Oak Leaf Litter
- Thread starter abcdefghi
- Start date
Same here, no concerns walking out back and grabbing bag fulls of leaves.
FishEggs
Well-Known Member
I've heard of using cedar to keep the mosquitos away.
DiscusnAfricans
Past President
I have a huge Magnolia treet in my yard, but never considered harvesting the leaves. A few weeks back I had to cut back many of the branches from blocking the sidewalk, would've been a great opportunity, but unfortunately they were already picked up as yard refuse. Huge tree though, so will be tons of leaves available in the near future. We don't live close enough to anyone that would be spraying for mosquitoes, so I'm sure its safe, but would wash them regardless. I'll take a picture of a leaf later as I know nothing about trees and how to identify them, and don't trust google for images. I'll post when I can, if motivated enough I'll collect some to bring in, I don't think I really have any fish that would benefit from or appreciate leaf litter, plus I'd likely be lazy and end up with dirted tanks. Interesting topic though, I know I'd never buy leaves.
From what I have read, even if your fish won't benefit directly from the tannins, lower pH etc the leaves provide anti fungal and anti bacterial properties that would benefit all fish.
I hear you on the dirt though, have about 15 oak leaves in the tank as if yesterday, watching the fish and water parameters closely.
I hear you on the dirt though, have about 15 oak leaves in the tank as if yesterday, watching the fish and water parameters closely.
Sonny Disposition
Active Member
Like Becca says, the leaves tend to break down after awhile. If you have time, you might soak some in a bucket for a week or so, and then pour the water in the tank. I think the tannins from the leaves protect fish from bacterial infections and they increase the hatch rate of certain species-- particularly those from soft, acid water.
A quick work around that I rely on is to boil water for a couple of cups of decaffinated tea. The tea stains the water as dark as any oak leaves would.
While I definitely understand not wanting to have the leaves breaking down in the tank, as well as the tips on getting the tannins, I personally like the look of the leaves on the bottom of the tank and the fish certainly enjoy swimming through, over and around them, so for me I am happy to toss a few in and deal with vacuuming out the decaying leaves as necessary.
finzz
Members
Corydoras fry seem to fare better when there is a layer of oak leaves in the bottom of the tank. When only a couple days old, they graze on the tops & bottoms of the leaves on what I assume are micro foods of some kind caused by the deterioration of the leaves. By the time the fry are old enough to siphon the leaves away, all that remains are bits & pieces.
CSnyder00
Bearded Wonder
Then I'm going to pull some oak leaves and try this. I'm sure my apistos would love them, too.
mchambers
Former CCA member
I've also had good results with tree bark. I usually use bark from crepe myrtle trees, the varieties that have peeling bark. It holds up well, better than leaves, but looks nice.
If you go this route, I recommend testing the bark first. Tannin Aquatics has a piece up today about bark:
https://tanninaquatics.com/blogs/news/the-bark-has-bite
If you go this route, I recommend testing the bark first. Tannin Aquatics has a piece up today about bark:
https://tanninaquatics.com/blogs/news/the-bark-has-bite
CSnyder00
Bearded Wonder
I’ve also got crepe myrtles, but the oak leaves are right out the door and more plentiful.
mchambers
Former CCA member
I don't think it's an either or situation. You can use both. They have different characteristics. The bark breaks down much slower, which I like, especially in tanks where the appearance is an issue.
CSnyder00
Bearded Wonder
So for these leaves that I now have, does anyone dry them or do you just rinse them really good and then plop them in? I don’t see why drying is necessary. I also will not likely boil them, as I don’t mind the tannin look.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
Becca
Members
you only need to re-dry them if you plan to store them for future use.
b considine
a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude
Post a picture of oak leaves, or a picture of them in action? I'll see what I can do. I've got some in various states of decay in several tanks. (Just got to figure out how to download phone photos to my laptop--yes, I'm a bit of a luddite.)
Blaise
Blaise
CSnyder00
Bearded Wonder
Send them to yourself in an email.
Assuming you have an Android phone, plug it into your computer using a USB cable, if your phone pops up with a message asking permission, click Allow. Then on your computer open "My Computer" and your phone will show up pretty much as if it were another drive. Depending on where your photos are saved, you will need to navigate and find them. Typically they will be in a folder called DCIM. Mine are on the SD card for example, so I go to Card --> DCIM --> Camera and all my pictures are there. Then its just copy and paste to somewhere on my computer.
Here is what the leaves look like in my tank:
FishEggs
Well-Known Member
You can upload pictures right from your phone like this one.
