Peppered cory with a hole in its side

Done two further water changes one at 50% and one today at 25%

Ph Now reads :- 6.5

I will continue small water changes throughout the week

see how it goes
 
You need to get yourself a kH tester. I had a similar ph Plummet which was hurting my fish. I tested the kH and it was around 1. Which basically means it has no buffering capacity. Keeping a stable pH in such water is very difficult if you do not use something to raised the kH to a level that will keep the pH stable. I used Alkaline Buffer, used half the recommended dosage over a period of a few days to slowly raise the kH and the pH. My fish have been happy ever since. My pH stays at a around 7.2 and my kH stays are around 7. You can also used crushed coral in a mesh bag to raise the kH.

-A
 
Thanks A, is there a particular brand of buffering agent I should use?
Why should the KH Suddenly drop? is it because I removed my plants? because up until then everything seemed fine. Even now its only this one fish that seems to have a problem the others are fine. Also I've done some pretty hefty water changes in the last couple of days why doesn't the KH rise? I'm a bit confused......
 
Hey Mike,
I used Seachem Alkaline Buffer. The reason why the water changes aren't helping is probably because your tap simply has no buffering capacity (very low kH) and that never changes unless you buffer it chemically. Replenishing with water changes may stave off the plummeting pH simpy for the fact you are constanty replacing the low pH water with higher pH from the tap. Problem is you would have to do water changes all the time. One of the most important aspects of water quality is it's ability to stabilize the pH. Low or High pH is not really a problem for fish, they will aclimate, but a constantly swinging one will eventually cause all kinds of trauma. Every since I raised my kH to about 8, my pH stays at a nice 7.2. The only time I add any more buffer is when I do a water change. As I go I am trying to follow this rule of thumb:

Ammonia must be 0, Nitrite must be 0, pH must be within 0 to .2 of last test
kH must be within 5-9. Keep these balanced and you should be ok.
 
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