# Maple Leaves



## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

The only thread I could find in this was 8 years old. I went ahead and out a few dried Japanese maple leaves in my tank thinking they couldn't be that different from oak. Anyone have any experiences with maple leaves?

Edit: I have a community riparium with 8 RCS


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## jumpzakjump (Jun 15, 2015)

I'm curious to see how this works! Are you going for a biotype style? Pics?? I've always been interested in doing a local sort of biotype..plants/leaves/animals you can find around your local area. I have tons of streams right near my house, and maples everywhere


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## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

jumpzakjump said:


> I'm curious to see how this works! Are you going for a biotype style? Pics?? I've always been interested in doing a local sort of biotype..plants/leaves/animals you can find around your local area. I have tons of streams right near my house, and maples everywhere




I wish I was that dedicated to do that. I'll get some pics of the red maple leaves in there. It's a fairly red tank as is with ludwigia, my cherry barbs and rcs and telanthera in there with red fluval substrate. 


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## d33pVI (Oct 28, 2015)

In my brief leaf litter experiment last year I found that maple leaves break down much faster than oak. Red oaks lasted longer than white oaks, but they have a waxy film on them that tends to keep them floating.


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## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

d33pVI said:


> In my brief leaf litter experiment last year I found that maple leaves break down much faster than oak. Red oaks lasted longer than white oaks, but they have a waxy film on them that tends to keep them floating.




How did that go? I looked for a post of yours about it but couldn't find it just now


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## d33pVI (Oct 28, 2015)

I didn't really document it or anything. When I first set up my 75 I was playing around with some aquatic potting soil and planted everything in terra cotta pots for the first few months. I added a few bunches of leaves just for a little more natural look. Fish loved all the hidey-holes the leaf bed provided. Didn't notice any affect on water parameters. Like I mentioned before, maples seemed to break down much faster than the oaks. I only had them in the tank for about 6 weeks, though.


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## longgonedaddy (Dec 9, 2012)

I had the same experience with maples. The hey broke down quickly, and not even in the "leaf skeleton" the way most leaves do. Just kind of disappeared except for the stem way to quickly to be practical. It stinks because my property is loaded with maple trees. 

Even if they did last long, aesthetically, I don't find them complementary to a tropical tank. They look too familiar, not exotic enough. Now if you're doing a temperate setup, they may look perfect, but oaks will last much longer.


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## bbroush (Sep 13, 2012)

longgonedaddy said:


> I had the same experience with maples. The hey broke down quickly, and not even in the "leaf skeleton" the way most leaves do. Just kind of disappeared except for the stem way to quickly to be practical. It stinks because my property is loaded with maple trees.
> 
> 
> 
> Even if they did last long, aesthetically, I don't find them complementary to a tropical tank. They look too familiar, not exotic enough. Now if you're doing a temperate setup, they may look perfect, but oaks will last much longer.




I totally get that. I find my Japanese maple to look more exotic then my others. That or I just love that tree the most  


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## RyRob (May 30, 2015)

Just fyi, japanese maples are not the same tree as the maples we have in the states. Just something to consider when stating how "maple" leaves act in the aquarium. 

I dont use leaf litter in my tanks but my mother in law has a few japanese maples and their entire structure is completely different than american maples and they also have less fragile leaves. 

Japanese maples are actually used in bonsai style topiary so they are technically a bonsai tree (there are many). Not sure how they would work in an aquarium though.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Dried Birch leaves ,Oak leaves, are what I have used in the past for blackwater biotopes.
Shrimps and fishes loved picking at them in search of tiny infusoria and or other micro critter's.
Did tend to cause filter material to get dirtier a bit faster but nothing alarmingly so.
Ought to see a bunch of tiny bristlenose fry set to work on these leaves when first introduced to the tank.
I normally placed a small stone on the leaves to keep em where I wanted them or set the corner of a piece of wood on them to hold them down.
Seemed to want to float for a day or two otherwise.


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## Yukiharu (May 3, 2014)

https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/what-autumn-stuff-can-i-add-to-my-shrimp-tank.29634/
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/8...5311-how-prepare-leaf-litter-shrimp-tank.html

Sounds like they do fine if you prepare them like any other thing you throw in a tank.


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