Do catappa leaves drop ph and gh even if kh is higher than 8?

[Nihal]

The water I get from my tap has gh, kh and ph over 8. I want to drop it below 8 to medium. I ordered some catappa leaves to drop the number but I am worried due to the high kh. I don't have enough budget to get rodi water or distilled water. Can anyone give me tips on that? And also can you recommend me a good nano tank(6.6 gal) fish that can survive in these parameters? 

[knee]

There's not enough humic acid in the leaves to drastically lower ph. It will also not lower your GH.

It's better to keep ph stable than to try and chase it. Is there a specific reason for wanting to lower the ph?

[Nihal]

I’m trying to get a betta. I did some research and found that they need the exact opposite numbers I have. I don’t know how many guppies can fit in 6.6 gal.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Like @knee said I believe that fish prefer stability rather than trying to chase numbers the internet says you have to have 

[knee]

On 2/28/2023 at 5:25 PM, Nihal said:

I’m trying to get a betta. I did some research and found that they need the exact opposite numbers I have. I don’t know how many guppies can fit in 6.6 gal.

I’ve kept Betta’s in anlmost the same water ans yours before and they did well. I even spawned them once on our tap.  I’d only try to chase a certain water parameter if I’m keeping wild caught fish or for breeding fish that do require certain parameters. 
 

If I’m putting guppies in a 6.6g together with a betta, I’d choose shorter tailed endler males only. I’d put them first, let them get established in the tank and then get the betta. Although I do recommend 10g for a betta, they’d appreciate the additional space. 

[Nihal]

Thanks everyone for your advices. 

[mynameisnobody]

@Nihal I had a betta in rock hard Florida tap water, way over 8 and it lived a long, healthy life. 

Edited March 1, 2023 by mynameisnobody

[Lennie]

From my experience catappa leaves didn’t make any noticable change along with alder cones. My kh was 20 and I’ve never seen in decreasing really. The only time I saw it starting to decrease was combination of aquasoil, catappa leaf and aldercones, and it dropped to 16, ph remained the same as 8.0.
 

I just use them for their benefits and as a grazing spot for my fish, snails and shrimps. I use 2 around 16cm leaves and around 4 aldercones in my tanks ( 29g & 33g), and it still makes the tanks pretty yellow.

I would try not to mess around water parameters, but I would still drop a leaf for the benefits. I find catappa leaves to be one of the best things in the hobby personally. I always keep at least one leaf in my tanks and add another whenever the one in the tanks starts decaying. Not to mention it makes fish feel more comfy rather than being under spotlight all the time

[Cinnebuns]

On 2/28/2023 at 8:13 PM, knee said:

I’ve kept Betta’s in anlmost the same water ans yours before and they did well. I even spawned them once on our tap.  I’d only try to chase a certain water parameter if I’m keeping wild caught fish or for breeding fish that do require certain parameters. 
 

If I’m putting guppies in a 6.6g together with a betta, I’d choose shorter tailed endler males only. I’d put them first, let them get established in the tank and then get the betta. Although I do recommend 10g for a betta, they’d appreciate the additional space. 

I 2nd all of this!!