Tim, I maintained mine at a pH of 7 with no problem.The low pH is required for breeding and not for maintenance. Over pH 5- no viability of eggs. Peat is an excellent buffer, and does a great job with not only lowering and maintaining a steady pH but adds tannin and humic asicds to the water- simulates the natural water conditions of blackwater streams. Try to get the Eheim brand peat, a favorite of mine for 10 years. Be careful not to use pure r.o.- can be unstable. Good luck! - - Steve >Steven, > >I am real sure this shop does not treat the water they use in their tanks with >anything more than a de-clor, maybe even knock the edge off the ph a >little( the >water here in austin sucks). Would it be safe to assume that introducing this >fish into a 6.5 very soft water tank would be benificial to them. I'm sure the >tank they are in is 7.2 at the lowest. Or would this shock them too much? I am >really hesitant to try and achieve a ph of 5. The reason being is I've >warned to >stay away from peat because of the impending anerobic condition that >occurs when >peat breaks down. I am currently using pure R.O. water and doctoring it just a >bit to meet my needs. Any thoughts? > >Tim > >Tim Ellis wrote: > >> I found a couple of these at one of our lfs the other day. After a >> little research I found out they were wild caught in Venezuela about a >> year ago. Does anyone know of, or about this fish? Are they common or >> rare(worth buying). Are they harem spawners? >> >> Which leads me to another question. What does a harem consist of, and >> how many are needed for successful breeding? >> >> Thanks, >> >> Tim >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------