SunGrow Catappa Indian Almond Leaves, 7-8 Inches,10 Catappa Leaves for Betta Fish, Aquarium Water Conditioner, Fish Tank Decoration, Freshwater Tank Accessories, Betta Fish Care, Aquatic Leaf Litter

nice quality large leaves
These are really big and nice sized leaves, which were all wider than my hand. I like them as a natural looking alternative to a feeding dish for my bottom feeders. I drop the food pellets onto one of the leaves, and it prevents the food from getting lost in the gravel or sand substrate in my tanks. One of my tanks is for Red Cherry Shrimp, and they absolutely love these leaves. The surface of the leaves gets colonized quickly by a film of microbes on which the shrimp spend their days grazing. They also like to hide under the leaves whenever they are feeling shy. The leaves would be nice for a small Betta tank without sand or gravel, as they would give it a natural look while hiding fish poo between water changes.After a month with several of these in my tank, the water has the color of very weak green tea. If you want crystal clear water that looks like it was fresh from the tap, don’t put these in your tank. I like the effect that it has. It’s not too dark as to obstruct the view of the tank’s contents, but it gives it a nice soft, natural look. My tap water has a bit higher PH than it should be, and after a month, these leaves have help drop it slightly. Many of the freshwater shrimp and small tropical fish that we keep are from shallow waters where the bottom is covered in leaves. These leaves release chemicals that help keep the fish more healthy in our tanks. These are convenient since they are known to be beneficial to our fish, while we don’t necessarily know if leaves from our local trees are safe or not. For example walnut, pine, cedar, and rhododendrons are not safe.I had first looked at some Catappa leaves at a local fish store, but they had lots of wholes where insects had eaten through them, and they cost much more than these. All of the leaves in my order were so perfect looking, I thought they might be plastic before opening the bag and touching them.I also ordered a bag of smaller leaves, and the two mixed together give a really natural look to the bottom of my tanks. If you put them directly in your tank, they will float for a few days. Because I wanted to place them in specific places between my plants, I put the leaves into a pot of boiling water and left it sitting overnight. By the next day, the leaves sank to the bottom of my tank, and I added the water to the tank for the tannins that it contained. You could also put a stone or some gravel on top of them until they soaked in the tank for a few days, but I didn’t want to disturb the substrate next to the plants where I wanted the leaves placed. Handle them gently when dry, because they will break if bent too much when dry.

Awesome quality! Beautiful in tank.
I was so impressed by the quality of these leaves. Shipped perfectly and arrived in pristine shape. Look awesome in the tank and the shrimp love them. Highly recommended!

Jury is in. Also I now see coloration being added to the water, which I view as a good thing.
UPDATE: My betta’s activity is back to 100%. He has built his first large bubble nest in over three weeks. His appetite is ferocious again. I feed him twice per day. The water has that nice, very light brown tint. Bettas do not live in crystal clear water. I want the best environment for my betta versus what some may view as cosmetically pleasing tohave crystal clear water. Additionally, he gets his flare on when I show him something he doesn’t like. He even flared at a blue, ballpoint pin I was holding in front of his tank. I am very relieved to see him back in full form. I am very glad to have added this product to his tank. It may not have been the only thing that helped but it appears to have been very beneficial for him. Therefore I’ve added one additional star to this review. END UPDATEJury is still out as I do not see any coloration being added to the water. I broke a leaf in half (very large leaves) and placed both halves on opposite sides of my betta’s 5.5 gallon tank. My betta uses one half as a blanket. He rests on top of his plastic leaf hammock completely covered by this product.Prior to adding this product to his tank, he stopped eating for nearly two weeks. I grew concerned after the first few days of him not eating even though he was still fairly active. I turned his heater up from 78 degrees to 80 (it runs one half to one degree colder than the setting.I waited a few days and he still would not eat. I brought him a fresh can of betta flakes. He still would not eat. I offered him his favorite treat, blood worms. He still would not eat. I added Betta Fix and antibiotics to his tank. No change. I grewe very concerned.I ordered this product after a week and a half of him not eating. My only comfort was he was still fairly active but I could see him slowing down a bit. I continued 25% water changes every few days. When the product arrived I immediately broke one leaf in half and placed them on opposite sides of the tank. Two or three days later my betta ate a small piece of flake food for the first time but left the rest. The next day he ate a little bit more than the previous time and left the rest, which gave me hope. Now he eats like the Tasmanian Devil, twice a day, just like he used to. He is fully active and making bubble nests again. I am so relieved.I think I caused his issue. I started buying distilled water again for my tea (its been years). I used the distilled water to top off his tank a few times over the course of a week or two. I poured it right out of the plastic jug into his tank thinking distilled water must be okay. I suspect that caused a health issue and loss of appetite due to the timing of it. I am angry with myself for causing him a couple of weeks of distress. I should have known better.Anyway, I don’t know if his return to health was aided by this product or not. based on the timing it is possible this product played a role in my betta’s recuperation. This is because I also added two live plants to his tank, which he loves. Two of the existing plants died a few weeks ago so I removed them and never replaced them, until now. I tried a few different things, which is the only reason I cannot definitely state this product helped to cure him. It may have. Based on the timing it is very possible.The leaves for this product are very large and packed pretty flat (stacked on top of each other) in a sealed bag, but they were not crushed. They did a great job with the packing. I have only used one leaf thus far. I used a whole leaf in my 5.5 gallon tank because he was ill. I will have to read the label to see if I can reduce that to a half leaf for the 5.5 gallon tank in the future. I expected the water to tint as it does when I used Betta Spa (liquid). It may have tinted slightly and I do not notice as it may have been slight and gradual. In time I should be able to make a better judgement. For now, four stars seems like a fair rating for my experience. I may add or remove a star in the future. I currently lean toward adding a star versus removing one. We’ll see.

Worth it for 10 gallon and up tanks
These are not small leaves for a small tank 10 and up for these huge leaves but you do get 8 of them!

Leaves were all intact when they arrived. They are extremely large, so i cut one in half for use in my 10g aquarium and that works well. My betta loves it and likes to swim under it. It has discolored the water slightly, but not enough to be noticeable really. I will repurchase these in the future.

AS expected, fast shipping

A bit pricey for 10 large leaves, but totaly worth it, I have happy fish, I normally use one leaf in my 30 gallon aquarium, then change it when it starts to turn black.