Corydoras and high ph

[yaya16]

Hi all

This topic has been discussed here before and I have also looked in many other discussion groups and websites but I am still not sure about this as there is a lot of contradicting information. I have been successfully growing and breeding bronze corys in the past two months in a ph of 8.2. It is important to note that the water is soft which to me is strange as usually high ph also means hard water. I am planning to bring panda and pepper corys to my fish room but not sure if they will breed or even survive in this water. I would really appreciate information from people that have experience with these two species in high ph and any other relevant comments. Thank you!

 

[Byron]

There is a fixation on pH among many in this hobby, and while it is important, it is not the only parameter nor even the most important. GH (general hardness) is much more important for fish, as it directly affects their physiological functions.

If you have soft water, you are fine. If the pH is stable, you can work with it. The mistake many make is to attempt lowering the pH, which usually creates fluctuating pH and this does impact fish. A fish must regulate the pH of its blood to match the water in which it lives, and stability is always better even if it is somewhat outside the preferred range.

Some fish manage this better than others. Corydoras aeneus (bronze cory) should have no problem. C. panda and C. paleatus (pepper) should also be OK. Some wild caught species from say blackwater habitats with zero GH and a very acidic pH would not be so adaptable.

The pH is usually tied to the GH and KH, but not always. I am not a chemist so I will not attempt to explain this as I am not sure myself. But aside from that, water authorities in soft water areas do often add something to increase the pH and prevent pipe corrosion. Depending what this is, it may dissipate out in an aquarium or not.

 

[yaya16]

There is a fixation on pH among many in this hobby, and while it is important, it is not the only parameter nor even the most important. GH (general hardness) is much more important for fish, as it directly affects their physiological functions.

If you have soft water, you are fine. If the pH is stable, you can work with it. The mistake many make is to attempt lowering the pH, which usually creates fluctuating pH and this does impact fish. A fish must regulate the pH of its blood to match the water in which it lives, and stability is always better even if it is somewhat outside the preferred range.

Some fish manage this better than others. Corydoras aeneus (bronze cory) should have no problem. C. panda and C. paleatus (pepper) should also be OK. Some wild caught species from say blackwater habitats with zero GH and a very acidic pH would not be so adaptable.

The pH is usually tied to the GH and KH, but not always. I am not a chemist so I will not attempt to explain this as I am not sure myself. But aside from that, water authorities in soft water areas do often add something to increase the pH and prevent pipe corrosion. Depending what this is, it may dissipate out in an aquarium or not.

Thank you for your reply. This certainly helped calm me down. I will bring them in and write and update. I am assuming that the grower I buy them from will have them in lower ph so I will acclimate them slowly and hopefully they will be fine. The water in our area is naturally brackish and is desalinated for home use hence the soft water I think they are adding something to increase ph although it should be lower to make it proper drinking water...