Recently, a friend told me his tap water (North East) measured to be PH 8! So out of concern, I would like to share with everyone my water routine in the past when I am keeping a few thousands of bettas at any point of time.
Bettas thrive (and usually breed) in acidic waters around PH 6-7. Hence, I had always kept my waters around PH 6.5.
I do this via means that are as natural as possible; Ketapang Leaves.
In Singapore, you can pick dried and fallen leaves from the tree itself, usually found along coastal areas. To use, simply boil them and use the extract (killing germs than just putting into the tank).
Take special note of the tree's horizontal layers of leaves, and the shape of the leaves itself; they are rather distinct from the average leaves we see.
Pictures are not mine:
However, after a few years, I find picked leaves a tad too risky as they do bring in diseases like fungi despite boiling (you may get insect bites too!). Therefore, I changed my routine and started purchasing Miracle Tea Bag (see image below). These are very concentrated and I trust Ocean-free, being established, should have sterilized the leaves before packing.
For years, I did not incur fungi problems with my fishes, so this is highly recommended!
Remember not to overdose and always introduce PH changes gradually, a sudden PH change of >0,5 can kill even the toughest betta.
Hope this helps raise some awareness, happy Betta Keeping!
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Cheers! :)
Bettafanatic aka Walter
Whatsapp 90283379
