# What types of leaves



## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

They really don't go after the leaves it is the beneficial traits of the leaves. As in a natural anti bacterial, a place for bio film to build they can graze on. You can add cherry tree leaves to that mix, I use them as well


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## Fdsh5 (Jan 3, 2012)

My friend uses oak and silver maple leaves. They do break down faster than other leaves though


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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

I know they go for the bio film and mis robes that grow on the leaves. But I have seen shrimp chow down on the leaves as well. That's good to know about the cherry and silver maple leaves. What about any other guys!


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

I have never seen shrimp chow down on any leave like those. No boiled and blanched mulberry or stinging nettle or spinach. Yes

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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

I went to a friends house and he uses peach leaves. Let's them soak for a day drops them in the tank and the shrimp are all over them. There usually gone within a few days.


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## Fdsh5 (Jan 3, 2012)

My shrimp will eat the Indian almond leaves once they start to break down


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## just5398 (Nov 12, 2013)

Do you blanch the leaves first? Can you use ANY oak leaves? I have , what feels like a million come fall, in my back yard .


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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

As long as there are no pesticides used in or around the tree they will be fine. You have to let the leaf dry out completely. Then soak it, not boil or blanch it


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## orhunterfisher (Jun 30, 2008)

I have used a variety of local and exotic leaves. I mostly use Indian Almond leaves with a few local oak varieties (scrub, black, red etc) thrown in. As for fresh leaves, I think Mulberry right off the tree are considered a delicacy by many shrimp.
The shrimp eat the algae and bacteria that break down the leaves. It is best to add leaves every couple of weeks so that you have leaves in various stages of decomp. If you have big colonies, that time will be reduced greatly.


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## Melted (Nov 22, 2013)

Dont mean to hijack this thread, but in terms of indian almond leaves, will my crushed coral in the filter be enough to negate its ability to lower ph? I wont worry about tannins as i have researched that one leaf cant do much in a larger body of water (planning to us them in a 20 gallon cherry shrimp tank).


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## ljapa (Jul 23, 2013)

Melted said:


> Dont mean to hijack this thread, but in terms of indian almond leaves, will my crushed coral in the filter be enough to negate its ability to lower ph? I wont worry about tannins as i have researched that one leaf cant do much in a larger body of water (planning to us them in a 20 gallon cherry shrimp tank).


I doubt one indian almond leave would affect Ph much in a 20 gallon, and the kh buffering of the arogonite would obviate any ph lowering effect. 

You'll be fine.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

Ial will not alter ph enough to worry unless you are sticking tons in there


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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

I have a ten gallon and when I use one large ial my ph never changes. It's only if you add tons or leaves. Same thing happens with a huge piece of Malaysian dw.


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## Takeshi (Aug 24, 2013)

I use guava leaves...straight from my yard, seems to have a lot of beneficial bacteria.


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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

And you dry them right.


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

sbarbee54 said:


> They really don't go after the leaves it is the beneficial traits of the leaves. As in a natural anti bacterial, a place for bio film to build they can graze on. You can add cherry tree leaves to that mix, I use them as well
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad 3 using Tapatalk HD


That is dependent on WHAT the leaf is. What do you think spinach and kale are? Same goes for stinging nettle, mulberry, dried green walnut leaves and more. Dried hardwood leaves like IAL, Oak, Maple, etc are more likely to be used for biofilm/tannins. Leaves like stinging, nettle, mulberry, spinach and kale are absolutely food and will be treated as such and gone within hours/couple of days.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

Agreed with you raven see my other post about those that can be blanched and boiled that I talked about


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

sbarbee54 said:


> Agreed with you raven see my other post about those that can be blanched and boiled that I talked about
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad 3 using Tapatalk HD



In this thread? I don't see anything. 

The dried green walnut leaves I feed are in the top 3 leaves they prefer and they aren't boiled, blanched, nor are they fresh. Not sure if you are separating method with what they prefer or not since I'm apparently missing the post you are talking about.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

ravensgate said:


> In this thread? I don't see anything. ...


 post number 5.


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## ravensgate (May 24, 2012)

Thank Soothing, I read the thread twice and didn't see it. LOL! Completely contradicts that first post though.


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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

This thread is for anything boiled blanched dried or frozen or fresh haha. It's just nice to have a long list of leaves I can use and others can use in there tanks that are beneficial. I prefer dried leaves because blanched and boiled always float around for me and I like things to be in one place. 

I've also heard about people using cinimon bark and catappa bark.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Cinnamon, catappa and pomegranate bark are all medicines, not food. 

Guava leaves are good, let them dry out first. 

If your shrimp don't touch IAL, try putting a handful in a glass of water and putting that glass on a sunny windowsill for a couple days. Then feed them.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

Well as he stated fruit or hard wood so i dont think my statement contradicts my first as the first is when i talked about those fruit and hardwood. Second i was suggesting leaves from other such plants and trees that could be blanched and feed

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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

If those are medicines why put them in the tank, that would be the same as saying ial, and hardwood leaves are medicines and should be treated as such. Obviously they have to be providing some sort of food and benefits besides medicine to the ecosystem or we wouldn't be putting them in the tank in the first place. 

@ravensgate, I know you sell leaves that are picked fresh from around your house, but are you able to get any seeds or seedling plants from around these plants to mail out?


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

I use pecan and oak leaves in my tank, and though they've only been in there for a little while, my one fast cherry shrimp seems to like them. It also seems to like the pecan sticks I have.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Subtletanks91 said:


> If those are medicines why put them in the tank, that would be the same as saying ial, and hardwood leaves are medicines and should be treated as such. Obviously they have to be providing some sort of food and benefits besides medicine to the ecosystem or we wouldn't be putting them in the tank in the first place.
> 
> @ravensgate, I know you sell leaves that are picked fresh from around your house, but are you able to get any seeds or seedling plants from around these plants to mail out?


They are a medicine that you would remove after a day. Mostly to treat bacterial or fungal infections. I'm not really sure what you're asking, but shrimp won't eat the bark, it will just sit there. If you dont mind having a bunch of crap lying around your tank I guess that's your choice, but it's certainly not food. 

Bamboo leaves are something that shrimp eat too, but they break down so slowly that I stopped using them. IAL last just the right amount of time for me, I add one, then two weeks later add another and they break down pretty much on a schedule like that.


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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

The bark itself I realize isn't food. But like the leaves would have to provide biofilm and micro organisms for the shrimp to feed from no?

My ial leaves last for weeks before they break down, perhaps the temp has some part in that no?


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Not in the same capacity. Bark is more like wood, it's solid, tightly bound protective fibers. They're designed by nature to resist breaking down. Bacteria will grow on it, but only as much as would grow on any piece of driftwood, and perhaps even less because of the protective phytochemicals inside. 

Spent leaves are a different composition entirely. 

But like I said, if you want to put a bunch of bark in your aquarium, that's your prerogative. I just don't think there's any food benefit to it.


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

If both peach and indian almond (I'm assuming this is just a variety of almond?) work, I'd consider looking at other _Prunus_ species. Cherries, apricots, plums, nectarines, pretty much any stone fruit. don't know if it would work or not, but they are all fairly closely related, so they might.

And on what mordalphus said, I believe bark has a high content of cork-tissue, which is decay resistant. Leaves, once shed, have no reason to be decay resistant. The tree pumps anything of use out of them, and the leaf that drops is mostly cellulose.


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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

Yeah I'm going to be collecting some leaves from the trees and drying them out tomorrow and seeing which they like most and use that. Possibly dry some out for raok or for sale section. Not sure yet. I have some dried manzanita leaves I want to try but I'm scared with those.

And I went alder cone hunting the other day and found a good bunch, and I shook the seeds out and plan on planting those


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

I might be hesitant on the manzanita.

I believe they are a fire-chaparral (not sure if that's the right term) adapted species, and produce a lot of flammables and volatiles in their leaves and such. If you do, try taking some of the older ones that have been through several rains, and maybe stick a handful in a glass and look for any off smells or oily films or anything.

Oh, and in case this was on your list, I wouldn't try eucalyptus either, their leaves are full of crap (allellochemicals, maybe?) that inhibit plant growth, and probably aren't good for critters either.


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## Subtletanks91 (May 29, 2013)

How come its acceptable to put manzanita branches in the tank then?


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

eh, my issues with manzanita leaves may be completely baseless.

As to the wood, wood in general (once it's weathered, etc.) is pretty inert. The only real concerns with wood are the bark and the sap, and possibly resins. A bit of weathering usually leaches out most of the sap and resins, and causes the bark to fall off.

Other than that, I don't know. My fears of manzanita leaves may be completely unfounded.


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