Indian almond leaves in betta tanks

[Chlo]

Hi, I'm thinking about getting indian almond leaves for my betta tanks, but I'm wondering how exactly you use them and how you would keep the pH stable. My pH is 8.0, and I have really hard water, so indian almond leaves would help lower the pH for my bettas. I also heard they can help reduce stress and risk of infections. The only thing is that if the leaves lower the pH, and I do a water change every week, wouldn't that result in a lot of pH swings? So I was wondering how you can use the leaves but keep the pH stable.

Edited May 7, 2021 by Chlo

[BIG GREEN]

1 hour ago, Chlo said:

Hi, I'm thinking about getting indian almond leaves for my betta tanks, but I'm wondering how exactly you use them and how you would keep the pH stable. My pH is 8.0, and I have really hard water, so indian almond leaves would help lower the pH for my bettas. I also heard they can help reduce stress and risk of infections. The only thing is that if the leaves lower the pH, and I do a water change every week, wouldn't that result in a lot of pH swings? So I was wondering how you can use the leaves but keep the pH stable.

This is just my exprience with IAL. I have hard water and my KH stays above 4. I use IAL in my 150 gallon cause I like the way the water looks and my cory's, Dojo's, Fire mouth, and Green terror love them. With that said I have no PH swings. I think its like one IAL for every 10 gallons, not sure who came up with that but its what I have read....

I break them up and put them a a glass jar, add boiling water, let sit for a few hours, then dump it into my tank.

Maybe someone with a little more insight will jump in and give us both some more info. 

[Fish Folk]

On 5/6/2021 at 8:40 PM, Chlo said:

Hi, I'm thinking about getting indian almond leaves for my betta tanks, but I'm wondering how exactly you use them and how you would keep the pH stable. My pH is 8.0, and I have really hard water, so indian almond leaves would help lower the pH for my bettas. I also heard they can help reduce stress and risk of infections. The only thing is that if the leaves lower the pH, and I do a water change every week, wouldn't that result in a lot of pH swings? So I was wondering how you can use the leaves but keep the pH stable.

Use 1/2 or 1/4 of a single leaf. Perform small water changes a bit more frequently.

[NanoNano]

There's been *a lot* of variability in the size, moisture level, and cleanliness of the IALs that I've received from different sellers.  To be blunt,  I really didn't notice any changes in my Betta's or my Neo shrimps health or behaviors with or without them.  In my tanks, the sun dried ones took months to degrade and disappear, leaving a lot of unsightly bits here and there along the way.  Fritz dos make an IAL extract which might give you the benefits you're looking for with a more predictable dosing to better control PH swings.