# Tannins & Shrimp. Do they go good together?



## AquariumNoob (Aug 18, 2010)

So, If you look in my signature at the bottom tank, you can see its kind of reddish.
I have a piece of driftwood in there that keeps leaching tannins. I boiled it for a few hours (Changing water every once in a while when it seemed really red), and figured it'd be alright.
Ive done a few water changes since i put it in the tank and the tank is still pretty red.
ive compared it to the top tank and its a pretty noticeable difference. The wood in the top tank isnt leeching AT ALL.. the bigger piece on the bottoms giving me problems :/
Would it be safe to add shrimp to the tank or should i remove the piece of wood?


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## stevenjohn21 (May 23, 2012)

Tannins are not a bad thing, infact most fish (and i guess shrimps) would prefer it, as they feel safer. In the wild , the driftwood has not been boiled and cleaned, so most places will have "tea stains"
Its not pleasing to most aquarists but in time it will fade.


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## EnigmaticGuppy92 (Jan 31, 2012)

aesthetically most people dont like tannins but in terms of animal health they are of no detriment whatsoever


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

My tannins come from my Indian Almond Leaf (bought from gordonrichards!) and the shrimpies and snails love eating the moldering hulks of the IAL.

Also bc my pH out of tap is almost 8.0, the neutralizing qualities of the tannins are a plus. PH more like 7.4 with IAL.

IAL has anti fungal anti bacterial upgrading immune system properties as well.

Kind of like the green tea equivalent for freshwater aquaria!


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## AquariumNoob (Aug 18, 2010)

Awesome.
I Know its not harmful to fish, just dont know as much as i would like to about shrimp, so i figured it wouldnt hurt to ask.

The only thing that bothers me is how freakin dark the tank looks! Its like one of the bulbs burnt, and i keep checking thinking ones burnt, and every time i blind myself because i stare right into the two T5ho bulbs -.-
Guess ill have to deal with it for now.
Sucks cause it makes it look icky and dirty while the top tank looks so much cleaner even though its full of algae while the bottom one is algae free. Lol


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## ThatGuyWithTheFish (Apr 29, 2012)

Purigen is said to be good at removing tannins. And purigen would be just as good if not better than tannins are for wq.


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

I run matrix, Purigen and carbon in my Spec V and still have a tea color. The force is strong in IAL.

Surprisingly in my 2 g Spec, the carbon has eliminated all the tea color from the single IAL leaf there.

No Purigen in that filter, just stock.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

To be honest, I saw an amazing riverscape bananariot has in person the other day and It just can't be done differently. He has low lights, moss, rocks, wood, almond leaves and dark water. It just looks peaceful and perfect. 


From MABJ's iPhone
2G Fluval Spec ~ fauna and flora in the works!


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## Curt_914 (Oct 6, 2007)

I never had problems with it. I acctually add black water extract to my tanks! Shrimp were always fine till I added Discus....:confused1:Let me tell you thats a mistake I wont make again... 25+ crs all dissapered in a couple months... and I started with 2.... Oh well live an learn

Curt


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## AquariumNoob (Aug 18, 2010)

Alrighty.
Sounds safe to me.
Actually, the filters have carbon in them. Lol.. I guess they were clogged a while ago :O Theres only so much the filter can take.
Theres an option to add another filter thing or just a carbon basket but i see no need b/w the filters and the sponge filters im going to add.


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## Bananariot (Feb 28, 2012)

Tannins drop the pH so if you keep low ph shrimp, it's good for them


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## AquariumNoob (Aug 18, 2010)

That wont hurt. Good to know o_0. My tanks are relatively high ph (7.4-7.6 ish)


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

The part in bold below is important to remember.

I can't count the number of times I've saved a tank of shrimp by plopping in almond leaves and alder cones.



SpecGrrl said:


> My tannins come from my Indian Almond Leaf (bought from gordonrichards!) and the shrimpies and snails love eating the moldering hulks of the IAL.
> 
> Also bc my pH out of tap is almost 8.0, the neutralizing qualities of the tannins are a plus. PH more like 7.4 with IAL.
> 
> ...


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## AquariumNoob (Aug 18, 2010)

Ive heard people saying that IAL's are all bull crap o_0.
Is there any legitimate proof as to its benifits?
I Know TEA is benificial for humans too because my parents remedy for an eye infection is a bag of tea . Thats also a remedy for tooth infections (Put tea bag in your mouth near infection and it actually somehow draws out the infection/pus/whatever).

So its definitely possible.. I just dont want to waste money on...leaves... LOL


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

AquariumNoob said:


> Ive heard people saying that IAL's are all bull crap o_0.
> Is there any legitimate proof as to its benifits?
> I Know TEA is benificial for humans too because my parents remedy for an eye infection is a bag of tea . Thats also a remedy for tooth infections (Put tea bag in your mouth near infection and it actually somehow draws out the infection/pus/whatever).
> 
> So its definitely possible.. I just dont want to waste money on...leaves... LOL


Since many breeders use IAL leaves in their tanks, I would never call something a successful breeder does 'crap'. Furthermore, they give the shrimp/snails something to munch on constantly so it's not like your throwing money into the tank that won't be used. As for lowering pH that's easy to document yourself, put some in a cup of water, wait a couple of days and test it. I have found they don't lower the pH a huge amount but they do lower a bit. That could also be the particular leaves I used and the size and such. I have used IAL leaves in betta tanks with injured bettas to speed healing and it seemed to help in that aspect as well. 

Your asking for legitimate proof...what do you need besides breeders/keepers telling you they do a good job? Scientific data for some of the thing shrimpkeepers use is just not going to be out there. If you only spend money on things there are scientific documentations for, you'll have a lot more money than most of us


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## AquariumNoob (Aug 18, 2010)

ravensgate said:


> Since many breeders use IAL leaves in their tanks, I would never call something a successful breeder does 'crap'. Furthermore, they give the shrimp/snails something to munch on constantly so it's not like your throwing money into the tank that won't be used. As for lowering pH that's easy to document yourself, put some in a cup of water, wait a couple of days and test it. I have found they don't lower the pH a huge amount but they do lower a bit. That could also be the particular leaves I used and the size and such. I have used IAL leaves in betta tanks with injured bettas to speed healing and it seemed to help in that aspect as well.
> 
> Your asking for legitimate proof...what do you need besides breeders/keepers telling you they do a good job? Scientific data for some of the thing shrimpkeepers use is just not going to be out there. If you only spend money on things there are scientific documentations for, you'll have a lot more money than most of us


Lol not looking for some Harvard study on IAL and their affect on Shrimp and Fish, just something more credible than word of mouth.
No offense, but people often have different opinions, is all. Like when i was first researching what to stock in my 75G Tank and i posted in the fish section, everyone said tetras would be fine if i got shrimp. Then i learned that in fact tetras will demolish the shrimp if i put any in the tank....

In another post about shrimp food/additives i asked about IAL's..


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

But what I'm saying is the only thing you might find IS word of mouth. If that's not credible to you, then you'll save money


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