Are all Botanicals safe for fishes?

[Marcia]

Hi everyone, recently I’ve been really interested in those biotopes that resemble the river floor beds. While I don’t have the talent that many of you do to scape, I love the idea of scattering botanicals to entertain the fishes and shrimps. I’ve got a selection of beautiful botanicals from Blackwater UK and plan to add it to my 90L planted tank (not all of it, I’ll keep most to replace as needed). I wonder if they are all safe for any kind of fish or if they’d change the water parameters to any risky level?

My water is moderately soft, pH 6.2-6.5.
My creatures are: 1 Longfin BN pleco, 7 otocinclus, 4 Rasboras, 7 tetras, 3 shrimps

The botanicals are: casuarina cones, jacaranda pods, sterculia pod, alnus cones, schima pods, areca pericaps and parviflora pods

Are they all safe for fishes/water parameters? Can I add as many as I want? Do I need to boil them first?

Thank you.

 

[Wookii]

Hi everyone, recently I’ve been really interested in those biotopes that resemble the river floor beds. While I don’t have the talent that many of you do to scape, I love the idea of scattering botanicals to entertain the fishes and shrimps. I’ve got a selection of beautiful botanicals from Blackwater UK and plan to add it to my 90L planted tank (not all of it, I’ll keep most to replace as needed). I wonder if they are all safe for any kind of fish or if they’d change the water parameters to any risky level?

No, they should be only beneficial to your tank inhabitants - you have obtained them from a reputable source so you can just go ahead and add them to your tank.

You may find though, that leaves are often the most natural looking botanicals. Common-a-garden oak and beech leaves, collected after they have dropped in winter, are excellent, especially if broken up into pieces so you can't identify their source tree so easily.

The botanicals are: casuarina cones, jacaranda pods, sterculia pod, alnus cones, schima pods, areca pericaps and parviflora pods

Are they all safe for fishes/water parameters?

Yes - incidentally the Alnus cones (aka Alder cones) can also be easily collected in the UK if you find a tree locally.

Can I add as many as I want?

Most will add tint from tannins to your water (both beneficial and desirable if that is the look you are hoping to achieve) - the more you add, the deeper the tint will be.

Do I need to boil them first?

No you don't have to, they can be added straight to the tank, however many of them can take a considerable time before they become water logged and start to sink - up until that point they will just float on the surface.

Boiling them can speed that up somewhat, but it will remove a lot of those beneficial chemicals from the botanicals, so make sure you keep the resulting nice brown water in a jug, and add it to your tank (once cooled) along with the botanicals as desired to achieve the level of tint you want to obtain. That tint will dissipate over time on exposure to tank lights, so you can add more from the jug as necessary.

 

[Wookii]

Incidentally we have an excellent thread on botancials, here: Ripe for Picking: a Guide to Collecting your own Bountiful Botanicals