Botanials

[Cinnebuns]

I haven't dove too deep into botanicals. I have Indian almond leaves/catappa leaves that I use for shrimp and bettas but I haven't tried anything else. Am I good with just sticking to that or is there something else you can recommend I try?

[River]

I am not knowledgeable on the subject but I have seen some YouTube gurus putting alder cones and oak leaves in? I think if you research it a bit you might be able to find appropriate botanicals for free outside.

[Colu]

Alder cones are also used and are readily available I have seen dried oak leaves used you would have you collect your own from an area that hasn't been treated with any chemicals 

[Lennie]

I've tried oak, fig, catappa and beech leaves. Also alder cones.

Catappa leaf is liked by my all shrimp, snail and BN tanks the most. But it decays faster than others. I also use a leaf mixture in my apisto tank. My apistos seem to like playing around leaf litter, especially oak leaves. 

If you wanna try something new and experiment, you can give them a try, but in my experience with 7 shrimp tanks catappa is their favorite. BN babies seem to love spending time on catappa leaves too and mostly ignore others. I don't think anything  other than catappa leaf will be much better (or even any better) for a betta too when compared. I haven't paid attention to betta-leaf relationship much and I usually prefer catappa leaf in their tanks mainly

Edited August 6, 2023 by Lennie

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I use tons of Indian Almond Leaves, and then I bought a package off Etsy with 139 pieces of botanicals. I love the leaf litter look of the IAL’s, and then the other botanicals add variety and visual appeal. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/6/2023 at 3:12 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I use tons of Indian Almond Leaves, and then I bought a package off Etsy with 139 pieces of botanicals. I love the leaf litter look of the IAL’s, and then the other botanicals add variety and visual appeal. 

Reminds me so much of @JimmyGimbal's setup.
 

 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@nabokovfan87 Nice! I hadn’t seen that tank before, but I definitely dig it. Also feel very similar that all the tannins in my tank basically haven’t affected pH at all. I have juuuust enough kH to stave off any pH drops. Fine by me though, I’m not trying to lower pH. Simply just thought it would happen based on what everyone tells you/how botanicals are marketed. 

[Rube_Goldfish]

I've also heard of people using sweet gum pods, but I've never tried that myself.