# Almond Leaves?



## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

I've been thinking about adding some almond leaves to my tank. Not only because I like the way they look laying on the bottom of the tank, but because of the benefits they have on the water's chemistry. They are said to lower ph, prevent infection, and a whole host of other good things. I'm just curious if any of you guys have any ideas on the matter. -Joe


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

I have considered this as well.... I've heard it stimulates breeding in many fish so it obviously does something right


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Thats interesting.
I've never heard that...Do they essentially breakdown and naturally lower the PH?
How deep of a layer is needed?
Wouldn't it eventually break down and release gas like if you stir up a lakes bottom or something?
I'm being serious..I have no clue...I've never used any type of leaves or peat before.


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## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

You use 1 8"-10" leave per 10 gallons of water. You just let them float in your tank until they get waterlogged and then they just sink to the bottom. As far as I know as they leak tanins, like driftwood, is also when the ph buffers and bacteria fighting agents are released. They say to change out the leaves every 3-4 weeks. I'm just curious if anyone here has ever tried using them before.


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## roccov12345 (Sep 26, 2008)

Never used them but have read all of the pros you listed. Do they turn the water yellow? I thought I remember someone mentioning that to get blackwater.....


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## Show_Me_The_Teeth (Dec 4, 2002)

It would be good for breeding because it would stimulate the raining season. Too much leaves in the tank too soon can cause the ph to spike to much to quick. But it could also create some algae or something else to grow in the tank you might not want. I would be careful from adding anything from the outside due to any contaminate that could be on the leaves.

SMTT


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## notaverage (Sep 10, 2005)

Where do you get "sterilized" or clean ALmond leaves anyway?
THis sounds just like using Peat. I remember someone using leaves but not specifically Almonds


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## Yanfloist (Oct 1, 2007)

they also make your fish's slime coat even more "slimey", and the pH does go down. The best place to get some really big ones (12"plus) is on ebay. I bought 100 12" leaves for $20.00. Go to the store and they will be selling them for $5.00 at that size. You should never leave them in the tank to rot because then you'll get a ammonia spike. My jardini has HITH right now and the leaves are in some ways, helping it to heal. But yeah, always replacing the old leaves with new leaves is the best way to go.


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## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

Notaverage, they are washed and cleaned several times by the distributors before they are shipped. I think I'm gonna try these out. As long as I remove them before they rot, I don't see, nor have I read anything that says they would adversely affect the water quality.


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## wpviper (Jun 25, 2007)

I have seen this same topic befor I think I might try it now WHERE DO YOU BUY THEM?


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## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

Ebay would be your best bet. Or you could try Aquabid.com.


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## Us And Them (Dec 4, 2008)

There is alternative to Almond leaves ,
I myself am Using this special type of Wood from Brazil that lowers the pH and calm down
your fish and turns the water Darker, it looks neat.

You can get it at Big Als Here in Ontario , not sure about anywhere else .


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

peat does pretty much the same thing as almond leaves but peat is meant to go in your filter


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## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

I've always used peat, but I have heard that almond leaves are alot better. I have no idea.


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## weerhom (Jan 12, 2007)

I use oak leaves straight off a tree. They work well. I have many if anyone wants to pay shipping, i will send them.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

weerhom said:


> I use oak leaves straight off a tree. They work well. I have many if anyone wants to pay shipping, i will send them.


oak leaves work great and hold up really well in the water.... if you collect a bunch outside and lay them out so they can dry out, you can store them for use all winter.


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

almond leaves also stimulate breeding but that may have something to do with it dropping the ph

Oak leaves foreal?


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

oak leaves for real... they work great and you can find em just about anywhere.


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

Does it tint the water? I would definetely do it if there were any leaves left on the trees around here, I'm going to Sri lanka next year anyway so I guess I'll just get some almond leaves direct


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

yeah, the oak leaves actually do a decent job of tinting the water, maybe not quite as much as the almond leaves, but compared to other trees that could be found locally, the oak leaves release a bunch of tannins and they hold up really well

just go around and pick up some oak leaves that are on the ground right now, they should already be pretty dry, so just make sure they are dried up pretty good and then store em in a bag or box. you can just pull out what you need and give em a quick boil to kill any little bugs or whatever and toss em in your tank.


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## leviathon13 (Sep 11, 2006)

the indian almond leaves do work like peat and oak leaves. they use them in thailand to breed bettas. i've been using them off and on for a year. i do believe it contributed to my reds breeding. a week or two after adding them to the tank they spawned.leaving them to rot in your tank won't spike your ammonia as far as i can tell. i just add more once they completely break down.your bio filter would take care of the ammonia anyway, unless your tank was REALLY overstocked in the first place.I've been adding them with my rhoms and it seems to be helping the dreaded gill curl.and currently using them on my Caribe to induce spawning, well, along with the dry season conditioning. it would take alot of them to lower pH though especially in hard water.they release tannins and humic acid just like peat and driftwood, and the antibacterial properties are there with the peat and oak as well, Jack Wattley says that Discus kept at a pH of 5.5 keeps the bacterial infections at bay.so basically i recommend them.you can also get an extract like black water extract or blackwater expert, just do a search for Ketapang or Indian almond leaf extract. good luck to all those who try them.


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