Almond Leaves as Food: Who Eats Them and Why?

[bettaMagenta]

So I threw some extra large dried almond leaves into a few tanks about 2 weeks ago... Not a lot's happening with them, except in my Asian tank where I've got a bunch of Armano shrimp - that leaf's almost gone now.

Fish in this tank are pretty varied - got some Tin Foil Barbs, Denison Barbs, a Pink Gourami, Flying Foxes, Hillstream Loaches, and a few stray Cory's that I still need to move. Haven't caught anyone actively munching on the leaves, but I guess it's happening at night or something. No big deal, I've got a big stash of them - just a bit surprising, that's all.

[bettaMagenta]

By the way, just to give you a sense of size, that's a 3-inch Cory in the picture for reference.

[Bisco]

I'm inclined to think it's a mix of time and the efforts of your Amano shrimp, Flying Foxes, and maybe the Hillstream Loaches that's wearing down those almond leaves. A pleco would also be a likely suspect if you had one. And let's not forget snails if you have them in the tank.

The barbs, gourami, and Corys might be contributing to some extent, but I doubt they're doing the bulk of the work. I've been using Magnolia grandiflora leaves in my tanks, which have harder surfaces and are thicker than almond leaves. You can see the difference a week makes in the photo I've attached - the leaves really break down over time. If I leave them in for longer, they end up looking like yours. In my experience, it's usually the plecos and snails that do the most damage, while the Corys and other fish tend to just browse around the leaves.

[bettaMagenta]

Actually, I meant to say the shrimp are in a different tank – my Asian tank, where I've got the almonds leaves, has the other fish I mentioned, but no shrimp.

[graye]

I've heard that Pink kissing gouramis are often fed corn stalks and other agricultural leftovers on food farms, so maybe they've got a taste for plant matter. And let's not forget about the Tin Foils, those guys can do some damage too.

[TwinTankman]

Dried leaves in water naturally break down over time. I've been using catappas in my Altum tanks for years now. They last around 2 weeks before I replace them, usually when they're left with just the spines, like the ones in your photo. I also swap out the ones that start to become translucent.

I know my fish aren't eating them - I have only 4 adult Altums in the tank, they're well-fed, and I've never seen them nibble on the leaves. I use larger leaves, buying in bulk, and my tank is a 55-gallon with around 12-15 of these large leaves in it at any given time.

[BadgersSong]

I'd put my money on the tinfoils, they seem like the likely culprits, given their grazing habits.

[Emeraldsea]

I'm genuinely surprised - who's behind the almond leaf munching in your tank? It's not like they're a typical snack, so I'm curious, what's the appeal of almond leaves to these fish?

[bettaMagenta]

I think we're overlooking the obvious here - some fish just need their fiber fix.

[bettaMagenta]

Still trying to figure this out... 3 new leaves added the other day... the hill stream loaches seem to be the only ones showing interest, I've seen them on the leaves but nothing's missing yet... maybe once the leaves get softer or develop some bio film, we'll see some action. My Gourami's a plant expert, but he's not touching the new leaves - no algae or bio film, I suppose. The Tin Foils aren't really plant-eaters, unless there's food involved... if the leaves are a food source for someone, that's great, just need to keep a closer eye on them.