The Puffer Forum

Since doing more smaller changes (3x 30% weekly) I hardly get any algae, my tank is exposed to direct sunlight aswell. I feed properly and remove any unbeaten waste. Maintenance is easy if done regularly and thoroughly.

Unfortunately, suckermouth cats and puffers frequently do no mix well past the level of DPs and Otocinclus cats. Remember: Fahakas don't have tankmates; they may have swimming food reserves.

What if I added 10% of a hard 8ph water into a batch of 7 ph water.? The effects should be minimal right?

Slightly odd question there. Out of interest why would you want to do that?

I'm aiming for aph level of 7.5 at most

Just go with what your tap offers you.

Yea do not mess with it, you could run into all sorts of problems with stability

Playing with the pH is a high-risk pastime. Most commercial buffers may briefly change the pH, but the pH is not the issue, the alkalinity is the issue. Commercial buffers shift the pH (short-term) but most have no effect on the alkalinity.

If you need to do water modification, you have to work with the alkalinity, not the pH. LFS rarely know enough about water chemistry to help. FYI: Fish do not and cannot read pH. They read alkalinity.

So I cntinued to mess with the ph. I never used any commercial buffers just rocks, and 1\3 8ph and 2\3 7ph water in each water change. My fahaka is actually brighter in coleration and is swimming a lot more than before. I think I did things for the better here.

The large-river puffers tend to be undemanding on pH, as their native water tends to fluctuate widely with the season. But in captivity, relatively stable pH/alkalinity seems to suit them best. Semi-closed systems (fish tanks) do tend to become more acid over time. Avoiding that slow drift downward in pH due to loss of alkalinity is important for long life for the fish IME.