Similis said:
Are you telling us Number 6 that the fish felt no ill effect what so ever.
that is correct. When I changed nothing but the OH- and the H+ concentrations, nothing happened. It is remarkably hard to do and I had to purchase buffers etc. There was one change that was impossible and that was to take water with a high pH and high KH to a low pH... if you add H+, it will eat up the KH.
Similis said:
What about pH shock or pH scald.
What hobbyists call pH shock is known as Osmotic shock. It is not the result of fish being impacted by pH but by the sudden increase or decrease of items in the water column that influence osmosis :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmotic_shock
Similis said:
I dropped the pH fairly rapid once when I kept Discus.
Did you change the GH and KH as well or literally, just the pH?
Similis said:
Does the pH of the water not effect the way they breathe.
See Osmotic shock.
Similis said:
Though fish can be acclimatised to different pH levels, it is in the best interest of the fish,
especially if they are wild to be kept in as close to their natural conditions as possible.
I disagree. There are conditions of a natural environment that are unimportant. This hobby exists because hobbyists strive to figure out which aspects are important, which are unimportant.
Similis said:
I know most of the fish we keep now are far far removed from their wild cousins but I think
what you have said is just a tad irresponsible. Especially for beginners.
Please quote the portion of any of my replies that you think is inaccurate, misleading or harmful. Without taking what I said out of context, you won't be able to find anything. Nor has bluetangclan (IMO) said anything dangerous or misleading.
Personally, I think that telling a beginner to worry about pH is highly inappropriate and a good way to cause problems. I have seen it frequently on multiple forums (even this one) where a beginner was sent out to purchase test kits, buffers, salt mixes etc. The effort to test water, add buffers, salt, etc. often has one classic result... fewer water changes due to money, time, complexity. Bouncing pH is often a result of these wonderful additives!
My advice to new aquarists is to have the local fish shop test their tap water for them (often a free service) and pay most attention to GH and KH. Depending on what they find, they can solve it with a simple buffer like baking soda. Cheap, simple, straight to the point. Most frequently, they need to add nothing for the species of fish they own.
To keep this tangent tied into the original post, what we have found re: pH is that even wild caught fish have a range of pH that is optimum. There are South American species and African species that have overlap to their ranges. The key point to all of this is that the needs of the fish come first before the "wants" of the owner. Prior to attempting a mix of South American and African cichlids, you will need to do a ton of research, figure out if you can provide for both species at once, and you must have the means to undo any damage or mistakes you make. Some species cannot be housed together, either due to diet, water chemistry, territory, etc. though this is a problem whether you stick to a continent or not. One can hardly mix Anomalochromis thomasi and a soda cichlid now can they?