Betta revelations and misconceptions

[Sena Hansler]

Actually (I just found out) black water extract is from catappa, or indian almond leaves...Also knowns as IALs. Breeders use it for fish, to help harden scales and condition the breeding water. It lowers PH, and makes it ideal for such fish like Bettas and Arowanas ^^ Some breeders/hobbiests use it with IALs.

[Betta16]

Funny Iv never heard anyone call there IAL water black befor, this i a cool peace of intell Ill have to as more of my home twon breeders what they call theres. I do love the Dark look The black sand give My boys, thou its to cool seeing my shadow Stalking the catfish in the tank, he likes to play sheep dog and lead them around.

[Sena Hansler]

xD hahaha nice....

another realization for me... Hong Kong brand of heaters work better than the expensive ones here. My expensive one died. My hong kong one is making Red happy xD So, now I've ordered.... another heater. and a vouple filters. and black water extract. :3

betta fish are addicting. No, I did not just discover that. ;)

[MadameDesu]

Fishkeeping really is like a hobby. You get better at it and learn more as you go.
The black water is an interesting concept that I've been hearing more about.
I'd recommend that you just get IAL, Sena. The backwater extracts will probably be more expensive in the long run. Plus, the leaves probably have more benefits than the extract.

[Sheldon31]

I looked into the extract but wasn't keen, expensive and not as good. I like the blackwater look, seen a few tanks with it and it's very natural looking. You can make your own blackwater extract type thing by boiling the IAL in water. Did see a recipe somewhere on the net.

EDIT: Am I allowed to post links to outside websites, found good website all about IAL that some people might find interesting :)

[Bombalurina]

+1...not to encourage people to leave here and go there, but fishlore.com has an IAL recipe. :) It does make a nice brown stew. :p

[Sheldon31]

It's not a forum or anything, literally just an info page. indianalmondleaves.com. :)

[Sivan]

I believe OldFishLady once said that oak leaves do the same thing and that she takes them fresh from her yard and places them into her tanks.

[Sena Hansler]

info pages are allowed, other forums are not :) I wish we had oak leaves. Our oak trees die young D: and we have a hard time finding any.... birch is the norm.

[MrVampire181]

Oak and maple are 99% the same as IAL. I prefer IAL.

I've learned that nearly everything you read about bettas needs to be reviewed and analyzed before taking it as fact.