Using garden plant leaves in my aquarium, is it safe?

[jackgulf]

I'm dealing with a slightly higher pH in my tank than I'd prefer, and I'm looking for a natural way to bring it down. I've got platys and shrimp, so I'm not aiming for acidic water, just something a bit more moderate. I know some people use botanicals for this purpose, and I'm wondering if I could use some plants from my garden.

I've got tea-olive trees and a type of fern just growing outside - would it be okay to just pick some leaves, give them a good wash, and add them to the tank? I know the shrimp and snails will likely munch on them, which is fine by me.

[BadgersSong]

Go for it, just double-check the plant isn't toxic to your aquatic friends first. Pull it out if the roots start to rot.

[infold]

Watch out for neighborhood strays hanging around your tank's water source, ammonia levels might spike.

[jackgulf]

Just to clarify, I was thinking of adding dead leaves from the tea-olive trees and fern to the tank, not the actual plants themselves.

[coltin]

Leave the pH as is if you're keeping platies in a high pH setup. Most non-toxic plant leaves can be used to add tannins, just make sure they're dry and not from conifers. It takes a lot of leaves to make a significant change, so it's probably not worth the effort.

[BadgersSong]

I'm dealing with a slightly higher pH in my tank than I'd prefer, and I'm looking for a natural way to bring it down. I've got platys and shrimp, so I'm not aiming for acidic water, just something a bit more moderate. I know some people use botanicals for this purpose, and I'm wondering if I could use some plants from my garden.

I've got tea-olive trees and a type of fern just growing outside - would it be okay to just pick some leaves, give them a good wash, and add them to the tank? I know the shrimp and snails will likely munch on them, which is fine by me.

I still think you should double-check the toxicity of those leaves, just to be safe. 8.0 pH shouldn't be a problem for your platies and shrimp, so I wouldn't stress about it.

Most hardwood leaves are fine, but I'm not sure about ferns. I've had good luck with oak, ash, and cottonwood leaves. Cottonwood is a great choice - it's light-colored and doesn't release too many tannins into the water. Stick to dead and dry leaves, they'll attract beneficial microbes as they break down, and your shrimp will love to snack on them. Veggies are also a great option - my shrimp go crazy for cucumber or blanched carrot. I just attach it to a stainless fork and let them have at it. But honestly, I mostly just let them forage for their own food, and they do just fine.

[graye]

I've had a lot of experience with dried leaves in my tanks, even going so far as to plant trees specifically for the purpose. However, I would advise against using them with platys - the combination of hard water fish and botanicals just doesn't seem to work.

In my experience, platys tend to feed on algae that's been nourished by the leaves, but they don't actually eat the leaves themselves. For example, I have a tank with X milleri platys that has jasmine vines draped over it, and whenever leaves fall in, the fish show no interest - I have to remove them to prevent decay.

I recall sitting on the banks of the Belize River, watching platys in their natural habitat. They were feeding on biofilm and picking through algae on driftwood, completely ignoring the leaves that were scattered around them. It seemed clear that they just aren't interested in eating leaves, and I've found this to be true in my own tanks as well.