# Leaf litter, is it in your tank? (All done!)



## Cattius (Nov 5, 2007)

Do leaves break down into nitrates if left in your tank? If so wouldn't this hurt the shrimp?


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

I recently discussed this on APC.

leaves found in urban/suburban areas are
rarely subject to fertilizers and pesticides,
so if you rinse the leaves a while before
putting them in you tank, they'll be fine.

Beech and Oak leaves are best.
they leech the least tanins and
break down the slowest without
altering your water chemistry. 

Catt, in general, plants release phosphates
and fish release nitrates, as they degrade.

you can use almond leaves,
but they tanin, are expensive,
and are generally reserved for
fish health applications, not for
tank decor.


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## Cattius (Nov 5, 2007)

Thanks for the info about the phosphates.


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## ovenmit331 (Mar 27, 2007)

interesting idea... got any pictures of this method in use?


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## oblongshrimp (Jul 26, 2006)

I have used leaf litter before but the problem is it creates a lot of mess in the tanks (most of it eventually decays). The problem is you are then left with the stems and other woody pieces of leaves in the tank. If your shrimp are breeding well you will have babies running around everywhere making it really hard to actually clean the mess out....not to mention catching the babies when you want to sell them .


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## southerndesert (Sep 9, 2007)

I use Mulberry Leaves in all of my shrimp tanks and the shrimp love them. 

Bill


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

Bill; how well do Mulberry leaves maintain their form when long submerged?
how did you know about using them? read elsewhere, or trial and error?
which of these three variation of Mulberry leaf are you working with?










oblong, I agree with your practical concerns. That's why I like to use Lava Rocks in my shrimp breeding tank. they provide lot's of nooks and crannies for shrimp to eat off and hide, and are easy to remove with a quick shake to keep the fry in the tank while cleaning my bare slate bottom tank.


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## southerndesert (Sep 9, 2007)

Yes that is the same, Trial and error and seeing how it is a fruit tree I felt safe using it. Not much Oak in the central deserts of AZ. They last about a week or a little more in the RCS tank that is highly populated and a bit longer in the others. The snails hit them hard as well.

No issues with water quality either.

Bill


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

Bill, sounds like you are basically clipping green mulberry leaves and feeding them to your snails. I think most here are looking for dried brown and red leaves to put in our tanks as natural fall decor, that last longer than a week, and won't get eaten up by most tank inhabitants.


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## southerndesert (Sep 9, 2007)

Hi Spypet,

I use only dried brown leaves after soaking to remove tannins. Green leaves are a no-no in a shrimp tank. I prefer not to feed the snails, but they are in most of my tanks LOL The variety I am using is the one on the right in the photo you posted with your question...

I use the leaves as a food source for my shrimp only although I do like the look of them in the tank, sort of gives the natural look...

Here is one of my tanks (RCS)

Bill


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

spypet said:


> I recently discussed this on APC.
> 
> leaves found in urban/suburban areas are
> rarely subject to fertilizers and pesticides,
> ...


Maybe not in NY, but here they are. We have our yard perimeter sprayed once a month, at least once per season we spray for fleas, the county comes in several times per year and sprays for mosquitoes...
Makes me nervous using leaves from my backyard, though I do have two huge live oaks.


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## jrh (Sep 9, 2007)

I've always dried and boiled leaves before putting them in a tank. I've only used oak, but I think the leaves from my cherry tree would be safe. They'd just break down more quickly.


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## puchisapo (Sep 10, 2007)

earlier this fall i we down to the lake for an hour of snorkeling in ashallow, quiet bay. a really cool spot that i saw was very still, shallow water up underneath some big silver maples. the trees had already started to lose some leaves, which covered the silty bottom. i thought that that would be such a cool theme for a tank--a leaf-covered bottom with maybe just a single water lily reaching up to the top and throwing shade on the bottom, just like i saw there. 

with monitoring of the effects of the leaf matter it could be interesting from an ecological standpoint too.


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## oblongshrimp (Jul 26, 2006)

I was thinking of using leaves from my parents fig tree as thats about the only tree they have in there yard...and I have none in my yard. Anyone have experience with fig leaves?


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## eon17 (Aug 30, 2007)

what about leaves from those threes with paper bark?


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Hey guys all good information and things covered thanks.

Spypet, I personally would say generally that information about pesticides is false. They are very commonly used sadly. And especially with delicate shrimp like CRS and BD it makes me nervous thinking about putting them in. Then again I put a LOT more in my tanks than most people do some things straight out of local streems.:icon_cool :icon_roll 

Sorry I haven't updated the original post yet, been too tired to really do the other research and write more. I want it to be presentable etc so I'm going to take my time on this. I'm also going to try and cover benefits of using a good sized leaf litter base in community tanks and fish only tanks. Many good things can be seen from leaf litter. In my opinion in most tanks, we are adding too many big things before the small stuff like all the good bugs:thumbsup: more on that later, just some food for thought. 

Spy I'm pretty sure all of NE is sprayed from the air for mosquitoes. Personally I'm quiet opposed to that because of the other things it kills, but humans value themselves much higher than the small stuff it seems. I'm pretty posative they use pesticides and the likes in central park as well:thumbsup: 

So more coming soon.

-Andrew


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

eon17 said:


> what about leaves from those threes with paper bark?


I believe you're talking of white birch or paper birch, don't know Latin names off hand... :help: 

Their leaves are very thin and with that being said I would assume they would not last too long in a shrimp tank, but may look very nice. I'll collect some sometime and see how they do.

Sorry about dp, was ninja'd

-Andrew


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## southerndesert (Sep 9, 2007)

Hello Oblongshrinp,

I have not tried fig leaves, but I would think they would be fine. You are not far from me and many yards in your area have male mulberry trees for shade. Nice shade trees and used all over the valley. Come up to Morristown and you can get a sack full, no ferts or sprays. MM 124 on Grand Ave. West to Wickenburg, I manage Desert Oasis Mobile Home Park and we have a bunch of them.

Bill


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Just want to say, 

Most tree's leaves will be fine some may be toxic and plan on having a part of the "guide" so to speak about that.

Let me say, no poison oak or ivy should be added to your tank. Just a community message lol...

But usually people want leaves to last a long time so the thicker leaves like oak and magnolia are chosen.

-Andrew


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## eon17 (Aug 30, 2007)

awsome we have a magnolia tree yay!


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

I learned from my friend in the Parks department here in NYC;

there are 6 different kinds of Oak tree found around NYC
and they are easy to spot in the fall, since they are one
of the only trees not to lose their leaves going into winter.
so now is prime time to go fresh leaf hunting for your tank.


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

Here is that same oak leaf 5 weeks later,
as you can see despite shrimp and snails,
it lost some color but still perfectly intact.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Fish Newb said:


> Let me say, no poison oak or ivy should be added to your tank. Just a community message lol...


I could see it now..."Why are your eyes swollen shut dear?" "Well..I was hunting leaves for my shrimp and...":hihi: 

Great pic spypet.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

waterfaller1 said:


> I could see it now..."Why are your eyes swollen shut dear?" "Well..I was hunting leaves for my shrimp and...":hihi:
> 
> Great pic spypet.


Yeah it would be great untill someone gets sued:icon_roll 

As for the article I'm finishing it up today/tomorrow and submitting it to Ryan for the contest, after the contest I'll be posting the finished article on here as well.

Nice pictures spypet. For me I'm more talking about not one leaf, but actual leaf litter like you would see on a rain forest floor or a stream with trees growing over it.

Now to finish it:icon_roll 

-Andrew


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

Fish Newb said:


> I'm more talking about not one leaf, but actual leaf litter like you would see on a rain forest floor or a stream with trees growing over it.


obviously... as much as I respect people's advice on these forums, I was just demonstrating for myself how well oak leaves held up while submerged. I suspect if they are on the bottom exposed to the same microorganisms and bacteria in your substrate's mulm, they will remain intact far shorter than my demonstration bares out. I'm may change a portion of my shrimp tank to have a pile of these leaves - I'm sure the shrimp and dwarf crayfish will love it. 
I just hope my neighbors don't think I'm crazy when they see me pulling dead leaves off of tree branches









Top 10 excuses for a Park Ranger - catching you pulling leaves off an Oak Tree;

10. maybe a bed of them will encourage my kid to hibernate for the winter
9. need them to help jump start my compost heap
8. now that I'm a vegan, I need to replace the down filling in my parka
7. if rose petals help get her in the mood, what will dead oak leaves do
6. these leaves were blocking my view of that hot girl next door
5. if I pick them off the tree now, it's less yard work in the Spring
4. oak leaves could make for a great new source of fiber in my diet
3. need an original item to throw at the bride & groom instead of rice
2. makes great kindling for the fireplace, since nobody buys newspapers anymore
1. I want to line the bottom of my fish tank with leaves to make my shrimp happy


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Well I know I originally was going to keep the finished article untill after Ryan had finished his contest, but I really want to get this out there for people so I'm updating the top of the thread:thumbsup: 

-Andrew


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Bump

-Andrew


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## Madfish (Sep 9, 2007)

Well after reading that I have to put some leafs in my tank. Im looking forward to seeing the out come of this. Thanks for putting out this great info.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

I use leaves in my composter.
They rot.
Just like they do in aquariums........
We rotate the composter and it has plenty of air holes to let O2 in.
Your tank has plenty of O2 as well, this speeds up the composting(which is the goal in composters).

Adding compost might be a better idea, at least nutrient/chemical wise.
You can select the type of rotten leaves.
Worm castings to the bottom sediment was all the rage about 8 years ago, seem to die a quick death in popularity however.

If, like with wood, they are for aesthetics, there's no issue.
Just do water changes, or use activated carbon which will remove any organic compounds, mostly tannins.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

plantbrain said:


> I use leaves in my composter.
> They rot.
> Just like they do in aquariums........
> We rotate the composter and it has plenty of air holes to let O2 in.
> ...


Adding compost is another interesting idea, its probably a bit messier though. I don't have any at the moment (spead all our compost this past year) but May try this in the spring. Essentially this is what we are doing, the shrimp and other things in the tank are eating with the compost rate it seems so you don't get as much noticable rotting.

Leaves for aesthetics vs. function is interesting. I'm looking at more function wise. It provides a safe haven for shrimp, fry, etc and can also generate a good deal of food as well especially for fish with worms and stuff if you seed it with this. 

I've been reading Dianna's book Ecology for the planted aquarium. It is a bit out of the trends but the second chapter I believe is about how tannins are actually good for the tank, the humic substances will bind with things like copper, aluminum, mercury (lets hope you have none of this) and stuff to actually make the water safer. Being shrimp are very sensitive to these things I think this would be another added bonus! Very interested what your take is on this. 

Thanks to all the replies. A few leaves isn't much of what I'm trying to talk about with this, there needs to be a good amount I haven't determined what the say minimum for maximum results is yet, but will be experimenting soon.

-Andrew


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## aquaticmaniac (Nov 10, 2007)

I use leaf litter in my yellow neocaridina tank. Initially, I got the idea off of planetcatfish, from an article on SA biotopes.

I'm using oak leaves in my tank; not bothered enough to find out which type exactly. But a month into it, I haven't noticed much decay, only a loss of color in the leaves. I rinsed and soaked the leaves just to remove any debris, as I don't have to worry about chemicals/fertilizers. The water is slightly surprisingy clear. Someone mentioned earlier that oak leaves are one of the types that release less tannins than most, which has rung true in my situation.

As far as how the shrimp act, they love it. It does provide a wonderful, natural place for them to hide and a great deal of surface area for food. My tank is mostly for breeding purposes, so it's not the best looking (with just rocks, java moss, and the leaf litter), but I'd be happy to take a pic or two if anyone is interested. 

Great article, btw!


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

FYI, 
Most detrivores and fungi tend to be generalist, they are not specific or picky, they will use and go after anything that's easy to decompose.
So leaf species is not really that critical near as I can tell for all the aquatic fungi and detritivor research that's been looked at.

Shrimp tend to eat these critters that are at this level or another level above the decomposers. 

As far as tannins, the trace metal binding etc may be relevant in some large scale systems in nature, wetlands, river systems, but they are not in Diana's tanks, nor ours.

Why?
She and many of use add traces, whether it's in the sediment(In her case, she used extremely rich relative to plant demand Fe source sediment) while many use Flourite, or add water column ferts, which are already binding Fe using ETDA etc.

Plants are opportunistic, they will use nutrients where ever they are, sediment and/or the water column, they also leach some nutrients into the water column via the roots, and simple diffusion out of the sediment also applies greatly.

So the traces are not really influenced via tannins in our tanks in most every case.

It's nice to speculate, but that is all it is.
Folks read stuff and assume it's fact or true.
She was fairly clear about speculation in the book vs fact and she did speculate a lot.

I do also, but like her, I think what is being applied and does it support my claim. She suggested Allelopathy, but there is no evidence it exists in our tanks nor in natural systems, none. 
Then I go about developing a test to see if my hypothesis might be right.
So adding activated carbon, which is the control here for leaves' impact of the tannins and water column organics can work and also works for allelopathic chemicals can be used to test this hypothesis.

If allelopathy is controlling algae growth as she speculates, adding AC to an otherwise healthy relatively aklgae free tank should induce an algae bloom after a few week's time.

However, we do not see this in non CO2 tanks nor in CO2 enriched tanks.
The test does not say what is causing algae, nor claims to do so, merely that allelopathy cannot be the cause.

Simple test to answer complex question.

The same can be applied here.

As far as shrimp and feeding: heck, add some leaves to a small bucket to the side of the tank, raise your own critters on the leaf litter.
Then add the leaves little by little.

I think the feeding on the critters on the leaves is much more what is going on, the leaves have little nutrient value for the shrimp, but the microflora/fauna is loaded.

That is really what you want there.
This way no ugly rotting leaves in your tank and you get the function.
Also, you can do all sorts of amplification to the leaves in a small bucket such as add Vitamins, proteins etc. Just add an airstone and change the water after a few weeks etc, toss a leaf in there every now and then and remove one and add to the tank.

You are basically raising live food.
I'd say that, rather than any chemicals that the shrimp like is what's going on.


Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

plantbrain said:


> You are basically raising live food.
> I'd say that, rather than any chemicals that the shrimp like is what's going on.


Thats the whole idea behind it for me. All the other things where things I read or found out about since then. Allelopathy is interesting either way, if it hasn't or has been proven either way.

I didn't know ETDA was in most commercial substrates but that makes sense to me, so the humic substances don't really matter.

The purpose for me in introducing leaf litter is to not feed as much from outside the tank, so when I travel and other things the tank keeps a stable supply of food for the shrimp and other stuff in there. So for me just adding a few leaves here and there loaded with stuff is pointless. 

Thanks for the comments!
-Andrew


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

at 3 Months the oak leaf no longer feels like 24lb paper,
but more like plastic _saran_ wrap. this means, had I then
used it as a tank bottom medium, it would have noticeably
flattened by three Months, thus you might lose the pockets
favored by small invertebrates for hiding and molting.

*week 12 submerged:*


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## Chikorita (Dec 16, 2007)

I have almond leaves on ALL of my shrimp tanks and the shrimps love it


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Chikorita said:


> I have almond leaves on ALL of my shrimp tanks and the shrimps love it


I got some of the almond leaves from Chikorita. How would you suggest I utilize them? I do not want a whole layer of leaves, just a leaf at a time.{I only have 7 shrimp right now}
I also have a question about the original post. How can there be organisms left on the leaves you collect, if you boil, bake, or otherwise heat them?


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## kasslloyd (May 28, 2007)

I could get a bazillion tons of oak and beach leaves, living here in West Virginia. ;-) Just it being winter now, they've been laying on the ground for several months. Next fall though I'll collect a ton of fall colored oak and beach leaves and dry them and freeze. And a bunch of brown dried too. I plan to have serval shrimp tanks by then. ;-)


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## Chikorita (Dec 16, 2007)

waterfaller1 said:


> I got some of the almond leaves from Chikorita. How would you suggest I utilize them? I do not want a whole layer of leaves, just a leaf at a time.{I only have 7 shrimp right now}
> I also have a question about the original post. How can there be organisms left on the leaves you collect, if you boil, bake, or otherwise heat them?


 
You only soak them in a little bucket of water for like 2 days for it to release all the brown color .. then you put the leave into the tank .. and once the leave decay .. there would be more little microthingie for the shrimps .. If only 7 shrimps then soak 1 leave  and that 1 leave should last you a few weeks.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Chikorita said:


> You only soak them in a little bucket of water for like 2 days for it to release all the brown color .. then you put the leave into the tank .. and once the leave decay .. there would be more little microthingie for the shrimps .. If only 7 shrimps then soak 1 leave  and that 1 leave should last you a few weeks.


Thank you Chikorita.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Someone was asking about leaf litter. So I figured I'll bump this up.

-Andrew


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Good post!


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Craigthor said:


> Good post!


Tom's are probably some of the best! 

Makes my measly little guide thing look like a grain of salt in the ocean.

-Andrew


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## bulrush (May 7, 2007)

I have used maple leaves in my tanks before with no problems. I just add 1-2 leaves to a 10g tank and the shrimp graze on it for 1-2 months. When the leaf looks skeletonized I replace it.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Its that time again to go collect leaves:thumbsup:

I'll be stocking up and hoping that the stock won't be thrown out:icon_roll

-Andrew


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## zoologist101 (Oct 4, 2008)

If you are at all house-proud, have a heavily planted tank, or do not want leaves covering up your precious moss on the tank floor – try a club sandwich.
This is what I do... Stack together 20 or 30 leaves (I use oak) and push a plastic knitting needle through the middle. This can be fitted into a hole in tufa rock on the floor (vertical) or cork bark glued to the side of the tank (horizontal).
There will still be some cleaning up to do when the leaves start to fall apart, but it is far less messy than just dumping a handful of leaves in.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Now that is an interesting idea:thumbsup:

I'll add that in later.

Thanks,
-Andrew


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

BTW, th ekleaves themselves do not have much, if any nutrition to shrimps, the fungi/yeast/the other bacteria, then the critters that feed on this community are what the shrimps are really after here.

Tell you what, take a microscope. 
Allow a leaf to get well colonized. (1-2 weeks)
Then scrape off some sections and see how much is there.
Then add to shrimp tank and check in 2 days. The area scraped will not have much(control), and the area not scaped will also be relatively bare. The leaf itself is not eaten.........
but will break down and rot, be shredded up but shrimp going after the smaller critters on the leaves. Sort of like a Woodpecker digging worms and tasty treats from the tree trunks, vs getting the bugs that crawl outside. Woodpeckers are not "eating the trees". They do shed them up good however. Any semi resistant organic material that can be colonized and breaks down in the tank without going too fast is fair game it seems to me.

This general idea is not focused on a single plant leaf species, such as indian almond. But whatever is locally available and colonizes well, does not have any side effects or is too messy.

Pine needles might not be that good obviously, but most hardwood leaves ought to work and folks in the tropics can use the almond leaves etc.

Your sponge filters also work for this same reason as organic matter attaches, and forms large bacterial communities which also supports large critters up the food chain.

Now how many of you have noticed how shrimp will pick and hang out of the sponge filters and things that are furry like moss?

They show definite preference.
Using this and shrimp counts per leaf cutting(cut leaf all the same sizes), you can test which leaves are best for your shrimp even if you wanted to based on shrimp selection of feeding substrates.

*Now you are testing and getting somewhere.*
Look, this is not hard stuff that researchers are only capable of here.
Then you can do other things like pre soak the leaves for 1-2-5-7-14 days time frames and look at how the time of presoak influences the shrimp.
This way you can feed live foods and raise the food simply by placing some leaves every few days in water in a small tray.

You folks can learn a lot more than arguing about Phenolic contents and chemicals that may or may not be in the leaves and which are better.

Stop that and test the leaves to see.
Then you will have a more knowledge, understanding ability to answer your own questions much better.

You really ,do not care about the chemicals, you care about the shrimp.
So focus on them:thumbsup: 
Let them chose.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## oblongshrimp (Jul 26, 2006)

The leaves not only provide a surface for the biofilm but also provide nutrients for it. I have noticed that when I have added some unhealthy plants to a shrimp tank and they slowly die that I get a bunch of nice brown algae and other biofilm all over the tank which the shrimp just love. 

I think the reason people like certain leaves is because they hold together better and don't break down so quickly. If the leaf breaks down to quickly it makes a mess of the tank and is probably releasing its nutrients into the water column to quickly.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

This is why a pre soak is a good idea, this way you get all the critters and by the time the film has grown well on the left, you have leached anything left out of them, so just the critters, which are then fed to shrimp.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## JDowns (Mar 6, 2008)

plantbrain said:


> Your sponge filters also work for this same reason as organic matter attaches, and forms large bacterial communities which also supports large critters up the food chain.
> 
> Now how many of you have noticed how shrimp will pick and hang out of the sponge filters and things that are furry like moss?


Now this is the only reason I keep a bag of barley still in my overlow. The shrimp love picking at.

Now is it the bag or the barley?

Great. Time to try a bag of marbles. :icon_idea


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Tom wants me to test something else too... Maybe I'll hold this one off for a little, I haven't posted any progress on the dye project yet:icon_lol:



JDowns said:


> Now this is the only reason I keep a bag of barley still in my overlow. The shrimp love picking at.
> 
> Now is it the bag or the barley?
> 
> Great. Time to try a bag of marbles. :icon_idea


LOL. have fun with that one:hihi:

Another question I have is how important is the light:icon_idea with leaf litter...

Too many questions too little time.

-Andrew


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## fishsandwitch (Apr 20, 2008)

I dont think a leaf offers any real benefit to photosynthetic organisms, so I am going to have to guess not very much


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Lets not guess, lets research it then post. Guessing doesn't add anything valuable to the discussion. 

Google it if nothing else

-Andrew


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Bump for those looking for information.


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## Snuffelupagus (Sep 15, 2005)

Top 10 excuses for a Park Ranger - catching you pulling leaves off an Oak Tree;

10. maybe a bed of them will encourage my kid to hibernate for the winter
9. need them to help jump start my compost heap
8. now that I'm a vegan, I need to replace the down filling in my parka
7. if rose petals help get her in the mood, what will dead oak leaves do
6. these leaves were blocking my view of that hot girl next door
5. if I pick them off the tree now, it's less yard work in the Spring
4. oak leaves could make for a great new source of fiber in my diet
3. need an original item to throw at the bride & groom instead of rice
2. makes great kindling for the fireplace, since nobody buys newspapers anymore
1. I want to line the bottom of my fish tank with leaves to make my shrimp happy[/QUOTE]

#8 and #6 LOL


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## yikesjason (Jul 2, 2008)

This discussion has focused mostly on using leaves for live food cultures. What about the use of leaves for lowering ph and water softening? Many discus and angelfish people swear by it. 

Great thread by the way.


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## alohamonte (Jul 25, 2006)

I used palm tree leaves and coconut husks and shells in 55 gal planted community tank for over a year. 

My swordtails in particular loved to eat the remaining bits of white coconut meat off the shell.


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## "Got light?" (Dec 16, 2012)

*Peach tree leaves are the "best"*

I've been researching this topic for many weeks....

IT SEEMS THAT *PEACH TREE LEAVES* ARE THE "MOST LIKED" BY SHRIMP

(when compaired side-by-side with IAL, Oak, etc... shrimp attack the Peach leaf)


.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Mulberry.


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## "Got light?" (Dec 16, 2012)

Have you _actually_ compaired Mulberry side-by-side with a Peach tree leaf, or are you just assuming ??



Soothing Shrimp said:


> Mulberry.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Just stating my shrimps' preference. 

Each keeper will find each shrimp tank will have its' own preference. heh In the shrimp hobby, there is no one food that fits all. What some shrimp love, the others won't touch and so on.

To state "IT SEEMS THAT PEACH TREE LEAVES ARE THE "MOST LIKED" BY SHRIMP" is possibly an accurate observation in your own tank, however it won't be for others.


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## "Got light?" (Dec 16, 2012)

_I'll try this again..._

Have you actually compaired Mulberry side-by-side with a Peach tree leaf, or are _you_ just _assuming_ :icon_ques


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Yes I have. Does that make my previous statement any more or less legitimate? 

Why don't you read some threads and see what other shrimpers do as well? A little open mindedness goes a long way.


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

Soothing Shrimp said:


> Each keeper will find each shrimp tank will have its' own preference. heh In the shrimp hobby, there is no one food that fits all. What some shrimp love, the others won't touch and so on.
> 
> To state "IT SEEMS THAT PEACH TREE LEAVES ARE THE "MOST LIKED" BY SHRIMP" is possibly an accurate observation in your own tank, however it won't be for others.



I could seriously not agree with this more. I observe it constantly in my tanks and it's not just different species, some shrimp really have pickier tastes. I have some that love, love, love mulberry leaves....others that won't touch it and will let the snails get it. Stinging nettle is a hit in all my tanks but one. Cherry leaves are a hit in one tank ignored in others. There is no 'most liked' by shrimp. There can be a 'most liked by MY shrimp' but blanket statements simply can't be made on their taste preferences...I learned that a long time ago. LOL!

Furthermore, IAL and Oak leaves aren't 'feeding' leaves that the shrimp eat...they eat the biofilm that forms on the leaves. Mulberry leaves, peach leaves, stinging nettle, and things like that are leaves they actually consume (mine do the minute they touch the water just like spinach, kale, etc). So to compare something like a peach or mulberry leaf to IAL or Oak is like apples and oranges. They are treated/used differently by the shrimp. But that's in MY tanks...other people may experience the leaves sit until biofilm forms before the shrimp go to it. Everyone's experiences will vary.


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## Puddles (Jan 5, 2013)

Anyone ave experience with avocado tree leaves?


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Not yet. Do they do well for you?


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

Again, experiences will vary. Plus too many factors...perhaps the peach leaf was younger, more tender and the mulberry more mature. Perhaps those particular shrimp had never had mulberry. One can not simply go off of things they find on the internet, go off your own experiences. There is no need to argue, simply go get some peach leaves, mulberry, cherry, whatever you want to get and found out what works best for YOU. 

I do a lot of internet research myself. But when I try things out on my own, often my experiences vary from what others have experienced. Such is life


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