Using Peat to Lower pH

[ShanerBock88]

I have a couple baby Tiger Shovelnose Catfish, about 6 inches, and their tank pH was a little high, at about 7.8. It was steady there, but I've done a ton of research and these fish are ok in a pH up to 7.8, but do much better at 6.8-7. I didn't feel comfortable with them living with the pH at their extreme limit, so I purchased some peat pellets and put them in the filter.

It worked quicker than I expected; 12 hours later the pH had dropped to 7.2. Now, I know that pH fluctuations can be very harmful to all fish. What I can't find information on is how much of a fluctuation is too much. Can anyone answer this?

Also, I removed the peat from the filter, to avoid an even more drastic change. Is this the right approach or should I have left the peat in there? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Alexa1s0nfire]

Imo anything over a .2 fluctuation in Ph is too much. I would leave the peat moss out for now and let the tank regulate itself back to the mean of 7.8 (having a consistent ph is generally better for the fish).

Once the ph normalizes I would re-introduce the peat, it will help to slowly lower the ph a bit if you're still concerned about it. Again, a more stable chemistry will always be more beneficial in the long run, the fish will acclimate and be just fine at a ph of 7.8.