driftwood

[vafa]

hi,
i got a german blue ram yesterday. my ph is at 7.4. correct me if i'm wrong but i think the reason why he lost most of his colors when coming into my tank is because the ph is too high.
she was very colorful in the lfs. their pH is 6.5.
he is happy though and active but still shy.
and all her tank mates would like a lower ph
so i was thinking how i can lower ph.
DRIFTWOOD.
but how much does driftwood lower ph.
i want to get it to about 7.
how big of a piece of drift wood will i need to accomplish this.
i have a 20 gallon.
would this do http://www.mrpets.ca/Products/Produc...&categoryid=-2. is this even real drift wood (i think so)
thanks

[vafa]

oh ya... if i use driftwood designed for reptiles, would that work?

[vafa]

my tap water is 7.6 btw

[Goes to 11!]

hi,
i got a german blue ram yesterday. my ph is at 7.4. correct me if i'm wrong but i think the reason why he lost most of his colors when coming into my tank is because the ph is too high.

No,

He lost his color because he is stressed from the move as well as being in a new environment [Did you leave the lights off for his first 36 hours or so? & don't bother feeding.]

Your Ph is not outrageous -Don't mess with it because you will be doing the fish no favors by doing so --> Period.

Let it remain a stable pH and let him acclimate ot his new surroundings.

Your choices come down to this: You can acclimate your fish to your water once or adjust your water for your fish forever.

[vafa]

hmm... never heard of leave your light of for atleat 36 hours. i turned them on 16 hours later and fed them at the same time.
thank you, but one more question. what if he doesn't regain his color. should i just leave it?

[Goes to 11!]

hmm... never heard of leave your light of for atleat 36 hours

Now you have.

The point of that is to stress them as little as possible.. Moving day is not a joyous occasion for fish so THAT would be a good place to start.

what if he doesn't regain his color. should i just leave it?

"just leaving it' is exactly what you do and it takes time which leads me to a point that I cannot over-emphasize ...

YOU GOT HIM YESTERDAY, Give him some time.

Know what I mean?

[vafa]

thanks man, it's just i've never had this problem before.
i will definitely not feed or turn on the lights before 36 hours next time.
i can see how that is stressful. again thank you

[Goes to 11!]

YVW man

Just keep an eye on him for anything more than fading due to stress in in a while he will be comfortable and his colors will be back.

How did you acclimate him?

[vafa]

drip acclimation over a hour. hope an hour was enough

[mizzoutank]

my GBR took 4 days to color up.
they are sensitive fish.

aquatics is all about patience

edit: reptile "driftwood" is generally not safe for aquariums.