Oak Leaves

Todays crop: a box of dryed oak leaves

Dead leaves are beneficial to the home aquaria in many ways. I'm using oak leaves myself and as this is the season to be picking them I thought I would write a quick post about them.

Why Leaves

The benefit of using leaves in the aquaria are many and there is plenty information available on this subject, I will shorty highlight some of them below.
Looks
Many of our aquarium fishes come from habitats littered with leaves. Heiko Bleher himself mentioned how he knew that he would find Apistogramma species in a leaf litter habitat (MaxiZoo talk, Dublin 2013). Oak leaves are a great way for any aquarist that wants to try to replicate such a habitat and it does usually look great.
Biotope/breeding
Tannins released from the leaves helps lowering the pH and stain the water to a tea-color. This further replicates the habitats of many blackwater species. Replicating the natural habitat in this way will significantly increase any breeding attempts.

Hiding

Leaf litter provides an abundance of hiding spots for fry and adult fish alike which adds to the general wellbeing of the fish. In a breeding tank leaves can be the difference between a good survival rate of fry or an unsuccessful attempt.

Food source

The leaves are also beneficial to the growth of fry as they provide an environment for microorganisms on which many fry feed. I often use oak leaves in my rearing tanks and lately a batch of Hypancistrus debilittera were grazing eagerly on the leaves, the batch grew very well and I contribute part of that to the constant availability of food, deriving from the leaves.

Preparation

I have only used oak leaves and can only comment on them.
Collection
Pick clearly dead/dry leaves of a species you know is aquarium safe. Pick only leaves that have already fallen to the ground. Avoid leaves from a polluted area, rotting, exhibit fungi growth or anything else you are not sure about.
Storage
Store the leaves in a dry area, I use an open card box for this purpose. Do not store them in plastic bags or sealed container until you are certain that they are completely dried out. Pick out any “bad” leaves prior to use. I usually dry the leaves for at least a month before use.

Use

Adding leaves
Add the leaves gradually, you will get familiar with how much leaves you need and how they affect the color of the water. The leaves will decompose over time, you can either leave them as they are or if you are afraid of leaf matter clogging the filter/spoiling the looks; siphon the smaller pieces out while performing a water change. Just make sure that you don’t siphon out your fry, in a set up with leaf litters fry can often go unnoticed from view.

Fish species
The effect the leaves have on the water makes them suitable for blackwater species. Personally I use oak leaves in tanks with species of Ancistrus, Corydoras, Hara, Peckoltia, Pelvicachromis and various tetras. Make however sure of what conditions the particular species you keep needs before planning the tank.

Heiko Bleher visits Ireland

Last week ichthyologist and explorer Heiko Bleher held a talk in Leopardstown, Dublin, organized by Maxi Zoo Ireland and of course I could not miss an opportunity to hear the man who has brought so much to the world of fish keeping.

I really believe that these types of events are greatly needed, especially in Ireland as I think there still is plenty of room for the hobby to develop and grow here.

The event was well organized (free goodie bags for the attendants is never a bad thing). The only suggestion I would have for the next one would be to supply a few more chairs as it became a bit tedious to stand in the long run.

I was also surprised that there was not more attending the talk as I thought it was well advertised, for anyone who thought about going but didn’t I can just say that you missed a very interesting talk.

Heiko started by giving us a glimpse of his early and fascinating life, including how he, his siblings and his mother lived for six months with a tribe practicing cannibalism. We were showed examples of the more than 60 aquatic plants discovered by Heiko Bleher's mother, Amanda Flora Hilda Bleher and it struck me how much we take for granted when it comes to what is available to us in the local fish shops today.

The talk continued with a summary of his many expeditions and findings around the world.

I did find this segment the most interesting of the day, not only did it portray a number of biotopes and interesting aquatic fauna but it gave a broader image of his travels and the locations he visited. We were shown local tribes and customs which ties in very well with the understanding of these habitats. Issues regarding environmental and humanitarian problems were also highlighted.

After the break Heiko set up a biotope aquarium of Rio Jufaris, Brazil (pictured above). There were very good bits of information here but I must admit that I did miss some parts of it.

The bitope in question looked very nice, and Heiko discussed the importance of keeping fish the way they live in the wild, this included several examples of biotopes including discus set ups designed to replicate the natural environment of the fish. A point was made that numbers matters, and that as discus live in great numbers, they should be kept in numbers for them to express their natural behavior. The same was said about other schooling fish and we were shown images of tetras shooling in a fashion rarely seen in the aquarium.

I had toyed with the ideas of specific biotope set ups several times but in my mind I saw it as mainly a visual thing. Having listened to Heiko talking about the benefits for the fish and seen his photographs of many, many successful breeding results something clicked in my head and I did realise that I do have to spend more attention to detail when keeping certain species.

One of many examples shown was of a Synodontis, moving gravel to build its nest. If pebbles of the correct size were not present the fish could not exhibit its breeding behaviour.

Heiko had also set up two biotopes prior to the talk;

Biotope: Rio Mato Grosso, Brazil 

Nano Biotope: Small Creek in West Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia

Heiko also mentioned his vision of fish shops that actually present their stock in appropriate biotope set-ups. This is a great idea as many aquatic shops today present their fish in a very sterile fashion. How is someone new to fish-keeping supposed to know how to care for their fish’s needs if the shops don’t present them? I am aware that most of us do our research beforehand but many do not.

I also believe it could be a great selling point as the fish would be presented at its best in beautiful set-ups and the shop could probably also benefit from sales of plants, substrate etc..

A biotope is of course not for everyone but it would be very nice if the option was there.

Overall I had a great time and there was many bits of information to pick up from the talk that I’m afraid I have forgotten half of it. 

I do hope there will be more events like this organized in Ireland, many thanks to Heiko Bleher and Maxi Zoo for the experience.

For more about Heiko Bleher visit: www.aquapress-bleher.com

Andreas