is my pH level too high?

[madame loach]

i have tested the pH level in my tank and it is at 7.8. when i test water straight from the tap the reading is the same. i have four mollies and 4 wagtail platties, which i think like the higher pH? but i also have 2 corries, 2 red eye tetras, 7 cardinal tetras, 4 loaches and 4 danios. i have read an article that says keeping pH levels stable is more important than using chemicals and such to try and maintain it at 7.0 (neutral), that fluctuations in pH can be harmful. the decorations in my tank are a large-ish piece of mopani wood, an empty coconut and stone gravel and real plants. when i first set up the tank over 2 years ago, i boiled the wood and coconut a few times and left them to leach in clean water for a week or so before putting them in. is 7.8 too high for my loaches, danios and tetras? i use a dechlorinator when adding new water does this affect the pH. any advice?

[Puffer Pita]

Nope, its fine. Don't mess with it.

[emc7]

I agree. Unless you want to breed the cardinals, just leave it alone.

[Betta1]

7.0 is the highest my cories are listed for. I'd like to hear more opinions on leaveing stable vs useing chemicals.

[Sue Gremlin]

I'll give you my second opinion! Changing the pH is very stressful for the fish, and having it seesaw constantly as you are trying to fight the pH of the water is far more stress on them than having them just adjust to the pH that is normal for your water source.
While working in a LFS, I always talked people out of messing with the pH of the water. You can kill fish by causing too abrupt a change over too short a period of time.

[Scuba Kid]

If you're that concerned, which you really shouldnt be, adding a nice piece of driftwood will naturally lower the Ph and it just looks good. If you do this, be sure to boil the driftwood well or at soak it for a few days to let all of the tannins in the wood out, otherwise it will stain the water a brownish color.

Edit: I just read that you already have some wood in there, lol. If its not changing anything, just leave it as be. Like the othersb have mentioned, too much fluctuation in Ph can cause more damage than the Ph being slightly off.

[emc7]

The other thing is that the platies and mollies like hard, alkaline water. They won't appreciate a low pH. Most dechlors don't affect pH, but some products like Wardley's 7.0 have buffers and dechlor both in them. The solution is, of course, to add another tank for low pH fish and drop the pH slowly with buffers. However, changing a pH is lifetime commiment to monitoring and buffering. Its not for beginners or for a "community" tank.
I think the cories will live in the high pH water, but you won't get any babeis.

[Damon]

You wont get many babies but its more due to the eggs being eaten than anything else. I bred cories in 8.0 regularly with no ill affects. The cardinals, on the other hand, wont breed. Most fish in the lfs (cories included) are mass bred in higher ph than wild caught ones. Keep your ph as it is. Your fish will live happy, long lives that way vs altering the ph.