pH is not nearly as important as people think it is, other than for breeding setups. Most fish will adapt just fine to whatever your pH is out of the water, and using chemicals to "stabilize" it is just silly. Just use your water as is. If its really super soft, add some aragonite to your filter media to stablilize it naturally.
SAP's definately need dental work. Mine needed his teeth trimmed every 3 months or so, even with a daily diet of snails. If you don't do it, they can starve to death. They are very hyper, active fish.
