# Has anyone used Almond Leaves or Alder Cones?



## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

Ive heard people use Almond leaves and Alder Cones in their tanks to help naturally soften the water and also keep the colours of the fish nice and bright. They are very cheap to buy, but do they work? roud:


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

Indian Almond leaves seemed to make my betta lazy like he was stoned or something. But yes many people use them for conditioning fish prior to breeding and as a natural tonic and disease preventative. It will discolor your water just FYI.


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

Yep, I have used them in two of my tanks for almost a year now. Fish seem fine.. not hungover or stoned.


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

stoned...hahahaha...maybe I should get some for me  I know the Alder Cones leech quite a lot as they are meant to simulate Blackwater conditions, but was unsure if Almond leaves would too. Hmmmn....thats a pity because Im not sure if I want tank that looks like weak tea lol. Does it look horrible?


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Stained water is a personal preference. I love the look of blackwater tanks myself and will be doing my current tank that way as well. You can always add purigen to remove the staining from the water.

Craig


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

Craigthor said:


> Stained water is a personal preference. I love the look of blackwater tanks myself and will be doing my current tank that way as well. You can always add purigen to remove the staining from the water.
> 
> Craig


 at the risk of sounding stupid (lol) woudnt the Purigen take out the very thing that the leaves / cones are adding? :smile:


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

amberskye said:


> at the risk of sounding stupid (lol) woudnt the Purigen take out the very thing that the leaves / cones are adding? :smile:


Possibly some but it would mostly remove the tannins. Like I said I prefer the look of black water tanks so I'm not super familiar with the use of purigen. You could probably use the search function and find some threads about it to get your answers. :icon_smil


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

I use almond leaves in a lot of my tanks. 
Here is an excerpt from an article on them:


> 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


I also use alder cones. THey produce an anti-fungal property which can be used in place of methylene blue in breeding tanks. You can either use the raw/dried cones, or make a tincture from them to dose the tank.


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## gene4christ (Oct 25, 2008)

where do you find the leaves and cones ? I have never seen them before in the stores or shops I visit.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

gene4christ said:


> where do you find the leaves and cones ? I have never seen them before in the stores or shops I visit.


Aquabid or Morphadalus (sp?) in the power sellers section here has some reallly nice IAL right now.


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

I sell both of them as well


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

I use medium leaves and it does not make the water look awful and dark. Just imagine really weak tea.. under the right lights it has an amber hue to it. If you prefer crystal clear water for the aesthetic value then this is not the route to go. In my experience they last a little over a month before they completely dissolve, I don't bother taking them out except for pulling out the stem. I had continuous problems with one of my tanks with the pH being really high and the betta was always having some sort of health drama but now he is a happy little guy, his colors and fins are stunning too. Not sure if that has contributed at all. Just be mindful of the size of the leaves and also the grade as well.


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## Cynth (Sep 11, 2010)

http://www.aldercones.com/

There is an interesting experiment with alder cones at the above link.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Cynth said:


> http://www.aldercones.com/
> 
> There is an interesting experiment with alder cones at the above link.


That is some cool info there!


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## Heartnet (Sep 13, 2009)

Would that experiment also loosely apply to indian almond leaves? I'm assuming they're pretty much the same.

So, let's say I add ten 5" to 6" leaves to a 10 gallon tank, would that make the inevitable ph plunge harmful to fish or would it be beneficial because of all the tannins being released and other properties associated withindian almond leaves?

Sent from my X10a using Tapatalk


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

That really depends on your source water. Leaves can only budge things so far.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

At some point I want to do a riparium setup with almond leaves and/or other leaves for South America fish or some sort of betta biotope. I think that would be cool with some bright green _Echinodorus_ growing up and out of the water.


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## amberskye (Apr 22, 2011)

thanks everyone. Think I might try these as I have a stunning Betta coming soon and my PH is tipping 7.8


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