Romancing Magnolia....

[Tannin Aquatics]

You already know that we're pretty obsessed with leaves in our aquariums, right?

One of the more recent additions to our "rotation" has been the lovely Magnolia leaf.

Yeah, the Magnolia,

Talk about an interesting subject for a botanical! The genus Magnolia has over 200 members, distributed all over Asia, the Americas, and the West Indies. It's an incredibly diverse, beautiful genus of trees.

We have offered the lovely seed pods of Magnolia for use in vivariums for some time here at Tannin Aquatics, and they've been extremely popular! (click to read more)

 

[mchambers]

Great topic, Scott!

I've been using magnolia leaves for several years, without problem.

A couple of points I'd like to add. First, different trees have very different leaf sizes. I collected a bunch of WC magnolia leaves last Sunday from a tree in the neighborhood that has very large leaves, maybe 7 or 8 inches long. Other trees around here have smaller leaves.

Also, in the DC area, this is the time of year that the magnolia tree lose leaves, so this is a great time to collect them for use over the next twelve months. This is in contrast to oak leaves, which drop in the fall.

 

[Tannin Aquatics]

Great topic, Scott!

I've been using magnolia leaves for several years, without problem.

A couple of points I'd like to add. First, different trees have very different leaf sizes. I collected a bunch of WC magnolia leaves last Sunday from a tree in the neighborhood that has very large leaves, maybe 7 or 8 inches long. Other trees around here have smaller leaves.

Also, in the DC area, this is the time of year that the magnolia tree lose leaves, so this is a great time to collect them for use over the next twelve months. This is in contrast to oak leaves, which drop in the fall.

Good points...and I think they are "cultivars" of M. grandifolis, but I'm no botanist...and it probably doesn't matter...But I think what's really important is the apparent misconception that these leaves are somehow toxic. There is really no hard scientific data out there that I found suggesting they are any more dangerous to fishes than any other leaf or botanical. I think they need to be added to an established system carefully, slowly, and with consideration for their potential impact on the aquarium environment, but I wouldn't dismiss their use because "X out there on the forums" killed his Apistos two days after adding Magnolia leaves to his tank..." Just not enough information there to pin the demise of the fishes on the leaves themselves. There could be so many other factors, including pollution, rapid drop in pH caused by a large influx of leaves, etc., etc. Nonetheless, my experience, yours, and that of many other hobbyists suggests that these leaves are every bit as useful in aquariums as any of the others that we ultimo for similar purposes (Catappa, Guava, etc.)

Thanks for the feedback!

Scott