Indian Almond Leaves??

[cichlidsooner]

Can anyone tell what the heck almond leaves are for? I see them being sold on ebay and aquabid and it has me wondering, what in the world? I guess if I wanted the all natural look, leaves would be okay,I guess, but I got a front yard full of leaves, so what makes these so special. Inquiring mind wants to know. :think:

[HoustonFishFanatic]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

Indian almond leaves are considered to be the natural way to condition you aquarium water. It helps to soften water naturally. These are used a lot by betta breeders in india and South east asia.
These are also considered to increase fertility or enhance spawning. Almond leaves have been used for ages in India as anti fungal medications.
I have used almond leaves in my tank and i consider it a good way to replicate or to get as close as possible to Blackwater conditions. I generally do not like introducing any chemicals in my tanks.
Check this out:

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Nagendra_Almond_Leaf.html

http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Betta,%20Indian%20Almond%20Leaves.htm

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

Shrimp feed off of it too, I think it has something to do with it hosting micro-organisms or something......along with what HFF said.

[jklntx]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

Hey HFF,

I just bought a box off ebay for the same reasons you mentioned. I like apistos too and I have read they are an excellent conditioner for them as well.

I bought the large..8-10". My tanks range from 10G to 55G. Is there a rule on how many leaves per gal?

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

Check out http://forum.apistogramma.com/index.php

[PhishPhreek]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

here is where I buy mine ( 1# will last a long time)

http://www.tropilab.com/terminalia-cat.html

I like to put a few leaves in boiling water and make a strong tea.
Then I let it cool, strain the leaves out and bottle the tea.  I store my jar of tea in the refrigerator and when I set up a new tank or isolate a sick fish I can add the tea without having a lot of tea leaf debree in the tank.

I have also  purchased the seeds but do not have a green thumb.

[cichlidsooner]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

So would you use this with African cichlids? If it makes the water softer, wouldn't that kinda deafeat the idea of cichlids need hard or higher ph'ed water?

But heck, I try anything once. I am not sure I need anything else to help spawning, I am out of tanks as it is. Just what I don't need is more fry.

Thanks for the responses and the extra info.

[Obed]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

If you are using it for meds then stick with the almond, if you are using it to lower the ph (wy bother with this) you can just as easily use oak leaves and the boiling method so you get the benefit with out the mess. Maple leaves work very well if you have access to them as well.

[HoustonFishFanatic]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

hey jklntx,
I won't say there is a fixed rule as such for the no of leaves used/ gallon its more of a judgemental thing and what clicks for ur fish.
I would not use the leaves with african cichlids as they are used more often to simulate the acidic water conditions in SE Asia or South America.

[Grace]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

learn somethin new every day :bsoha:

[HoustonFishFanatic]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

Hey jklntx, Check out this web site  it gives you some idea how you can use them.

http://www.majesticbettas.com/supplyshop/almondleaf.htm

[jklntx]

Re: Indian Almond Leaves??

HFF,

Thanks for the link...info is great..cost is yuck..On ebay with shipping I paid .17 each for same size.