater fish so when using it in a Discus or Angel fish setup you have many community fish options available to you to include in your setup. 

Ph of 7.7-8.6 is considered to be hard to alkaline water, stable and high in KH and GH this type of water is exceedingly difficult to lower to more neutral or soft/ acidic conditions and to keep stable once adjusted. If you use chemicals like PH down, the waters hardness may bounce back or dip way down within a relatively short period of time causing fish death due to Ph shock. It is best to work with these conditions rather than against them by creating an African Rift Lake species tank or by using South American Species that adapt to various ranges of Ph. Fish will adapt to various conditions and it is not uncommon to see Discus, Angel fish and Rams in aquariums with a Ph of 8.0 or higher, remember stability is more important than meeting conditions that are found in the wild. There is a different Cichlid for every flavor and for every type of environment and if you follow the "KISS" Method mentioned above you will have a more relaxing and fun time deciding on which setup and which type of fish you would like to have. 

This is a myth. Fresh water fish of all types shapes and sizes have adapted for millions of years to different water chemistry all over the world. With more and more fish in the aquarium trade being born and raised in captivity concerns of Ph will soon become a thing of the past. Most common reason for fish death in relation to Ph is that they still cannot adapt instantly to water chemistry. We acclimate our fish by using the drip method specifically for this reason. Putting a Ram in a tank right away with a Ph that matches their natural environment perfectly at 6.5-7.0 when they came from a tank with a Ph of 8.2 will kill him. So if you want a Ram in your community tank which has a Ph of 8.2 or a convict Ciclid in your African Rift Lake tank the fish will be fine as long as the water chemistry is stable. 

It really depends on how much of a difference there is between their natural habitats ph -hardness etc and what the aquarium water Ph - hardness is. If an African Cichlid comes from waters where Ph is 8.4 and they are living quite successfully (healthy, good coloration) in a tank with a Ph of 7.7-7.9 it may be necessary to add a ph buffer to the water to get the fish to breed successfully. I would say there is truth to claims about fish that wont breed in captivity if natural conditions are not met but it doesn't mean they can't be healthy at the same time.     

Will my fish live as long as they are supposed to if the Ph isn't exactly what their native environment provides? 

The incorrect Ph may shave a few months or a year off their lives but it wont kill them outright like a Ph spike. Is this truth or a myth? I would say there is truth and myth to these claims. Will you live a full life eating plate fulls of bacon and smoking like a chimney? Probably not but if your genetics give you a resistance to cancer and heart disease then it is quite possible for you to live a full and long life. Genetics are a big factor when it comes to fish as well. If you have a fish that has been bred in captivity over a span of many generations and said fish has little to no inbreeding in its family history then this fish can quite possibly live a full and healthy life in water with a Ph that doesn't quite match its natural habitat. Here is another problem, say you have soft water coming from your tap and you absolutely have to have African Cichlids, you bring them home, aclaimate them and live happily with them for 2-4 years before one by one they begin to die off. Your waters Ph is 7.4 that is a ph of 1.0 lower than what their natural habitat is. If 6.5 is 1 and 9.0 is 10 on a scale of 1-10 when you are looking at a Ph chart than 7.4 sits at the 5-6 mark out of 10. Therefore you've shaved a little over half the normal life span off the African Cichlids life because of improper ph. Knowing this before getting into African Cichlids, is it worth keeping them when you could have easily kept a South American Species, equaly as beautiful for their entire lifespan of 8-10 years? No it would have been best to keep the right species in the right water conditions. If you are thinking "Who cares they are just fish" then don't even bother getting into this hobby because you will just end up like one of the thousands of would be fish keepers that have gotten out of the hobby because of loss of interest (due to constant fish death in most cases) and are now selling their used aquarium online for retail prices to try and recoup the huge loss in investment and time. It is a hobby and it is a hobby that requires skill, knowledge, caring, and a facination with animals. If you get into this hobby simply for the status symbol of owning an aquarium with rare and exotic fish to wave under the noses of your other rich friends than you will be very disappointed and most likely you will spend countless dollars on fish. Follow the KISS method and use natural ph reducers and buffers to raise and lower your ph, they look good and are easy to use.