Oak/Almond leaves in tanks?

Post by **krisw** » Mon May 24, 2004 2:47 pm

I was surfing around aquabid, and saw some Indian Almond leaves for sale. I did some more searching, and found that Oak leaves are sometimes used with Bettas, Corys, Apistos, etc to add tannins to the water to spur spawning.

I was wondering if anyone has tried adding leaves to their tank, and if so, what kinds of concerns in terms of decomposition/toxins you may have faced. Also, chemically, are the tannins released any different from adding a big piece of driftwood to the tank?

It seems like asking for trouble to me. Experiences anyone?

RTRJR · Post by **RTRJR** » Mon May 24, 2004 6:37 pm

I have used well-dried Oak and Beech leaves in tanks as refuge/"natural litter". Eventually they skeletonize or just break up - for me they last 4-6 months, but with larger catfish (6" and above) in the tank they do break up faster.

Technically, the tannins may be different. In practice it would be hard to tell.

Avoid species potentially carrying toxins - walnut, almond and peaches, etc.

Post by **krisw** » Tue May 25, 2004 10:05 am

Thanks for the reply! So, when they leaves broke up, did you bother scraping out the remains, or did you just let it be, and put new leaves on top?

Also, on the walnut/almond/peach leaves. Do they carry potential toxins naturally, or just because they're commonly sprayed with pesticides?

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Tue May 25, 2004 12:20 pm

I'm not sure on the other leaves, but I put a few oak leaves in w/ my apistos a month ago and no problems have occured yet. I'm not sure how long they last since this is the first time I've tried it. It hasn't induced spawning, but they seem to like hiding in them. Check out www.apistogramma.com They've got a forum there w/ lots of posts about leaf litter.

RTRJR · Post by **RTRJR** » Tue May 25, 2004 4:36 pm

Walnuts carry a variety of toxins. Almonds and peaches have a more restricted selection but some are potent (cyanide-based). I have no idea whether these would be present in the leaves or not, but why take a chance?

The smaller fragments get caught on the mechanical filters. I do tend to vacuum some of the bits and pieces before adding more, but not always.<edited><editID>RTRJR</editID><editDate>38132.692974537</editDate></edited>

Oak/Almond leaves in tanks?

Sponsors