# Herbal Teas for Aquarium?



## psalm18.2 (Oct 16, 2010)

I wondered about this myself. People used to use tea for blackwater aquariums. If it's safe, it would be cheap.


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## mjbn (Dec 14, 2011)

I too was wondering this.. I was gonna use "Great Value Naturally Decaffeinated Tea" for my shrimp tank, but I didn't wanna risk me making a bigger mess of what I already had. Haha


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## Geniusdudekiran (Dec 6, 2010)

I don't get why you would put tea in your tank... ?


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Geniusdudekiran said:


> I don't get why you would put tea in your tank... ?


Chamomile makes your fish _mellow_, man. :hihi:

Really though, tannins (which some teas are abundant in) are traditional in some biotopes. And the rest of the components act as a weak organic fertilizer.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

DarkCobra said:


> Chamomile makes your fish _mellow_, man. :hihi:


does it really?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Green Tea puts you at the top of the cultural scene, so it must be good for aquariums too? I suspect fish in such an aquarium would be culturally superior to those in chamomile tea.

Seriously, why would anyone want to use tea in their aquarium? You can use peat extract, or just use ground peat if you want a brown water effect. At least that is somewhat natural for bodies of water.


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

A lipton tea bag was the old school way to kick angel fish into breeding. 

Why use a tea bag vs. peat? A tea bag is easy & cheap. Toss it in until you get the color you want, remove & toss.


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

Cambrian Creature said:


> But, herbal tea contains zero caffeine (caffeine free) so they should be safe for aquarium use.


I agree with the first part, assuming it's not an herbal tea that contains tea, of course. The second part is problematic. If the tea is intended to do anything useful (as opposed to cosmetic changes, blackwater and the like,) it has to have some biological activity. That almost universally implies side effects to one degree or another. 

I'm not trying to say that herbal teas are bad for a shrimp tank, but what I am saying is that there is no reason to assume that they are innocuous simply because they don't contain caffeine. I'd be surprised if any of them did anything at all to either shrimp or people, but the whole "It's natural so it's safe!" meme is one of my major pet peeves.


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## Cambrian Creature (Oct 28, 2011)

Some herbal teas are used for treating diseases in humans because of certain chemicals they contain. 

Pomegranate bark tea contains a shrimp - safe antibacterial that prevents and treats bacterial infections in ornamental shrimp. 

As for caffeine, NASA did an experiment on garden spiders to see what certain drugs would do to them: http://www.trinity.edu/jdunn/spiderdrugs.htm


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Cambrian Creature said:


> As for caffeine, NASA did an experiment on garden spiders to see what certain drugs would do to them: http://www.trinity.edu/jdunn/spiderdrugs.htm


LOL, I thought for sure you were referring to the parody video (salty language warning).


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

those webs were hilarious


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## KaylNeko (Dec 20, 2011)

I was actually just thinking about using natural remedies (been reading about ich--it is prominent on fish sites *lol*) and wondering if there was an herbal remedy to it that wouldn't mess with any inverts in the tank, and then I come across this thread. I find it amusing *lol* 

^_^


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## Cambrian Creature (Oct 28, 2011)

Feeding your fish and invertebrates garlic *might* help them fight off ich. My red cherries love to eat garlic powder as a treat and many of us use garlic as an ingredient in fish food. 

If you want a ready-made organic treatment for ich then use this: http://www.novalek.com/kordon/ich_attack/index.htm


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

melafix for ich is quite great as well
made from tea tree


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## Steve001 (Feb 26, 2011)

psalm18.2 said:


> I wondered about this myself. People used to use tea for blackwater aquariums. If it's safe, it would be cheap.


Oak leaves contain tannic acid. Oak leaves are free.


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## Steve001 (Feb 26, 2011)

Cambrian Creature said:


> I did some searching when I saw pomegranate bark tea for aquarium shrimp on Ebay and found this website: http://www.thaicatappa.com/
> 
> If I remember correctly, caffeine is a pesticide, so normal tea or decaffeinated tea (which still contains traces of caffeine) is not good for invertebrates and possibly fish. But, herbal tea contains zero caffeine (caffeine free) so they should be safe for aquarium use.
> 
> Has anyone tried herbal teas in their aquariums?


Where's the science behind these claims ?


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## Black Gryph0nz (Dec 15, 2021)

How much Chamomile tea would be good in a 6 gallon?


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