orange peels.

[blacksnail]

in freshwater, ive been told that oranges are a fine food for certan fish but that the orange peels are not to be used.
however i cant find anyone who knows why i cant use orange peels in my aquarium, i figure the citric acid will drop the ph (wich is what i want) and perhaps stain the water a bit (also what i want) and for all i know it might just make the water smell like oranges. i am intending to put it in my filter like i do with almond leaves.

the fish in the tank are bloodfin tetras, roberti tetras, a black goast knife and 2 chocolate gouramies.

any thoughts?

i know you guys are saltwater but i figure someone out there does both.

[rsman]

My only thought is that the orange peel would drop the pH to fast, and it might not happen right away, the initial drop would be great for tetras .... but Not sure about the goast knife and gouramies.

[Scottt]

Maybe pesticides? That's why I don't do zest. pure speculation.

[John V]

Soft, slightly acidic water would be my suggestion. Blackwater extracts, spagnum peat moss, almond leaves, etc. do both.
A healthy planted tank is also beneficial. The Amazon river water doesn't see many oranges.

Effect of citrus peels is unknown. Koi keepers sometimes both eat and feed oranges but remove the uneaten peels.

[blacksnail]

thanks guys, the tank is a 28 and its so thick with plants that i cant ever see all the fish and theres 46 fish pluss shrimp and snails (over stocked i know), its a system thats been up for almost a year with lots of wood and some small zebra rocks and some minni terricota pots just for the hell of it and a sand bottom.

i use almond leaves and i do a 10% water change every week mostly because the waste water suports another small system of mine.

as far as the PH dropping too fast, yes indeed it does, i asked around with some classmates of mine and one of them said it brings the PH too low like down into the 5's.
idk i was just wondering, thanks for the help you guys.

[John V]

Sounds like a healthy system. PH of 5 may seem low but isn't inconsistent with the natural PH where discus and angelfish are found in the Amazon. Sometime measure the TDS of the tank and tap water. You may be surprised by the results.