Almond Leaf's???

What is the best way to put these in the tank???
If i just leave them to float then iam worried my smaller top dwellers will think its food and peck it up......

Could it not sit in the filter on the top section(not the media)..as surely its only a case of soaking to dis-colour the water....

Anywayz let me no what you think and how succesfull you was with it.......

here is a write up from someone who has used them mate,

Scientific Name: Terminalia Catappa Leaves
Common Name: Indian Almond Leaves, Tropical Almond Leaves, Sweet Almond Leaves, Wild Almond Leaves, Sea Almond Leaves, Catappa Leaves, Java Almond Leaves, Ketapang Leaves.

Description:
Terminalia catappa is a large tropical tree in the Family Combretaceae. The tree's origin is controversial, and could have been India, Malay peninsula, or New Guinea. Common names include Indian almond, Bengal almond, Singapore almond , Malabar almond, Tropical almond, Sea almond, and Umbrella tree.

It grows to 35 m tall, with an upright, symmetrical crown and horizontal branches. As the tree gets older, its crown becomes more flattened to form a spreading, vase shape. The leaves are large, 15-25 cm long and 10-14 cm broad, ovoid, glossy dark green and leathery. They are dry-season deciduous; before falling, they turn pinkish-reddish or yellow-brown, due to pigments such as violaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin.

The flowers are monoecious, with distinct male and female flowers on the same tree. Both are 1 cm diameter, white to greenish, inconspicuous with no petals; they are produced on axillary or terminal spikes. The fruit is a drupe 5-7 cm long and 3-5.5 cm broad, green at first, then yellow and finally red when ripe, containing a single seed. (Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org)

Aquarium Use:
Now this is where we shall start. You will discover that a lot of betta enthusiasts often use Indian almond leaves and actually rave for its benefits. The main reason is that their antibacterial properties minimize the chances of bacterial infections, improve health, stimulate the natural environment of fish who hail from soft, acidic waters, stimulate breeding conditions and harden scales in which case as mentioned before does minimize skin diseases and pathogens resulting in bacterial infections that dwell on the epidermis of the fish.

The leaves are often harvested in many Asian countries hence the controversial name originating from various countries. These are considered organic and for aquarium use, they should be free from pollutants and chemicals that could kill the fish.

Like driftwoods and peat, they release heavy amounts of tannic acids. You may not like the looks of yellow water but your fish will naturally benefit from its use. The tannic acids will considerably lower the pH level depending on the hardness levels. Allow one large leaf of 8-10 inches per 10 gallons although I admittedly do not follow what is often recommended as I really like the idea of having a leaf litter in my aquaria no matter the size. Removal of tannic acids is done by either use of activated carbon or doing plenty of water changes.

and there is another option if you dont fancy having the leaves in your tank you can purchase a product called tetra aqua black water extract, it contains tanic acids extracted from almond leaves

perfect

Hiya

Instead of putting the leaf in the tank, we put it in a large jug with water, and when the water has coloured, we pour that into the tank and refill the jug. I prefer this way as I hate hunting down the rotting leaf LOL

Angi

Angi-N-Wayne wrote:

Hiya

Instead of putting the leaf in the tank, we put it in a large jug with water, and when the water has coloured, we pour that into the tank and refill the jug. I prefer this way as I hate hunting down the rotting leaf LOL

Angi

well thats worth ago i suppose...the thing is though is that i take 3 buckets of water out when i do my water changes which is about 30%..so i would need to put that amount back in...
so i would need 3 buckets of blackwater...and i guess it wouldnt be wise to 1 leaf per bucket...

Curby wrote:

Angi-N-Wayne wrote:

Hiya

Instead of putting the leaf in the tank, we put it in a large jug with water, and when the water has coloured, we pour that into the tank and refill the jug. I prefer this way as I hate hunting down the rotting leaf LOL

Angi

well thats worth ago i suppose...the thing is though is that i take 3 buckets of water out when i do my water changes which is about 30%..so i would need to put that amount back in...
so i would need 3 buckets of blackwater...and i guess it wouldnt be wise to 1 leaf per bucket...

Not really, as the water from the jug would just be concentrated It doesn't matter if the leaf is in the tank or in a bucket, it still releases the same amount

well i will be doing it today so i will let you no how i get on..

Curby wrote:

well i will be doing it today so i will let you no how i get on..

It'll be about 24 hours before there is enough to use from the jug, but it won't hurt to use it. We did a big tidy in the fish room yesterday (well half a big tidy LOL) and out came the almond leaves again as they needed replenishing.

If you buy in bulk from fleabay you can often get good deals

Angi-N-Wayne wrote:

Curby wrote:

well i will be doing it today so i will let you no how i get on..

It'll be about 24 hours before there is enough to use from the jug, but it won't hurt to use it. We did a big tidy in the fish room yesterday (well half a big tidy LOL) and out came the almond leaves again as they needed replenishing.

If you buy in bulk from fleabay you can often get good deals

yeh thats were i got mine from ebay...only got 5 but it willdo for the first test i think..

i put them in my tank with a lettuce clip and stick them to the side of the tank

i used to float them in the tank but after so long they sink

you will find that your fish will nibble at them but this is fine

816johnv wrote:

i put them in my tank with a lettuce clip and stick them to the side of the tank

i used to float them in the tank but after so long they sink

you will find that your fish will nibble at them but this is fine

cheers john i will give it a go mate..

816johnv wrote:

i put them in my tank with a lettuce clip and stick them to the side of the tank

Now that's a cracking idea

Almond leaves are great stuff I use them in all my tanks lettuce clips in the zebs the rest I just throw them in the plecos love to nibble on them the shrimps shread they are a great food source for shrimps helps with there sheading as well which is a bonus.

Interesting , I have heard of this almond leaf caper but I'm guessing these are not your of the mill munching (pub food )almonds, and also reading the breeding advice for the L182 I think I should take my carbon filter out of the pepp tank. Is regular tannic water the same deal as adding almond leaf or do the leaf have a secret ingredient?
Cheers J

yes I was curious if almond leaf tannis was in some way better than tannis from d/w. Or if it's just used to replenish the tannis in the tank after the tannis from any d/w is used up.

JacobkGreen wrote:

yes I was curious if almond leaf tannis was in some way better than tannis from d/w. Or if it's just used to replenish the tannis in the tank after the tannis from any d/w is used up.

well ive had my almond leaf in the tank for 4 days now, it hasnt changed the colour of the water i aint seen no extra action between my L182's
iam sure iam only supposed to leave the leaf in the tank for 5 days, but nothing has changed???

Curby wrote:

JacobkGreen wrote:

yes I was curious if almond leaf tannis was in some way better than tannis from d/w. Or if it's just used to replenish the tannis in the tank after the tannis from any d/w is used up.

well ive had my almond leaf in the tank for 4 days now, it hasnt changed the colour of the water i aint seen no extra action between my L182's
iam sure iam only supposed to leave the leaf in the tank for 5 days, but nothing has changed???

some leaves seem to tan the water more then others

check your PH mate and see if they have brought it down or changed it in anyway

816johnv wrote:

Curby wrote:

JacobkGreen wrote:

yes I was curious if almond leaf tannis was in some way better than tannis from d/w. Or if it's just used to replenish the tannis in the tank after the tannis from any d/w is used up.

well ive had my almond leaf in the tank for 4 days now, it hasnt changed the colour of the water i aint seen no extra action between my L182's
iam sure iam only supposed to leave the leaf in the tank for 5 days, but nothing has changed???

some leaves seem to tan the water more then others

check your PH mate and see if they have brought it down or changed it in anyway

will do john i will let you no what the diff is, iam doing a W/C 2moz so i will test before i do the W/C...