Why Use Leaves In Your Aquarium? | Complete Beginner Guide

Ever seen people using leaves in their aquariums? Today we discuss the reasons why you would use leaves and other botanicals and the benefits to this.

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[Scrapla]

When I was a teen I had a 15 gallon tank that was full of gravel and all fake plants. It looked ok but I met a friend who into the hobby and we replaced all the fake plants with real plants from local ponds and streams. It totally transformed the tank and it turned into a thriving little ecosystem. I did have a problem with snails but I would recommend anyone with a tank even amateurs to go the natural route, don't be afraid.

[FatherFish]

Thank you. Excellent description of the value of botanicals.

[FatherFish]

We are creating a PDF about leaves. They are the basic food material in all fresh water environments.

[Kalinux_ai]

Hack: Moist the dry leaves you find in nature and put them into jar that can be sealed. After 1 month, it will be nice and brown and will sink without any problem. Doesn't really matter what leaves they are, just put them into your aquarium. I personally don't believe in leaf selection, they all work as long as they are dead, dry and not green

[mikefm]

Don’t boil the leaves and kill all the micro fauna. That’s exactly the thing you want to introduce. It’s part of the breakdown cycle in the tank. Nature doesn’t preboil leaves on their way down to a stream bed.
Great content though. And I love the tank you had behind you during this. Looks beautiful

[Exquailibur]

most of the trees in my area are evergreens like cedar and spruce, but there are stands of red alders and a bush called salal that has very tough leaves that take a long time to decompose compared to alder leaves and there are also the sword ferns which have massive leaves that work. Sadly most of the trees here are not usable though since evergreens have needles and are also full of harmful sap and chemicals that arent exactly great for fish.

[markfranklin]

Lots of good information thanks for sharing 💯

[seamus]

Good Information. I use Catappa leaves. I live in an area of many Oaks. I keep forgetting to collect them for my tanks. Saved and Liked and Subbed...

[cloverdog]

In new to fish but the ph levels are high on my water dp I hot drift wood and almond leaves. I have fake plants though except duckweed.😊

[justinmalangoni]

I read boiling them removes a lot of the nutrients.

[thetruthdotcom]

Do you keep your filter running after adding the almond leaves

[tinadoyle]

Do Indian almond leaves need to boiled if you buy them in a fish store ?

[arkansasboy]

What about leaves and twigs that I pull from a pond? They shouldn't need to be boiled, right?

[kevinriley]

Mines well buy fake leaves if your gone boil and kill everything

[FishRfun]

Boiling catappa leaves and alder cones now. The alder cones take forever to boil to get the brownish/red tannin color out. And it's still not 100 % out. Just be warned about alder cones at keast...you have to boil forever to get somewhat clear water. Changing water every 30 minutes of course

[nanaurbiznez]

I just added a few to my 55. the next day...ALL DEAD. Nothing else changed. Any ideas as to why?

[Imnotacrackheadimasmashhead]

Hi do you think i can use leaves for my goldfish aquarium?

[juliaabelle]

How do you siphon and clean your aquarium with all that debris around? Isn't it quite a task? I am asking seriously. It looks great but what happens next? I think it's hard to do in a "normal" tank with a moderate clutter of water plants, taking ages to siphon.. needs kind of every week.. but with all that lovely scrap around... usch.. 😆😁 twigs, barricades of branches, leaves all around, you get the point...

[crazyhuman]

Can I use random leaves from my garden I'm in the UK

[bigbuds]

Just go outside and pick up some leaves. Dont vuy them. I feed my shrimp leaves from my sugar maples.