My Maple tank

It's an established trick/technique to use dried oak leaves in rainforest, acid water tanks. I have a pair of Apistogramma veijita form 2, a rare dwarf Cichlid from quite acid waters, and I have no easily accessed local oaks.
I've been experimenting with maple leaves for acids and tannins, and all seems well. And so, a handful of maple leaves have gone into a 20 gallon. The veijita love it.
I expect tea coloured, tannin stained water as the leaves settle. They've been in 2 days, and will stay intact for a few weeks.

The male veijita - this is a wild-caught fish.



The female, with a slight scar on her nose from being in too alkaline water.

interesting concept,

Nature at work in your home aquarium.

Steve

I threw in some oak leaves yesterday in my gourami and betta tanks. We live close to the botanical garden so I fill a plastic bag in less than 5 minutes! In the case of the betta tank, I hope the father doesn't get easily to the fry that way so some survive.

I am interested to know more about the relationship between the scar and the too alkaline water. How's that?

I find acid water Cichlids get sinus infections when stressed. If you keep them in small or dirty tanks, it's almost guaranteed. Acid in water affects the bacteria that grow in it, and in alkaline water, these fish are exposed to different bacteria than they would meet in their pH 5 home.

Once you get past the wild caught generation and raise young in our water, they meet the pathogens from the get go and seem hardier. But that first generation can get into trouble in the upper respiratory system (Cichlids have nostrils), which often enough leads to pop eye. They lack acquired defences.

Way back when, in the 1990s, Apistogramma were my thing, and I bred around 30 species of them. This is my first real try with them since - this was a famous, rarely imported population of a favourite species, and I couldn't resist.

Very interesting! Who would expect fish to have sinus infections, just like us?!

I never really completely understood the leaning toward oak leaves in North American fish tanks.
I love using indian almond leaves, and I love the free non-costly quality of oak. I have used and use both.
I never really understood why you couldn't use anything else.
Is there leaning to oak as they are thicker or heavier maybe?

I think the pioneering work was done by European aquarists, who have oaks. So, we have oak leaves suggested.
The maple experiment reddens the water a bit, compared to the browner tones of the oak. My oak tanks were never this tone, and I can't decide which I prefer.
The fish are happy as pigs. They haven't bred, but they look spectacular. I have hopes.
The nostril issue on the female is really clearing too.

I wonder Gary if our West coast maple will work as good. I guess the only way I will find out is try for myself with Betta's

Fish look happy and healthy. I use oak and maple leaves.

So in one of my tanks, the maple leaves showed why oak leaves are preferred. Oaks last up to three months, but here is a maple leaf after 3 weeks - its work is done and it did wonderful things to my water, but....



They go up the siphon with ease when I do water changes.

Three weeks...! Whoa!
Worth a shot I guess.