Almond leaves in aquariums

[jacobfata]

With my 90 gallon officially cycled and water parameters all in balance.. everyone’s finally happy! A fellow hobbyists recommended I use almond leaves in my aquarium to make the water more acidic and make the fish feel more at home. Right now my discus are doing great at a stable ph and thriving in a steady 7.6-8. Jack Watleys partner in Miami said it’s not about the ph it’s about the stability.. those words made discus keeping easy for me so I don’t want to throw anything off balance by adding these... how would I even go about doing so? Just put a couple in my sump? I’d appreciate any advice from people who have used these leaves in their aquariums and have the pros and cons. Not just to discus keepers but to hobbyists as a whole, are they worth using?

Thank you in advance!

 

[kno4te]

If ur discus are doing well then no need to add the almond leaves. Definitely has benefits by reducing the ph and prevention of infection/parasites. I’ve used it in my tanks that i provide live food. Has protective effects against infection/parasites.

 

[jacobfata]

I use live black worms daily. How do they protect against parasites? What do you think about me adding one or two leaves the sump? Would that cause too much of a shift or even provide any kind of benefit for a 90 gallon aquarium?

 

[kno4te]

I use live black worms daily. How do they protect against parasites? What do you think about me adding one or two leaves the sump? Would that cause too much of a shift or even provide any kind of benefit for a 90 gallon aquarium?

By keeping the water acidic it prevents certain parasites and bacteria from growing. Not ideal conditions. I used to keep my old knife tank with a pH of 6.5 but I was using lots of leaves and adding liquid tannins into it also.

Don’t think adding two leaves will make much of a drop. The water will need to be tea colored and then it’ll be low. Just keep checking ur pH. If ur discus are good then wouldn’t add it. With normal water changes the pH will swing so be cautious.

 

[jacobfata]

By keeping the water acidic it prevents certain parasites and bacteria from growing. Not ideal conditions. I used to keep my old knife tank with a pH of 6.5 but I was using lots of leaves and adding liquid tannins into it also.

Don’t think adding two leaves will make much of a drop. The water will need to be tea colored and then it’ll be low. Just keep checking ur pH. If ur discus are good then wouldn’t add it. With normal water changes the pH will swing so be cautious.

I always believed that discuss for so hard to care for and I was scared to keep them for most of my hobby years. When I first got them I was adding pH down and I’ll kinds of chemicals to make sure the pH was like 6.8 or neutral and then I realize my discus do just fine on twice weekly 50% water changes with no chemicals to the pH. They’re actually doing great at 7.8 I’m guessing is my tapwaters PH. I’ve been told they make the fish more comfortable. This is what I just did. What do you think about just adding a few big leaves in the sump. I mean if anything it would benefit the quality of the water, right?

 

[jacobfata]

I wouldn’t expect the leaves I added to cause too much of a fluctuation. But I’ll test the ph tomorrow to make sure. I kinda have them and just want to use them after hearing all of the positive things about them... but something is telling me to keep it simple and don’t disturb or risk the stability of the aquarium.

 

[RD.]

Jack Watleys partner in Miami said it’s not about the ph it’s about the stability.. those words made discus keeping easy for me so I don’t want to throw anything off balance by adding these.

Bingo!

.........but something is telling me to keep it simple and don’t disturb or risk the stability of the aquarium.

Listen to your inner voice, sit back, and enjoy your fish. Throwing a few leaves into your sump won't achieve anything, your fish are all designer strains and don't require any magical pH value in order to thrive. KISS - keep it simple stupid

 

[Zanzag]

I keep a media bag of them(about 10 leaves) in my canister. No real effect on ph in my 55 but scrapes and split fins do seem to heal more quickly with them than before i started using them. I just replace when the bag is filled with leaf goo instead of leaves. But as the others have said if your discus are happy and healthy without then why complicate things.

 

[Rocksor]

I keep a media bag of them(about 10 leaves) in my canister. No real effect on ph in my 55 but scrapes and split fins do seem to heal more quickly with them than before i started using them. I just replace when the bag is filled with leaf goo instead of leaves. But as the others have said if your discus are happy and healthy without then why complicate things.

If it doesn't affect your PH then your KH is high enough to keep it stable. If you know what your KH value is, then it's relatively easy to determine how much leaves or driftwood to add without affecting the parameters.

 

[islandguy11]

Somebody plz correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that any possible PH swings from adding Kattapa leaves would also depend on the KH of your water -- the higher the KH/buffering, the less effect on your PH.

That said, while I personally believe in the benefits of kattapa leaves, as others say just adding a couple of leaves probably won't have much effect at all. I also agree with those who are kind of saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I occasionally use kattapa leaf extract in a solution to speed up healing when my Aros got some scratch or lost a scale, but really don't see the need for ongoing use.

Edit: didn't see Rocksor's post above while writing my post; in fact it was from him that I learned in another thread about KH-PH relationship as stated above.