Re: Leaves

["Colin Gorton" <mr_apisto@graffiti.net>]

Thanks for the input, I'd add one other group of trees to the "do not use" listand that would be those that have needles! Seriously, though,the one tree that we should all steer clear for anything would be Yew. This is extremely poisonous in all it's parts.

----- Original Message -----
From: Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@fgn.net>
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2002 11:07:04 -0700
To: apisto@listbox.com
Subject: Re: Leaves


> I believe that oak & beech leaves are used because their leaves tend to acidify the soil in areas where these trees live. Their leaves tend to have more tannins in them those that populate neutral to alkaline soils. This acidifying effect reduces the number of decomposing bacteria, so they do not disintegrate as quickly. Oak & beach are used more for their acidifying properties than anything else. In the Amazon a large proportion of leaves forming the bottom
> 'leaf litter' come from various species of fig trees, but I would not recommend them for aquaria. Fig leaves tend to decompose slowly but, because they contain a milky latex-like sap, they can be toxic to fish. That being said I imagine you could use any leaf for leaf litter as long as it was safe. I even have a cedar stump that I use in one of my aquariums (I do not recommend this!). When first used (after curing for over a month) it still released
> chemicals into the water. If I did not do water changes 2 time each week the water would look like strong brewed Orange Pekoe tea. All I could see of the Neon Tetras were their blue stripes. All my acid loving tetras loved it. Red Phantom Tetras literally glowed, Lemon Tetras became bright yellow, & Rummynose Tetras had glowing red extending back beyond their gill covers. Neon Tetras regularly group-spawned in the middle of the tank (caviar for everyone!).
> My only suggestion is to not use any leaf with a milky sap and test the leaves on a fish that is more expendable first.
> 
> Mike Wise
> 
> Colin Gorton wrote:
> 
> > I know that the theory goes that oak (or beech) leaves can act in a smilar way to peat, my question is whether there are any other alternatives. I CAN get oak leaves but I'm not sure whether species is important or not. As you may know, there are many different species of oak and I suspect the ones that we know of for our fish are those species that grow in temperate zones. My worry is that the forms available to me in Spain may not work in the same way.
> > So, can I use chestnut, plain tree or any other leaves instead of oak or beech? The three mentioned above are the most readily available to me.
> > BTW the main reason for wanting to put leaves in my tanks is not for the acidifying properties but as cover for my fish. Acidifying is better but I'm not too concerned other than that I don't poison my fish.
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C:-)lin

They said "Smile, things could be worse." So I smiled, and sure enough...

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