Indian Almond Leaves

[AshleySpatula]

Hi there, I recently bought a package of Indian Almond Leaf to add to my aquarium. The package says that you can leave them in when they sink and they will eventually fall apart. One of the pieces that has sank has some fuzzy stuff near the end of the stem and I am worried about that.

Would love some advice or input on how others use it. I am about to do a water change tomorrow should I just remove all the pieces and add new?

[vilmarisv]

I usually do.
The fussy stuff is just bacteria growth. It's not a big deal and you can leave it to finish decomposing but it's a matter of prefference.
Personally, I might leave them for long periods of time until they are almost falling apart but have never just left them there until they dissolve but I have white substrate.

[Laki]

Hm, have never seen fuzzy growth on my leaves! I also let them float, then they sink and I reuse them until they're worn out! I have more in the mail I cannot wait to get, because the ones I have now are old ^.^

[AshleySpatula]

Thanks for getting back so quick! Its good to know its not harmful but i will replace them tomorrow. Im super paranoid about taking care of these two guys as they are from petsmart and weren't in the best state when i got them. (they aren't together of course but their tanks are side by side)

[Bombalurina]

I leave mine in until they are mostly transparent. My bettas love them and they seem to make my other fish pretty happy too. :)

[SnowySurface]

I let my leaves float at the top until they sink. I take mine out after about 2 weeks or so. Since my substrate is black I worry that I will miss decaying pieces if I leave it to break up completely. If I had live plants in my tank it wouldn't matter as much. I'm super paranoid as well so I go through leaves really quickly. XD

[Pitluvs]

I usually take mine out when I notice they are getting floppy underwater. My snails in my 29g love to eat them, as well as my apple snails in my 15g :)

[gabrielle09]

I leave mine in for up to ten days. I read somewhere that if you don't have constant water flow leaving the leaves in there for any more time than that can release bad bacteria into the tank and since I don't have a filter I'm a little paranoid.

[Laki]

Hm, I don't have a filter either but have used and re-used them for as long as 2 weeks without problem. Mind you, my tanks require 2 weekly changes (50% and 100%) so my waters pretty good :)

[Tikibirds]

I just leave my leaves in till they get slimy or until the water gets too dark in color. I dont want them to actually decompose in my tanks