Can a PH of 8.6 kill my discus fish?

Question

I am going to purchase 2 discus for my 20 gallon aquarium what will happen if I don't adjust the ph down to 6.5-7. I use water conditioner but the tap water ph is 8.6.

Answer 1

Discus are very sensitive fish and have many specialized requirements, right down to the amount of light they can tolerate. They need dark substrate, low lighting and heavily planted, bog-like tanks. Discus can adapt to ph only up to 7.8, but are not healthy at that level and are much healthier at a lower ph. 6.0 is considered perfect for discus. Discus need excellent water quality, free of toxins like chlorine, ammonia, nitrite, phosphate, etc.; correct water chemistry, pH and water hardness; and proper temperature, between 82 and 86F. The water should be soft, between 3 and 15dH. The pH should be between 5 and 6.5. Yes, and discus can grow to 8 inches so you would need more like at least a 50 gallon aquarium for a pair of discus. Do a lot of research before buying the discus so that you will be certain that they will be happy and healthy. For a 20 gallon tank, you may very well wish to consider other tropicals.

Answer 2

You will never be able to make discus water out of your tap water without a reverse osmosis set-up.Trying to adjust the water with chemicals will not work. Try this, before you buy any fish,Get a large plastic pail fill it with treated tap water,add enough pH Down to reach your target pH. Throw in an air-stone,and in three days check the pH. You will find that the pH is almost as high as the original tap water,and no matter how many times you repeat this it will rebound again. This will stress delicate fish like Discus to the point of death. A reverse osmosis system will give you water that you can build into safe water for Discus,but R/O processing alone will not be enough.Further research is necessary. Oh yeah, 20 gallons is not nearly large enough for two Discus anyway. Fifty gallons would be the minimum. ----Sorry.----PeeTee

Answer 3

Generaly discus require a ph of 5.5-7. Anything over 7 the discus become stressed and anything under will cause your ph levels do drop drasticly.

The first thing you want to watch for is your carbonate hardness or "Alkalinity". if you keep it between 10-15 you can more easily maintain a steady ph level in your tank. With it currently being at 8.6 I worry that adding in the stress of a new enviornment with the stress of a high ph may be harsh on your new fish.

There are tons of chemicals out there to lower ph levels but the safest way for a newly established tank is with using peat moss. The peat absorbes carbonates and acidifies the water lowering the ph levels.

I hope this info helps and good luck with the new fish!

Answer 4

Discus are very hard to take care of without having the water condition perfectly, as they do not tolerate the wrong PH or temperature well at all. So I would read up on some sites and gather your information about what others recommend the PH and temperature to be before you go out and purchase your fish (as discus tend to be quite expensive as far as fish go). Oh and by the way 20 gallons is WAY TOO SMALL for discus, they need to be in tanks of at least 40 gallons or more (at least 30 gallons per pair of discus as they can grow to 8 inches in diameter). I would seriously do your research now before you end up with dead fish.

Answer 5

If your pH is around 8.6 right out of the tap, use it to house some African cichlids, since some types need extremely hard water to do well in. Most cichlids from Central/South America come from acid pools or rivers where the level of decaying leaf litter is high. So to put it simply, don't waste money and time on expensive chemicals when you can just throw in tap water and keep some beautiful fish.
p.s. yes a ph of 8.6 will definitely kill discus.

Answer 6

you may lots discus interior the tank. you may have approximately 4 to six in a fifty 5 gallon tank. in case you're searching for a male to reproduce with, positioned it in a pond. If the disease proceed, flow the fish into a hundred% new conditioned water tank for for a mutually as.

Answer 7

take some of the rocks out in ur tank. proven fact. - rocks help rasie and lower pH lvls