Indian Almond Leaves

[FishGuest5123]

I never hear of anyone on this forum talking about Indian almond leaves and their benefits. Am I the only believer in them for betta and most tropical tanks? I’ve been thinking about why my bettas have had ragged fins since I moved them to 10G tanks and it dawned on me that I never added the IAL after the move. Just added them back. The medicinal benefits does seem to help fight against bacterial issues such as fin rot. Anyone else use them?

 

[Naughts]

Yes. I didn't particularly like the tannins.
My neons showed spawning behaviour with the leaves in. I hadn't seen them doing this before.
I just went on holiday and put them in the tanks in case they helped, the brown water didn't matter as I wasn't home to see it. Our Betta has some fin damage but it didn't get any worse while we were away.
What results have you had?

 

[Fishmanic]

I recently bought 20 Indian Almond leaves from ebay. I boiled one in water and made a nice batch of tannin infused water. I added about 12 ounces to my Betta tank and will add more after water changes. I might add some to my other 3 tanks as well.

 

[seangee]

My blackwater community gets a nice pot of rooibos tea with every water change. 3 tea bags boiled to death per 100 litres of water. Creates a lovely golden colour and has no caffeine or other chemicals to change the water chemistry. It allegedly has anti-oxidant properties. Can't say if it does or not but the fins on my glowlight tetras that were nipped / ripped last week are healing nicely with no other intervention. ( I have re-homed the culprits though).

 

[FishGuest5123]

I boil mine and them rinse them until clear so I don’t get tannins. That just my choice. I just added them back today so I can’t report on any difference just yet.

 

[Back in the fold]

Where in the world did you ever hear of this? This is not just news to me but seems to be from outer space.
Signed,
Rip Van Winkle

 

[Byron]

I boil mine and them rinse them until clear so I don’t get tannins. That just my choice. I just added them back today so I can’t report on any difference just yet.

I would think the boiling has removed most of the beneficial properties of leaves, don't you think? With the tannins are the bacterial properties.

 

[Fishmanic]

When I boil it, I use a portion of the tannin laden water to add to the tanks. Then in addition I may add part of a leaf that was boiled to the tank. That way I can control how much tannin is added to the tanks.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I normally just wash them and put them in, actually. I went with the instructions today which said to boil for 5 minutes and if tannins not desired then rinse before placing in tank. They stay in the tank quite some time. @Byron, you’re probably right. That makes perfect since about boiling out the medication. I just went back and added them raw like I normally do. Duh!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Where in the world did you ever hear of this? This is not just news to me but seems to be from outer space.
Signed,
Rip Van Winkle

This is long but may be beneficial to you. Easy reading. https://fishlab.com/indian-almond-leaves/

 

[Fishmanic]

you could just add part of the liquid from boiling and not add the leaves or just part of a leaf if you don't want too much tannins

 

[FishGuest5123]

Actually, placing the leaves in raw doesn’t stain the tank water. I’m considering trying the tannin water for awhile to see if it helps their ragged tails. One nips at his so I know what’s wrong there. The other has no rot but ends look like a crowntail. I’ve treated with anti-bacterial and also salt. I do water changes every 2 days in their tanks too trying to clear this. I see new growth. Just pointy ends.

 

[Fishmanic]

If Indian Almond leaves have antibacterial properties, can the tannins kill your beneficial bacteria?

 

[FishGuest5123]

It’s never killed mine. Furan-2 does’t kill mine either. Good question though.

 

[Colin_T]

For anyone who has a deciduous tree in their backyard, you can use the leaves from that instead of Indian almond leaves. I used English Oak leaves, pretty sure Byron uses maple or something from North America. Just collect up the dry leaves in autumn (make sure they are free of animal waste/ bird poop) and use them when needed.

Most trees are safe, just avoid anything that is known to be poisonous (Oleander) and avoid anything that has a white sap.