daphnia & pH

[goheels1]

1 ?...how important is daphnia in the fish diet?

2? my tank has been cycled since 8/09. my pH usually stays between 7.0 - 7.2. today i tested it and it was 6.4. why would the pH drop & how important is it for me to get it up if this number is too low based on the type fish i have in my tank? thanks.

 

[goheels1]

can anyone at least answer my question about the pH? thx.

 

[OrangeCones]

1 ?...how important is daphnia in the fish diet?

My fish love it as a treat, not sure how important it is in their diet though. They love any live treat really. Fun to chase down your food I guess.

2? my tank has been cycled since 8/09. my pH usually stays between 7.0 - 7.2. today i tested it and it was 6.4. why would the pH drop & how important is it for me to get it up if this number is too low based on the type fish i have in my tank? thanks.

Have you added anything recently to the tank? What is the pH of your water source now? My local water's pH fluctuates quite a bit, from 8.1 to 9.4, so I'm always checking to see what my water is after a water change. With all the snow melting, I'm seeing lots of changes in pH, nitrates, chlorine levels, etc. in my tap water.

Not sure about all of your fish, but the angels and tetras would do ok in your 6.4 pH. Be very very careful of you decide to try to 'correct' the pH. Swings in pH are extremely stressful to fish. Personally, I wouldn't try to change it, but that's just me.

 

[Doomhed]

can anyone at least answer my question about the pH? thx.

not everyone checks these boards every hour on the hour. I would recommend patience. Fishkeeping is a hobby that requires that above all else.

 

[goheels1]

first of all doomhed, i have patience. it's funny when i used to leave post under freshwater beginner, my questions were always answered pretty quickly. now, that i feel i may not be considered a newbie anymore, my post do not get answered as quickly. as a matter of fact, last cpl of post got no answer or answered several days later. interesting, you could not give me any help but you could come on here and leave me a smart answer. don't need it. i'm just making sure the lives of my fish are not at stake & concerned nothing happens to them. i'm still not a fish expert and have been told by ones on this forum to always come here for help. that's what i'm doing. we all may not read this forum every hr on the hr but someone is always on here and maybe that someone can give advice.

orangecones, i appreciate you trying to help me. the pH of my water source is 7.6..i rechecked my tank, it's still 6.4. i'm going to leave as is as you said you would personally do and watch the actions of my fish. i was just curious as to the sudden drop after all these months. thx

 

[lauraf]

Hey goheels:
I understand being anxious about one's fish, and trying to make sure we are doing the best by them. This forum has so much fabulous advice - and everyone wants to get or give the advice as soon as possible for the sake of our fish!
I second OrangeCones' opinion here - and I've heard it from others - don't muck around with your pH. Fish will adapt. It's the sudden changes that they can't deal with.
Cheers,
Laura

 

[OrangeCones]

orangecones, i appreciate you trying to help me. the pH of my water source is 7.6..i rechecked my tank, it's still 6.4. i'm going to leave as is as you said you would personally do and watch the actions of my fish. i was just curious as to the sudden drop after all these months. thx

Have you added anything to the tank in the last month or so? Or removed anything? pH is affected by the hardness of the water which can be affected by rocks, driftwood, etc.

 

[Orion]

Let some tap water sit out with an aerator in it for 24 hours, then check the pH. This will give you a more accurate reading of how it ends up in your tank. After the chlorine and other chemicals gas out, the PH can often drop.

Decaying organic matter can cause ph to drop, if you've slacked on some water changes, there's several things that could cause a drop. That's why regular water changes are a good idea, among other things it helps keep the buffering capacity of the tank water up so pH swings don't happen much.

 

[goheels1]

thanks so much for the help i've recv'd since that one post. i really, really appreciate it.

it was asked if i added or removed anything recently to/from the tank; no, just added the Common Pleco, Congo Tetras & Fruit Salad tetras. i've had them for about 3.5 wks now. i was trying to see if anything in the tank was decaying but i don't see anything. and as far as water changes, i went two weeks longer than normal to clean it. i will try the tap water test with the aerator to see what happens but again, i will leave pH as is for now and continue to watch the actions of my little buddies. thanks again for the help.