almond leaves

[stonedaquarium]

i know alot of shrimp breeders and experts use almond leaves in their tanks... how long do you leave the almond leaves in there ? and how many would be ideal for CRS and yellows in a 5 gal tank. and PFRS in a 10 gal. ? the 10 gal is heavily planted and the 5 gal is moderately planted ... looking to add more moss to the 5 gal. DO you leave the leaves in the tank after water changes or do you change the leaves after each water change? i know almond leaves tend to lower the ph in the tank... the question i have those is i already have 2 almond leaves in my 5 gal tank but the ph is at 6.8 where i am looking to dropping it to 6.3 should i add more leaves? i dont really want to leave my co2 24/7 as i might choke the shrimps out

[Tarobot]

i do roughly 1/2 a leaf per 5g and just take it out when the shrimps are done eating it which roughly take two weeks+ depending on how much shrimps you have. they do lower the PH but not really enough for you to be using that as the source of your PH control, people usually use ADA soil and let that do the work. co2 should only be on when your light is on.

[stonedaquarium]

my shrimps dont eat the leaves... lol...i guess i would have to starve them a bit for them to eat the leaves...

[arash53]

where do you get almod leaves?

[effox]

I ordered mine off ebay, its dirt cheap. My buddy in Surrey has a few hundred, but he's out of town so that won't help.

Cheers,
Chris

[Tarobot]

i got mine off patrick from canadianaquatics for around 50cent each i think

[stonedaquarium]

i got mine off patrick from canadianaquatics for around 50cent each i think

+1 to that... try contacting patrick (mykiss) from canadianaquatics... thats where i got mine from.

[Luke78]

They will constantly graze the surfaces of the leaves,and take what they can off it.But with some time,the leaf will break down and the feast begins

my shrimps dont eat the leaves... lol...i guess i would have to starve them a bit for them to eat the leaves...

[Ursus sapien]

They will constantly graze the surfaces of the leaves,and take what they can off it.But with some time,the leaf will break down and the feast begins

That's it exactly. Some leaves (like dried green banana leaves, or autumn peach tree leaves) are very soft and are actually eaten quickly. Most hardwood leaves, though, are grazed as Luke78 described. Any hardwood can be used, provided that it's an 'autumn' leaf - no chlorophyll - and free of any "cides".

Indian almond leaves and bark, autumn banana leaves, and cinnamon sticks have anti fungal and anti bacterial properties (verified, not just folk lore) that make them especially valuable in shrimp and fry tanks.

[stonedaquarium]

thanks !!! great info guys...!!