INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES

Ike

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Nov 9, 2011
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Phoenix, AZ
It's supposed to create somewhat black water conditions with the tannins they release, similar to adding peat moss to your filter, some also believe they have medicinal properties, but idk about that.
 

jessonthenet

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Oct 16, 2010
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Newcastle upon Tyne
lowers ph and anti-fungal and I believe anti bacterial. Tannins released will lower the ph. I think also that some microorganisms grow on the leaves which shrimp feed on. I have only done a little bit research on that . I did add a a tiny bit of leaf to the shrimp tank and they do eat it. Whether they are eat microorganisms present or the leaf itself I don't know.

I soak cattappa leaves in aquarium water so I can add the water if and when I need it, usually after a large water change. I be careful not to add too much as the ph can drop drastically.

My ph is 6.0 and my water comes out the tap at 7.4 so that shows how it can affect your ph even with a lot of buffering in the water. It has took a long time to get that low. I don't like 6.0 so I am doing changes to bring it back up and add some more buffering from my tap water.

My wood I added doesn't add tannins anymore and I find catappa leaves much more powerful compared to bogwood , cheaper and won't taint the water as much.


I order big batches from Malaysia and they arrived fine. The ones I got December 2010 were stored in a dark dry place and I made sure they were sealed tightly and I just used the last lot up now. They stayed perfect condition and arrived in perfect condition. Really cheap as well and all the way from Malaysia arrived quicker than some in the UK.


They pick them all for free over there so just costs them an envelope and postage.
 

dw1305

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May 5, 2009
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Hi all,
lowers pH and anti-fungal and I believe anti bacterial. Tannins released will lower the pH. I think also that some micro-organisms grow on the leaves which shrimp feed on.
I like some leaves as well for the reasons Jess says, I'm adding them to all the tanks now. I'm too mean to buy Indian Almond leaves, so I'm using a few Alder cones with either Oak, Magnolia grandiflora and Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) leaves (I've got convenient sources of all of these), and they all seem to work well.

Have a look at this: <http://www.tfhmagazine.com/details/articles/leaves-for-aquaria-full-article.htm>

Reference for Loquat:
<http://lib.bioinfo.pl/paper:22032903>

Alder cone details here, (after the Indian Almond leaves): <http://www.ta-aquaculture.co.uk/Leaves.htm>.

cheers Darrel
 
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Tener ds

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Mar 22, 2010
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Crawley (uk)
Just been told to add some to a tank I was going to use to help out a sick betta, but he died before I could help him. If I got some could I just add a leave or 2 to my stored water, instead of adding 1 to each tank?
 

jessonthenet

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Oct 16, 2010
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Newcastle upon Tyne
I add them to treated water and leave and place the box in a dark place. I add a little of the water after a large water change. I have thought about adding them into my external filters like some people add peat but I was a little worried about the affects on the bacteria in there since they don't like too acidic and not being able to control the ph and having to open my filter up and remove it. With the water mixture I can have more control over what is added.

Depends on how big the tank is as to whether 1 leaf or 2 is safe. I found the almond leaves leech the tannins quick compared to adding wood.
 

Tener ds

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Mar 22, 2010
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ive been using these for a while now in my edge,my betta is looking fine and i like the very light tea colour of the water.i only add 1L 1x a week when doing a 50% water change.
 

johnbetta397

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Feb 26, 2023
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they are great in south american tanks and for fish from the amazon they can be used in tropical tanks to but are NO good in african tanks like lake malawie or lake tankaneka or lake victoria but apart from that they are good all so good for fighting fish from thailand as it thickens there skin and helps with slim coat and conditions them for breeding and makes fish less prone to sickness eg white spot or velvet