Indian Almond Leaves (CATTAPA)

[Ben]

Has any forum users heard of these cattapa leaves? or do they already use it in thier water?
Lately there has been a few topics posted on the benifiets of peat, well what i have read on these leaves they do the same thing plus more!

I happened to have stumbled on some on ebay (not Australian)
and the benifiets of useing it:

Stimulate breeding condition (Black Water)

Reduce pH in water

Works as Antiseptic

Can be use to place the bubble nest (when used for bettas)

Reduce stress

Enhance coloration

Enhance fertility

Promote healthy and stronger scales

Sounds like a bit of a "miracle drug" for fish (especially discus!)
is it available in Australia?

[Ben]

The more i read up on these leaves the better they seem! Is this the secret weapon to all those wonderful Asian discus we see all so often????

[Merrilyn]

Cattapa leaves are the dried leaves from the Indian Almond Tree. It grows in the tropics, and is also grown in the botanic gardens in Cairns. I have used it in the water for breeding bettas (siamese fighting fish) but never for discus. The fallen leaves are collected and dried, and a small amount is used in the water till the water turns a light tea colour. It is supposed to have antiseptic properties, and to stimulate spawning. I have never seen any alteration to the pH and Melbourne water is always soft, so can't comment on it's water softening properties.

I'm about to set up a rose red pair in the spawning tank, so this time I will try using the Indian almond leaf in the water and report on the success or otherwise of the experiment.

For those who want to try the almond leaves for themselves, pop over to Australian Betta Forums. One of the sponsors of that forum, Bexley Bettas is selling these leaves.

Perhaps Kev might be able to give us more information on the use of the leaves by the Asian discus breeders.

[Merrilyn]

You can find Bexley Bettas here http://www.bettaaquatics.com.au/page...io/default.htm

[Ben]

Cheers Merrilyn!
thanks for putting me and others onto Bexley Bettas! Let us all know how you go with the "experiemnt" I have done a fair bit of research on the net in regarding these leaves, and they seem to work magic! maybe more magic than Geo Liquid!

Thanks again,
Ben

[Ben]

For those that need a bit more infomation:

http://www.geocities.com/ngan1199/index.html

[kalebjarrod]

daleys fruit tree nurser in kyogle northern NSW sells them

good people whom i have bought many plants of before

happy shopping

http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/index.html

[the_oracle]

The leaves in the pic. is called ketapang leaves. We have lots of them here in Singapore. You can find the trees growing by the roadsides. It's good for aquarium use. Some of us hobbyist in Singapore are using it. It's free. We just need to pick it up from the ground, clean it, and after that, just throw it into our tanks..........

[sunshinediscus]

When i was last in Penang and Singapore not one professional breeder had any of these leaves in thier aquariums that i saw, the only place i seen them in use was in some of the lps. If they were as good as we are led to believe then i think everyone would have them in the tanks especially when they are free from the sides of the road.

[Merrilyn]

Well, stage one of the indian almond leaf experiment is under way. I put a pair of red melons into the spawning tank three days ago. This morning, the pair have spawned, which is sooner than I would have expected. It usually takes them longer than a couple of days to settle into the smaller tank after coming from the 8 ft grow out tank. So that looks good.

It is an average size spawn for first time breeders, and the pair are tending the eggs carefully. So far, so good..

I added one full leaf to the tank prior to introducing the pair, and now the water is a weak tea colour. This is the only change I have made to my normal breeding routine. I'll keep you posted on the progress.