Catappa leaves, peat, driftwood that leaches tannins--pros/cons?

[Teddy's Mom]

Hi all,
I've been reading about how many tropical fish like to have peat, or Catappa leaves, and/or tannins in the water, and am confused about whether these things are interchangeable, or provide different benefits, and whether tannins in general from driftwood are a good thing/just as good.

I have a redwood tree in my backyard that drops zillions of fronds and cones; would it be safe and beneficial to add some (really old) pieces to an aquarium? Could I use dead Redwood branches for driftwood?

This is my setup: I have a 40g breeder tank that I'm in the process of cycling, Eco-complete black substrate, planted (Brazilian sword, Amazon sword, Java fern, Anacharis, Water sprite, and I think dwarf Sagittaria [not sure] and Cryptocoryne [not sure]. Also a couple pieces of driftwood thrown in with my used tank (don't know the species, but it is leaching tannins into the water). Also a cork log floating near the surface that I thought fish would like to hide or play around in. I want to make a community tank with a Betta, Glowlight tetras, probably other tetras, and possibly a few Dwarf Rainbow fish, a Dwarf Gourami or a pair, Platies, maybe some kind of Rasbora, a snail, and maybe a very small number of some kind of shrimp--still researching the options. Currently have a Betta splendens and 4 Pearl danios but although the danios are beautiful, I hate how hyper they are and how they aggressively hog any food, which I think would be hard on the more timid fish, so I might return them.

Thanks for any opinions/experience y'all can offer!

 

[chenning]

I seed each tank with a dried Oak leaf once per year. It lets off tannis and creates a microb bed for good bacteria to grow. Peat moss is a mess and will turn the tank brown. If you use it place it in a container with small holes punched in the lid to allow water flow but not allow peat to escape. I don't recommend peat unless you absolutely need it for a black water set up. The other leaves work as well as Oak, but the Oak is free.

 

[Teddy's Mom]

Thanks for that advice, chenning. I'll avoid peat. That's great to know about oak leaves. Gotta love free... Just one leaf is enough to benefit a tank for a whole year?

 

[chenning]

One leaf will get gravel substrate seeded for a year. I put them in some tanks, grow out tanks for crayfish or shrimp, about once a month. You can use more but keep it limited until you're used to working with them.

Forgot to say drift wood works great as well. I collect and cure my own. Some I leave with a lot of tannis to stain the water for my natives.

 

[Teddy's Mom]

Cool! Thanks for the info.

 

[OrionGirl]

Keep in mind that it's not a panacea, and there's a couple of things going on. Tannins come from a variety of sources--leaves, wood, peat being the most readily accessible. The source you choose should be what works best in your setup, but keep in mind that tannins will also discolor the water in your tank. Some people like that, but some don't, and the source of the tannins can impact how much discoloration you see. Also, tannins soften the water. so it really depends the species of fish you keep and where they are from, unrelated to the temperature. African cichlids are tropical, but many need hard water and will not benefit from the addition of tannins from any source.

Leaf litter, as opposed to peat (which can be used in a tea bag, or use the pellets in a HOB/canister), serves a secondary purpose. Not just one leaf, but rather a whole pile can act as a source of food, as the microbes break the leaves down as well as cover for fish and fry. Again, it really depends on the native habitat of the fish. Some species of cories, for example, will happily snuffle through leaves all day.

 

[Teddy's Mom]

Oops, I thought I replied from my phone yesterday but I guess it didn't work. Thanks for the insights, OrionGirl. So far, the fish I'm most interested in are from south American waterways with a lot of natural tannins, but it's hard to see very well through that, so I'm not totally crazy about it. (I have a tea color going so far due to driftwood leaching.) Hmm, I never even thought of having a lot of leaves/leaf litter on the bottom of a tank. Lots more research to do...

 

[chenning]

If the color gets too much use about 2 tbs of carbon in a cheap box / corner filter and it will clear the tint.

When you say South American are you looking at cichlids or smaller fish?

 

[Teddy's Mom]

Thanks for the tip on carbon--filters are a whole nother thing to learn about--so many things people put into them. Is carbon a different thing from charcoal?

I really like a lot of the tetras--glowlight, cardinal, columbian, ember, pretty much all of them. I also am thinking about Powder Blue dwarf gouramis since I saw them at the LFS. And I have a Betta I wanted to be able to keep in the community tank. But if the Betta must be separate I'll have to get him his own bigger tank, because he loves swimming around in the tank I bought for a planted community (40g breeder).

LOL already finding the need for multiple tanks--so many cool fish out there!

 

[OrionGirl]

Bettas can be in communities, just depends on tank mates and attitude. Some will eat smaller fish, some ignore everything. Keep domestic stock splendens away from nippy tank mates, since those long fins are usually too tempting, and while a few report success, mixing labyrinth fish is usually not a good plan.

Carbon=activated charcoal. Rinse it first, and plan to either toss it once the water clears or replace it often, since carbon stops working after a while and just becomes host for beneficial bacteria instead.