How to Use Indian Almond Leaves in Fish Tank?

Caring for your fish properly involves more than providing food, the right temperature, and keeping the water clean. A stable and thriving aquatic setup involves a lot of work, maintenance, and even some art along the way.

There are several ways to improve water quality and keep your fish healthy and happy, and Indian almond leaves are right up that alley. If you’ve never heard of these before, now’s the best time to get you up to speed.

What Are Indian Almond Leaves?

Indian almond leaves belong to the Terminalia catappa tree, which is widespread across Asia, Africa, Australia, and even in America in some areas. The tree itself is rather small, but it is extremely rich in leaves, many of which will fall off quite regularly.

These have been used in the aquarium business for quite some time thanks to their medicinal properties and beneficial effect they have on fish. But isn’t it said that having dead leaves in your fish tank is generally bad? You know, due to all the ammonia being released by all the dead plant matter?

We’ll get into that shortly.

Benefits of Using Indian Almond Leaves in a Fish Tank

It turns out that Indian almond leaves have plenty of benefits when added to any closed aquatic system. Here are the most noticeable you should be aware of:

Lower Water pH

The pH levels in the tank water are critical for long-term fish health. Most fish prefer lower pH values, generally between 6 and 7. These fall in the neutral range and will benefit most freshwater tropical fish.

The problem is that the pH can increase dramatically in the tank for a variety of reasons. These include:

• CO2 depletion in plant-rich environments because plants consume a lot of CO2 during the day
• Using tap water during water changes
• Natural pH increase coming from fish food and food residues
• Natural pH increase due to fish waste accumulating in the environment, etc.

Improper pH levels will affect your fish’s health over time, affecting their physiological functioning. In essence, it will impact the fish’s ability to detoxify their blood and exchange minerals and nutrients with their environment via their skin. This will impact their ability to perform osmosis, destabilizing their biological functioning.

Adding Indian almond leaves to the environment will correct and prevent your pH problems. This is due to the tannins that the almond leaves will release into the water, changing its color and pH intensity. The tannic acid is, well, acidic in nature, so it will lower the water pH gradually, depending on how many leaves you have. This will allow you to balance the pH level to your will and keep it steady, depending on your fish’s preferences.

Calm Fish

Tannins create a natural-looking environment since few fish species live in crystal-clear waters in the wild. The tannins released by these almond leaves will color the water, adding a more brownish hue that your fish will love. This makes the environment look more natural, allowing fish to become more active, energetic, and inquisitive since they will feel safer.

This will lower their stress levels which is great given that tank fish will often experience stress for a variety of reasons. These include sickness, improper feeding, aggressive or bullying tankmates, new tank syndrome, digestive problems, etc. The tannins themselves won’t solve these problems, but they will keep your fish calmer, allowing them to recover faster.

Antibacterial Properties

All aquariums are infested with bacteria and viruses, including Ich. These won’t necessarily affect your fish unless the ideal conditions present themselves. One such condition is a fish with a weak immune system or one dealing with open wounds like scratches or punctures due to fighting or accidents. The secondary infections resulting from that could kill your fish quite fast in some cases.

Indian almond leaves have medicinal properties that will boost your fish’s natural healing capabilities. They’re great for fin rot and low-grade bacterial and fungal infections that have the potential to explode in full-on diseases. This turns almond leaves into great disease-preventive tools, keeping your fish healthier and calmer over time.

Aid in Fish Reproduction

This is a weird one, but it actually makes sense. Even as a novice fish keeper, you know by now that fish like to hide when mating or spawning. This is natural behavior, allowing fish to protect their eggs and young from potential predators lurking around their habitat.

Gravid females will look for hiding spots when getting close to spawning. So, it’s normal to see them laying around the substrate or hiding among plants and other decorations. This is where almond leaves will make their most impact.

The tannins that they will release into the environment will darken the water, allowing fish to feel safer. The darker water gives fish the impression that they’re more difficult to spot by predators, which would be true if there were any predators in their environment. So, they will become more comfortable mating and breeding, knowing that they are safer.

The Esthetic Impact

This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but many people love the tannin-colored tank water. It imbues the environment with a surreal coloring, allowing for greater aquascaping potential. If you love the brown coloring associated with the tannin content, almond leaves are perfect for you.

Protect Fish Fry

The obvious problem with fish breeding is that most fish species will eat their own fry. The problem is even more prevalent in multi-species tanks, where all fish are prone to eating the others’ fry. This forces you to invest in a nursing tank to relocate the gravid female once the spawning approaches.

You will use the same tank to house the resulting fry for the following 3-4 weeks, until they are old enough to no longer fear the adults. Indian almond leaves mitigate the adult-on-fry violence by making the fry harder to spot. The excess tannins keep the water darker, breaking the line of sight between the fish.

Combine this with the several live plants, rocks, and various aquatic decorations present in the environment, and you will get a safer habitat for your fish fry.

How Long to Soak Indian Almond Leaves?

The soaking process aims to eliminate many of the dangerous microorganisms that may inhabit the leaves. The process is quite simple as you only require a water container and some potassium permanganate. Only use sufficient water for one leaf to be fully submerged. So, you don’t need much.

You then add a pinch of potassium permanganate in the water, stir it up a bit, and add the leaves. You let them soak for 5 to 10 minutes, which is enough to kill off all the bacteria and fungi present. Then you rinse the leaves extensively with clean water and allow them some time to dry out. They’re then ready to use.

But what if you don’t want to use dead leaves in your aquarium, given the environmental hazard that they may be responsible for?

Naturally, not all aquarists like the concept of having dead leaves on their tank’s bed. These will degrade and rot away gradually over time, releasing ammonia and other chemicals into the environment. This isn’t much of a problem in a well-cycled and well-maintained tank, but I understand the concerns. So, how can you have the benefits of Indian almond leaves without the cons? Simple – prepare an almond leaf extract.

The process is quite straightforward and doesn’t take too much effort on your part. You simply boil some water, maybe half a gallon, pour it over your almond leaves, and let it sit overnight. The boiled water will extract all of the tannins present in the leaves and disinfect them in case they were contaminated with any dangerous microorganisms.

You can then use the resulting solutions to color your tank water and provide your fish with the tannin benefits we’ve already mentioned. Don’t use all of the solution in one go. You will perform water changes occasionally, and these will dilute the tannins, so you’ll need to replace them after that.

Can You Use Raw Indian Almond Leaves in Fish Tank?

Yes, you can use raw almond leaves for your fish tank. In fact, many aquarists prefer this method over any other since it doesn’t take much preparation. Just make sure you rinse the leaves with some tank water before adding them to your tank. This is to eliminate any dirt, debris, or potential parasites that may be lurking on the leaf’s surface.

Don’t use tap water to clean them. This contains chlorine which the leaf will transport to the tank water, and fish are sensitive to chlorine since it’s toxic for them.

How to Dry Indian Almond Leaves?

Time is the proper answer here. You only need to wait it out, and your leaves will dry out naturally. This will typically last 3-4 days. To speed up the process, I recommend using fallen Indian almond leaves instead of fresh ones. This way, you will be using already half-dried leaves, shortening the timespan necessary to dry them out completely.

Do You Boil Indian Almond Leaves?

It depends on your goal. If you want to extract all of the tannins from the leaves, boiling them will help you achieve that quite effectively. If not, you should only soak, not boil them. Many people believe that boiling helps sterilize the leaves, killing off all of the bacteria and other pathogens present on their surfaces.

This is true. The problem is that the boiling process will also extract the tannin, making the leaves pretty much worthless. After all, you’re after the tanning. The leaves are only useful as transporting vehicles.

How Many Indian Almond Leaves Should You Use Per Gallon?

Indian almond leaves are quite large, so you’re fine with one leaf every 10 gallons of water. Obviously, this depends on the leaf’s size and tannin content, since not all leaves contain the same amount of tannin. The proof is in the leaf’s coloring. The browner it is, the higher the tannin content.

Finally, it depends on your goals and how much tannin you need. More leaves will give you a higher tannin content and darker water. You need to ensure that your fish and plants don’t mind that because the excess tannin may drop the water’s pH considerably.

Alternatives to Indian Almond Leaves for Fish Tank

The most obvious alternative to almond leaves is driftwood. This is the most widespread tank decoration you can get for obvious reasons. It’s not only great at balancing the water pH, but it will also provide fish with hiding spots and beautify the environment at the same time. Some preparation work may be necessary before using driftwood in your tank, including boiling for sterilization purposes.

Other good alternatives include banana leaves, sphagnum moss, and alder cones. The latter is an interesting choice because alder cones are also rich in tannins. Using 5 per 10 gallons of water should provide a high-enough tannin concentration.

When to Change Indian Almond Leaves in a Tank?

Indian almond leaves are essentially dead, so they will begin to decay after being separated from the tree. When submerged in the water, the leaves will become food for your tank’s biofilm which will produce ammonia in return. The leaves will begin to display physical deterioration beyond the 30-40-day mark.

How often you want to change them depends on your goals and how well the leaves hold on. If their physical integrity isn’t compromised, you can keep them for longer. Many aquarists change their Indian almond leaves every 30 days, while others change them every 60-80 days.

A realistic timeframe would be 30-60 days. Anything beyond that will provide no extra benefits since the leaf has most likely leaked much or all of its tannin in the water already.

Do All Fish Species Like Indian Almond Leaves?

Clearly not. Indian almond leaves are ideal for tropical, blackwater fish like bettas that thrive in murky water conditions. The added tannin will make this species feel at home without dirtying the water in the process. Not that the bettas would mind that anyway, thanks to their labyrinth organ that they use to breathe at the water’s surface.

However, some fish species come from more neutral and basic waters and won’t appreciate the added tannin. These include most African and American cichlids, brackish water fish (guppies, among others), mollies, platies, killifish, etc.

The idea is always to assess your fish species’ water chemistry and pH requirements. While basic water fish can withstand a more acidic content within certain limits, this will significantly impact their lifespan.

Can You Use Indian Almond Leaves in Saltwater Tank?

Yes, you can use almond leaves for saltwater tanks, provided the fish aren’t overly sensitive to tannins. If they can withstand lower pH levels and don’t mind the darker water coloring, go for it.

Conclusion

The benefits of Indian almond leaves go beyond the mere esthetics. They provide fish with a more natural-looking setup, offer regenerative properties, improve fish osmosis, and aid in reproduction and fry development.

They also make for a more interesting aquatic setup, contrasting it with the crystal-clear, transparent aquarium waters you’ve been used to. Try them for a change, and share your experience along the way!