Indian Almond Leaves?

[tokala]

Originally Posted by PewPewPew

I heard bettaspa was watered down IAL tannis?

I think that's the gist of it- but it also contains some trace elements, calcium, and maybe tannins from other leaves (according to the IBC website). It might just be overkill or a marketing thing.

[1fish2fish]

Amy Lim is a seller on Ebay... she may have auctions on aquabid also.. not sure. If you go to ebay and type in "Indian Almond Leaves" she should pop up with a bunch of listings. She has great feed back.

[PewPewPew]

1fish2fish, youre making me want to buy things. Stop that! :p

[vaygirl]

I've also bought from Amy. It's true, she's super fast shipping (for coming from across the sea) and the leaves (I think I got grade C?) were nice. I got them from Aquabid. All were totally usable. And she's really nice to deal with.

The only reason I stopped using leaves is that they're so huge in my lil 5 gallons. Lol! I did notice with the betta spa, everyone got feisty, active, and really, really hungry. I also picked up Atison's betta pro food. They love it too. I think you could probably make your own brown water with leaves for way less then the cost of Betta spa. I just wanted to try it out for convenience sake.

[tokala]

Thanks for the tip on Amy Lim, I will most definitely check her out! I am also going to consider the Betta Spa- I have a 2.5G and 7.5 Gal and I am sure the leaves will be huge in there too! I could always make my own (like you said) but you're right, it's hard to resist the convenience! I just love the idea of giving my boys a "spa day" ;) Thanks everyone!

[Lion Mom]

"The only reason I stopped using leaves is that they're so huge in my lil 5 gallons."

You know you can break the leaves in half/quarters/whatever. :)

[vaygirl]

Well yeah, I know. But then I have to find the smaller pieces before they funkify my water. My tanks are heavily planted. I guess I could clip them but then they mold at the water line. It's a work in progress. :)

[PewPewPew]

Try putting them in mesh bags or pantyhose :D

[LolaQuigs]

Originally Posted by vaygirl

I've also bought from Amy. It's true, she's super fast shipping (for coming from across the sea) and the leaves (I think I got grade C?) were nice. I got them from Aquabid. All were totally usable. And she's really nice to deal with.

The only reason I stopped using leaves is that they're so huge in my lil 5 gallons. Lol! I did notice with the betta spa, everyone got feisty, active, and really, really hungry. I also picked up Atison's betta pro food. They love it too. I think you could probably make your own brown water with leaves for way less then the cost of Betta spa. I just wanted to try it out for convenience sake.

I also bought from Amy, and highly recommend her. Her ebay account includes a lot of info about IAL, and different methods for using them; since this was the first time I had ever purchased or used them, I found the info really helpful. The leaves were reasonably priced, and arrived so quickly, especially considering the shipment came from overseas. When they arrived the quality was excellent. She even included a free sample of banana leaves!

I agree they are definitely huge! I got the "mini" leaves, the smallest ones she offered. I figured they'd be...well...small leaves, and when they arrived I was shocked by how large they were! I was definitely glad I chose them over the "small" leaves, which was the next largest size. For smaller tanks, I definitely recommend the mini leaves if you can find them (I don't think she always has this size up for auction). Even though they're bigger than expected I still use two in my 2.5 gallon and three or four in my 5 gallon with no problem.