[thaerin]

Ok, 2 questions for all of you.
First of is my ph, it's high..like really high. around 8.1, depending on who's comparing colors. What I have is listed in my siggy, are these all (as in fish and plants) ok with this pH? I've got Fluval peat granules i can add to the filter to try to soften and acidify the water, but I though I'd ask first.

Second, what live food to use. I'd love to give my fishies treats of live foods and am trying to decide what i should use.
Planning on blackworms, but was thinking bout other ones like microworms,mini-microworms, vinegar eels..so many choices!
Ideally, I'd like something i can raise to feed the fishes and is really easy like fro the microworms, u just give them food, but I'll go with what's best for the fishies.
Any suggestions would be great!

 

[JanS]

I'd leave your pH just as it is. All of the fish you have listed will do just fine with it - in fact there are very few fish that won't adjust. About the only exceptions would be if you're trying to breed a fish that prefers a more acidic pH.

About the only live food I've delved into is BBS for fry, and frozen food for the others.
I'm sure someone else can answer that one much better.

 

[trenac]

A real easy way to lower PH is by injecting C02, just make sure your KH is at 3.

Raising brine shrimp is a good way to supply a live food source.

 

[gnatster]

The problem with brine shrimp is if you do not feed right after hatching they lose nutrition fast unless you gut load them. Personally I do not feel this is worth the work involved, Other food to try, while not live but frozen is cyclops-eeze.

 

[Simpte 27]

Grindal worms are my perferred food source for juveniles to adults. Easy to culture, reproduce quickly and cost is minimal. Daphnia are great if you have the knack of culturing them. There are approx 4 types found readily and size is the only major difference. Manga being the largest followed by Monia and Pulex. There is a so called russian strain but I cant remember the name. They are about the same size as pulex but reproduce faster. BBS are great foods but as stated above, they lose 50% of their nutrients within 14 hrs of hatching. Vinegar Eels are great and I perfer them over microworms for fry foods. They swim in water rather than sinking to the bottom. Easy to culture but a little harder to harvest. Springtails, wingless fruitflies, and flour beetles are other alternatives that I haven't had the opportunity to work with. Blackworms are one of the best foods for juvies and adults. Messy and hard to keep clean I feel they are not only cost prohibitive but just a PITA to work with. Whiteworms are similiar to grindals but don't tolerate the temp range of grindals and don't reproduce nearly as fast.

Hope this helps.