almond leaf and rays

[dookie]

Has anyone every put almond leaf in their tank with a ray?

 

[Tyranno]

The short answer - yes

 

[Just Toby]

Essentially they are just leaves. They would be fine.

 

[Blaque Diamond]

is there a specific benefit adding leaves to the water, what would be the purpose of adding them?

 

[Tor-Eriik]

they drop the ph and help solve metals in the water ive read.

 

[ICHIBAN TROPICAL FISH]

same as rain water keep PH LOW very healthy for ray and aro

 

[Just Toby]

same as rain water keep PH LOW very healthy for ray and aro

In theory this is correct but I actually believe that adjusting ph and softness causes more stress than it has benefits unless you can somehow guarantee stability. A ph or hardness constantly going up or down does not help any fish and can cause stress. In extermis it can affect filter biological activity.

With the amount of water changes you should be making I think the leaves influence will soon be diluted.

As always, keep it simple with normal (dechlorinated tap water) and you will be fine.

I would add the leaves for aesthetic reasons or to trigger spawning activity in other fish species.

Unfortunatly a lot of the printed word about rays is very old (like many books onnfishkeeping) which means they are talking about wild caught specimens and the keeping of fish and understanding has really moved on. More often than not adjusting the ph or hardness can eventually lead to a ph crash which kills off the bacteria.


Obviously this is a very generic answer.

 

[Tor-Eriik]

100% with toby!