Indian Almond Leaves and Cardinal Tetras

[Oogiesbettas]

Has anyone used indian almond leaves with cardinal tetras? I have a lot of them because I use them for my bettas and I know they lower the ph and simulate blackwater. That would seem to be perfect for tetras. I usually use Kents Blackwater Expert for my tetras.

 

[Oogiesbettas]

Well, I put it in a couple days ago and the tetras seem to be doing well and it has lowered the ph nicely. They are a lot more colorful than they were. I also added a tad (less than usual) of Kent's Blackwater. So, it seems that Indian Almond Leaves do a good job of mimicking Blackwater conditions.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

indian almond leaves have antibiotic qualitys to them and because bettas live in the same enviroment as the plant they have taken advantage of its antibiotic qualitys which is why it is so good on them, i wouldn't see it doing any harm to the tetras but it probably won't do anything for them on the whole either.

 

[RedShark]

Whats blackwater?

 

[abstract]

Well, I put it in a couple days ago and the tetras seem to be doing well and it has lowered the ph nicely. They are a lot more colorful than they were. I also added a tad (less than usual) of Kent's Blackwater. So, it seems that Indian Almond Leaves do a good job of mimicking Blackwater conditions.

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all fish are able to benefit from the addition of indian almond leaves...besides the antibiotic tendencies it also lowers the ph by releasing tannin, which is known to increase the activity of just about any fish from the general region

RedShark: blackwater is a description of the water conditions in the regions a lot of our fish came from (well, their native waters at least)..

South American Blackwater Stream
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Blackwater ponds, creeks, and rivers originate in the rain-forest. In the slow-moving waters, acids are leeched from decaying vegetation creating very transparent, tea-colored water. These waters have almost no measurable water hardness and an acidic pH.
The substrate in blackwater habitats is typically leaf litter over a base of fine clay or sand. Decaying wood and plant matter is common especially in flooded igapo forest. There are many submerged terrestrial plants, many of which retain most of their leaves.

Taken from http/www.mongabay.com/fish/biotope_amazon_blackwater.htm