Botanicals - What is safe and what is not

[ShapShapLecaPap]

Hello,

Hope everyone is well.

I'd like to experiment with botanicals in a new 150L (40 Gallon) tank im setting up. Mostly going to have small schooling fish in it.

I would like to ask if anyone knows if pecan nut shells (Carya illinoinensis) and Moreton Bay Chestnut (Castanospermum australe) seed pods are safe to use in the aquarium?

I have previously used mulberry (Morus alba) leaves, leaves and flowers from various orchids which I grow as well as Guiana chestnut leaves (Pachira aquatica) in my tanks with success. But now I would like to diversify a bit.

I am aware of having to soak in saline, boil and dry the botanical before use.

All and any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Byron]

Are these just for aquascaping purposes (i.e., "decor," as opposed to gaining a biological benefit)? I have used dried (dead) oak leaves in tanks for decor but also for their very useful biological role in providing infusoria for fry as well as their anti-bacterial properties. But all that soaking and boiling would make leaves useless for anything but decor, hence the question. The species of leaf impacts this.

 

[ShapShapLecaPap]

These botanicals are solely for decorative purposes. For biological purposes I use rooibos tea.

 

[Sunnyspots]

These botanicals are solely for decorative purposes. For biological purposes I use rooibos tea.

Does rooibos create infusoria? I'd like to know so that I could throw a couple of teabags in my fry tank.

 

[Byron]

Does rooibos create infusoria? I'd like to know so that I could throw a couple of teabags in my fry tank.

I would not think so, but if someone who knows corrects me, fine. Infusoria used to be applied to most all microscopic or very small critters, but I believe the scientific meaning may have changed. No matter, these critters are food for fish and especially first food for all fry. The decomposition of organics produces infusoria, and there will be infusoria on chunks of wood, as well as dried leaves. But not in liquids like tea (so far as I know).

I brought this up previously because if one adds leaves to an aquarium with the intent of culturing infusoria for fish, the leaves must be naturally dead dried. Soaking in salt, boiling, etc, would likely destroy the properties that otherwise naturally allow the growth of infusoria--or again, so I assume. Their bacterial uses, and certainly tannin production, would also be negated.

 

[ShapShapLecaPap]

I don't believe that dried tea leaves can culture infusoria - there is very little available nutrients in such a media that would make it a viable source for micro organsisms. The main use of rooibos tea in this instance is for the antibacterial and antifungal properties as well as other scientifically unproven properties that I believe to be applicable in the aquarium.

 

[Sunnyspots]

Oh well. I just keep drinking it instead. It beats black tea, even Earl Grey.