# summer leaves for aquarium



## NatureBoy (1 Jul 2014)

if your looking for a source of fallen leaves for aquarium during summer

I added some dead "holm oak" leaves at the weekend, it's an evergreen oak that sheds dead leaves in summer, they kick off loads of tannins and look great because they are smaller than beach and standard oak.

I gave them a bit of a boil first and couldn't find anything to suggest they could be toxic, no ill effects from the fish at all.  So unless I'm offering dodgy advice: give it a go!


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## Trevor Pleco (2 Jul 2014)

is boiling important, does it not denude things as it does with say boiling vegetables or could you rather steam the leaves ?


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## dw1305 (2 Jul 2014)

Hi all,


NatureBoy said:


> I added some dead "holm oak" leaves at the weekend,


 Holm Oak is _Quercus ilex,_ I've used these without any problem. 
<http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/creating-blackwater.9306/page-2#post-117277> 


Trevor Pleco said:


> is boiling important, does it not denude things as it does with say boiling vegetables or could you rather steam the leaves ?


I don't boil any of the leaves I collect. If you are worried about using them untreated I'd suggest freezing them instead.

cheers Darrel


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## Greenfinger2 (2 Jul 2014)

Hi, Microwave the leaves That would work to


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## Trevor Pleco (2 Jul 2014)

Thanks good call !


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## Greenfinger2 (2 Jul 2014)

Wife Hate it  Says it "Leaves" A funny smell in the microwave  Not as bad as a reheated Curry is


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## Trevor Pleco (2 Jul 2014)

30 seconds with  "Instant Cook"' should be adequate and enough time to distract her or alternatively as a decoy open up a bottle of Microbe Lift Special Blend in another room


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## Greenfinger2 (2 Jul 2014)

Hi , The Wife knows all the tricks  To many years of fishing & cooking Hemp and making baits at home for her  to fall for that one  Mind you i still get the blame When we get fly's in the house  And I have not used maggots in years


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## parotet (3 Jul 2014)

What about picking leaves already submerged in a stream? They can be plenty of interesting critters (for you... Not sure if for wife  )Don't understand why it is recommended everywhere to boil, sterilize, microwave, etc. them. I really enjoy these new additions to the tank, and to be honest those critters disappear in some hours (food for fish or conditions not suitable). Maybe if you have extremely expensive and sensitive fish or so... But otherwise it makes no sense to me.

When I was a child I used to have a 60 liters tank in my bedroom with a bottom filter and half of the water... It was the place to release all I could hunt (mainly insect larvae and Crustacea), it was dirty, sometimes ugly, sometimes cruel (you realize that there are some animals that should never be put together), sometimes embarrassing (your mom isn't happy when your bedroom is plenty of mayflies one morning)... 20 years later my planted tanks are beautiful compared to that, but I still miss the incredible things I saw in that glass cube!

Jordi


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## NatureBoy (4 Jul 2014)

Because they were dry and v buoyant I found that giving them a bit of a boil helped sink them quickly and so could be "scaped" a bit. Was also thinking that given they were evergreen (once) they may be a bit toxic so figured a quick boil might dilute them a bit.


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