Leaf Litter?

**Demi ^_^** · 02-18-2009, 08:29 AM

What IS leaf litter?

Do I just walk outside, scoop up a pile of dead gum leave sand drop em' in the tank?

Any help appreciate'd

**NickFish** · 02-18-2009, 10:53 AM

Yep pretty much!
A lot of fish naturally have leaves in their water. It works a lot like peat and provides cover.

Pick up a bunch of pretty shaped leaves, oak is a favourite, and give them a quick boil to get rid of anything that could be harmful.
Then you can pretty much just put them in your tank as is.

Have fun!

**geowashlaw** · 02-18-2009, 12:38 PM

won't they rot ... or do you have to change them out frequently ... what's the purpose behind it?

**Crispy** · 02-18-2009, 05:12 PM

Originally Posted by geowashlaw

won't they rot ... or do you have to change them out frequently ... what's the purpose behind it?

I'm not sure of the purpose, except that they probably have some mild tannins in them (like wood) and make the fish more comfortable.. especially SA fish.

**korith** · 02-18-2009, 06:20 PM

Yep, works well for shrimp too! if you don't want to bother with a substrate in tank.

**KingFisher** · 02-18-2009, 06:21 PM

I put oak leaves in two of my tanks a few months back. I boiled them for about 5 minutes first to kill anything that may have been on them and to make them sink. The fish(especially the rams) loved to root around in the leaves. They add tannins to the water, and lasted about two months before starting to break down. The banjo cat would hide under the leaves instead of burying himself in the substrate, so it was easier for me to see him every day. Once the leaves started breaking down, it was easy to vacuum them out with the gravel vac. I would add more now, but they are buried under 2 feet of snow.

**Fishalicious** · 02-18-2009, 06:42 PM

I wouldn't pick leaves from the ground... I usually pick them from the tree's and then let them dry out at home...no worries about nasty stuff from the ground.... you can fasten the drying by baking them in the oven and the temp also kills the bacteria. I use oak leaves also for the natural look and oak leaves go double as long as most other leaves before rotting...the fishy's love to hide in amongst them and root around in them. They are often used in Amazon biotope tanks.

**zx42** · 02-18-2009, 07:23 PM

I wonder if there are any fake ones so they never rot

**Jellygirl** · 02-18-2009, 10:05 PM

I think Oak leaves also have the effect low lowering the pH slightly. However, if your water is hard (GH and KH) it will have very little effect on your water parameters.

Jellygirl