# Piranha and what ph level for em



## xxnazzgulxx

what is the best ph lvl for ternz i will have like 3 about 2-3 each what do u all suggest as for water temp and ph and anything else u wanna tell me


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## micus

ph best is 6.8 , temp best is 80-82, if u keep those at that then i will guarantee your fish will be happy aswell as weekly 25 percent water changes


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## Hypergenix

mine would be 6.5 around 7.6-8.0


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## Noe

micus said:


> ph best is 6.8 , temp best is 80-82, if u keep those at that then i will guarantee your fish will be happy aswell as weekly 25 percent water changes


 They will be happy,happy,happy,happy.......


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## RhomZilla

_*Moved to Water Chemistry*_


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## Peacock

PH is not the big concern...

GH is.. you want a very low GH with your Ps..

if no one knows what GH does to the fish, just ask ill write something up.


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## xxnazzgulxx

yes plz explain what GH is i would hate to pay this much for fish and they die
for somthing i did not know


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## Peacock

GH is the measurement of certain Ions(Calcium, Magnesium, Iron..ect,ect) Found in water. THer is much comflicting opimions about what GH actualy does.. but studdies have Shown GH effecting osmotic regulation and blood calcium levels in fish.

now you ask what these things do to fish.. lol

"blood calcium level" is refuring to the level of ion-ized calcium in the blood.. it must be maintained in a "narrow" range to perform the Calcium Regulatory Functions(CRF).

here are some things the CRF do..

-Contraction and relaxation of muscle (including normal heart beat) 
-Coagulation of blood 
-Transmission of nerve impulses (dont want your fish to be paralyzed now do you?)
-Activation of enzyme reactions 
-Stimulation of hormone secretions (ever wonder why your fish are not Breeding?? Bling Bling!!!)
-Integrity of intracellular cement substances

"osmotic regulation" has 2 parts.. Freshwater and saltwater.. In freshwater fish use "osmotic regulation" to retain salts and in saltwater fish use "osmotic regulation" to retain water.

salt water fish live in a saltwater (Duh!!) that has a higher consentration of Salts then their body fluids. this means that they tend to gain Salts by diffusion,and lose water by osmosis. To down size the water loss by osmosis, they have to drink the salt water, most of the Water the kidneys are able to retain, and the salt is excreted threw special cells found in the gills.

Now, the fish in freshwater have the oposit problem as the saltwater fish... Freshwater fish have some what larger kidneys to excrete the water entering the body by osmosis... freshwater fish offset the loss of salts by obtaining salts from the food they eat, and some freshwater fish also have Salt-Absorbing cells found in the gills and mouth.... They drink very little actual water and take in very little when they "swallow" their food (surprizingly).

all fish need Salts in their body.. osmotic regulation is the process in which fish retain a ballance between water and salt.

does this help?

there are other Ways GH will effect the fish.. but it gets very deep.. to deep for me at the moment.. (yes i hate saying that... pisses me off)


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## Peacock

GH is usualy the main cause of "mystery death".. forget to add that.


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## xxnazzgulxx

are there any testers for GH and is there a certain lvl that is should be,
also i was told to get the PH to 6.0 because thats what the piranha are coming from but i was told by a person that works in a fish store that once te fish are in there i can slowly take like a cup of water out each day and replace it with a cup of tap water and the PH will slowly come up. our tap water here is usually 7.0-7.2 does this sound realistic or should i do somthing dif, they said theat if i take piranha that are in a 6.0 enviroment ad stick them in a 7.0 + it will stress them to death
any info would help thanks


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## Peacock

EDIT- I was Wrong and i dont want the Wrong information Leaking out.. so i delited it.


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## Noe

ph best is 6.8 - 7.4 ppm, temp best is 80-82 degree


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## RhomZilla

Peacock said:


> Fish can cope to Large PHs changes very easily.. You could probly take a P out of a PH of 5.0 and plop him in a PH of 8 with out much stress added to the stress of taking him out of the water.. although i dont recomend this.


 I dont agree...







Drastic change in PH can overly stress your fish and might kill it. Also a P in 5.0 PH wouldnt survive as well as in a PH of 8.0, more so with the transfer.



> I dont htink 1 cup a day will even effect the PH of the water.. I recomend doing 30% water change using tap water.. that will raise the PH some but not alot if your worried about stressing the fish...


 You can also use crush corrals instead for a safer method.


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## Peacock

EDIT- Same here.. Im a firm believer in Wrong information not getting out.

I should have known better then to Listen and look at my Personal Experience... If its not a Scientific Report, chances are its Horidly wrong.. and this escaped my mind..


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## DonH

You are wrong Peacock...

If indeed your pH have had these sudden swings and you have not suffered any fish loss, you are VERY lucky. Even though the fish might not seem stressed to you, you don't know what's happening to them biologically. Fish are cold-blooded animals. They are dependent on enzyme variants to control chemical reactions within their body for survival. Thus, any changes to water parameters need to occur slowly so the fish can produce the correct enzyme variant without tremendous stress.

In case of a pH crash, you HAVE to boost the pH up immediately, otherwise, they are dead anyway. This is VERY stressful on fish but it gives them a little chance at survival. In addition, not only will your fish suffer from acid burn (very similar to ammonia burn), your nitrifiers will pretty much be wiped out if your pH drops that quickly or that low.


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## Peacock

DonH said:


> You are wrong Peacock...
> 
> If indeed your pH have had these sudden swings and you have not suffered any fish loss, you are VERY lucky. Even though the fish might not seem stressed to you, you don't know what's happening to them biologically. Fish are cold-blooded animals. They are dependent on enzyme variants to control chemical reactions within their body for survival. Thus, any changes to water parameters need to occur slowly so the fish can produce the correct enzyme variant without tremendous stress.
> 
> In case of a pH crash, you HAVE to boost the pH up immediately, otherwise, they are dead anyway. This is VERY stressful on fish but it gives them a little chance at survival. In addition, not only will your fish suffer from acid burn (very similar to ammonia burn), your nitrifiers will pretty much be wiped out if your pH drops that quickly or that low.


 excellent.. My post made you come in and Talk...

thanks DonH.


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## Peacock

DonH said:


> Fish are cold-blooded animals. They are dependent on enzyme variants to control chemical reactions within their body for survival. Thus, any changes to water parameters need to occur slowly so the fish can produce the correct enzyme variant without tremendous stress.


 I geus Im very lucky then..

DonH, Can you go into this deeper for me?

or maybe produce an artical inwhich i can read and learn?

thanks.


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## DonH

I'll try to dig up some articles, but you can also do a google search on fish enzyme variants. There should be a bunch of article in biology about it. You just have to weed out the pertinent info. Good luck, it's a lot of reading...


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## nitrofish

xxnazzgulxx said:


> are there any testers for GH and is there a certain lvl that is should be,
> also i was told to get the PH to 6.0 because thats what the piranha are coming from but i was told by a person that works in a fish store that once te fish are in there i can slowly take like a cup of water out each day and replace it with a cup of tap water and the PH will slowly come up. our tap water here is usually 7.0-7.2 does this sound realistic or should i do somthing dif, they said theat if i take piranha that are in a 6.0 enviroment ad stick them in a 7.0 + it will stress them to death
> any info would help thanks


 if you have a good maintance routine your gh sould be fine.just keep on top of your water changes.(I do 50% twice a week on my main piranha tank) and as for your ph, a neutral 7.0 is fine for piranha's. I wouldn't worry too much


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## Peacock

DonH said:


> Good luck, it's a lot of reading...


 ya well im pretty used to that...


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