Water PH???

what's the ph and kh of your tap water?

that's where it all starts. if you have high ph and kh in your tap water your tank water is going to be high.

if your tap water is neutral (7) or lower and/or has a low kh, you might have something in the tank leeching ph? any shells in the tank? argonite (sp?) substrate? crushed coral?

if you are using a regular filter you can try adding some peat moss to it. whatever variety you can find, but if it's a "home depot" type, make sure it isn't treated with some sort of pesticide. fluval makes granules also, for their filters. this is sort of an experimental thing, as you will have to experiment with the amount needed to stabilize your ph. this can also leech some tannins into the water and give it a "blackwater" effect. some natural woods will also help lower ph slightly.....

injecting co2 into the water (for plants) can also lower ph.....

since it's a betta.... in a fairly small tank.... you might also be able to mix your tap water (if it turns out to be high) with ro/di or distilled water, or some other type of bottled water........

as a general rule keeping a stable ph is a better aproach than going for an ideal ph and getting lots of fluctuations. in this case however i agree that it seems pretty high for the fish.

usually the best approach is to plan the tank around the tap water, because fighting bad water parameters can be a pain. with a small tank with high ph and hard water you might be better with some sort of dwarf african cichhlids.

well with a ph of 7.6 your betta sould be fine alot of fish can tolorate ph's outside of there normal range. the only time you would wanna lower it is if your trying to breed them. as for the stuff that came with your ph kit its probobly some type of acid and it usualy has phosphates in it witch will cause a algea outbrake so dont use it because it wont work. in order to lower you ph you have to lower your carbonate hardnes first witch is the amount of calcium and other minerals in the water because they make the water hard and cause a high ph in order to do that you need a water pureifier to remove the trace elaments then the ph down solutoin will work. your betta should be fine with regular tap water. i have the same ph out of the tap and there isnt a fish i havent been able to keep as long as the quality of the water is good meening filtration water changers ect. as for peat moss it wont lower the ph becasue the cabonate hardnes is high it release tanic acids but because the buffering capacity of the kh it wont lower it same as the hydacloric acid in the bottle the only thing peat moss will do is release hormones that might make your fish a little happier

Peat moss releasing hormones? Eh? Could you please explain this?

pH is generally not as big of a concern as it is made out to be, especially if you are not breeding the fish. If the fish has good color, behavior and is eating well, you are better off leaving it alone. Making changes to pH is difficult, and if done improperly can result in large swings. These can kill the fish.