Written by Julie Lightfoot Shrimp and Scape 31/12/2014

The Benefits of Dried Leaf Litter for Freshwater Shrimp

Many of the shrimp we keep originate from mountain streams in South East Asia. These streams are often flanked by overhanging trees and bushes, so the shrimp’s natural environment contains lots of fallen leaf litter and plant material, which eventually settles on the stream bed. It is in these areas of the streams that the shrimp populations are most concentrated. When large amounts of tannin rich plant material end up in a slow flowing

river, they create a type of habitat commonly referred to as blackwater. As part of the natural biodegrading process, these leaves quickly become covered in micro-organisms or biofilm (sometimes visible as a faint white slime film) and it’s this layer that the shrimp love to graze on. These biofilms are hugely beneficial to shrimp, especially baby shrimp, as they help to provide a balanced diet and being a complex mix of good bacteria, proteins and vitamins, they are extremely important in helping to build the shrimp’s natural immune system.

Dried leaf litter offers a surface that biofilm can quickly populate and thrive on. They also provide natural shelter and cover.

When they soften and start to break down, the shrimp will eat the leaves right down to the skeleton, this provides an additional nutritional food source.

Written by Julie Lightfoot Shrimp and Scape 31/12/2014

Benefits As well as providing biofilm and natural food, dried leaves also contain tannins and humic acids which leach into the water having beneficial properties including anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. They can help promote good health and colour, stimulate breeding, reduce stress and aid the molting process. Tannins are what give blackwater rivers their characteristic tea-colour appearance and low pH value. Although the leaves will lower the pH of your tank, you would need to use more than the standard dosage quantities recommended for shrimp to have any real effect. There are benefits to using a variety of leaf litter in your tank at the same time. Some leaves provide different beneficial properties than others, they also break down at different rates so there will be a constant source of natural food in your tank. In summary, leaf litter provides natural food & shelter as well as helping to prevent and control bacterial outbreaks and infections. It is therefore beneficial to have a constant presence of leaf litter in your shrimp tank. Why dried leaves? It is better to use dried leaves that have fallen naturally from a tree. The reason for this is that these leaves will be depleted of chlorophyll, sugars and sap etc through a natural process and as such will not decompose in the tank and foul the water, as fresh or wind fallen leaves might. Also the beneficial properties of leaf litter comes from the tannins and humic acids that are naturally present in ‘dead’ leaves. Selecting Leaves The main consideration when adding leaves to your tank is to ensure they are free from pollutants, pesticides and/or harmful chemicals. Therefore leaves that have been specially prepared for aquatic use are best, as you can be sure that these have been harvested well away from town or city areas and have been suitably prepared and packed for use in your shrimp tank. The following pages give more information on the benefits of specific dried leaves.

Written by Julie Lightfoot Shrimp and Scape 31/12/2014

Indian Almond (Catappa) Leaves

Benefits of adding almond leaves to your tank:

Creates a natural water environment

Enhances shrimps natural colour

Provides biofilm grazing & natural cover

Aids the shedding process, helping reduce mortality rate during this stage

Contains acids and tannins which have anti-bacterial & anti-fungal properties, preventing bacteria and diseases

Stimulates breeding

Relieves stress

Mildly reduces pH

Indian Almond Leaves have long been used in home remedies as well as in aquariums. They are used to treat a variety of ailments in a number of countries around the world, including scabies & leprosy in India, internal parasites in the Philippines and colic in South America. So they are widely recognised as possessing excellent medicinal properties.

Written by Julie Lightfoot Shrimp and Scape 31/12/2014

Banana Leaves

Benefits of using Banana Leaves:

Reduces the risk of bacteria and fungal outbreaks

Provides great natural cover

Provides biofilm grazing

Stimulates breeding

Relieves stress

Mildly Reduces pH Banana leaves have been used by tropical fish breeders in Asia to great effect for many years. However, they have only more recently become popular for aquatic use in Europe and the UK.

Banana leaves take longer to break down than Indian Almond, so when used together they help provide a constant food source for shrimp to graze on.

Written by Julie Lightfoot Shrimp and Scape 31/12/2014

Mulberry Leaves Benefits of using Mulberry Leaves

An excellent source of natural food for shrimp

High in carbohydrate, fibre, vitamins and minerals

Helps to maintain shrimp exoskeleton

Aids the molting process

Mulberry Leaves are fed as part of a varied diet. They soften quickly and will be devoured within a couple of days. These leaves do not leach tannins or humic acids, they are purely a natural food source rather than a water conditioning leaf.

Written by Julie Lightfoot Shrimp and Scape 31/12/2014

Guava Leaves Benefits of using Guava Leaves

Have anti-bacterial properties

Help to prevent diseases such as Vibrio and Luminous Bacteria

A good source of food for shrimp

Guava leaves soften much more slowly than other dried leaves and do not break down as quickly, therefore these leaves will not require replacing/removing as frequently.

Written by Julie Lightfoot Shrimp and Scape 31/12/2014

Indian Almond Bark

Benefits of using Indian Almond Bark

Creates a natural water environment

Enhances the natural colour

Aids the shedding process, greatly reducing mortality rate during this stage

Contains acids and tannins which have anti-bacterial & anti-fungal properties preventing bacteria and diseases

Stimulates breeding

Relieves stress

Reduces pH Indian Almond Bark is much more concentrated than the leaves and is a great product for creating black water extract.

Almond bark has strong healing and anti-bacterial properties and is used in many countries for medicinal purposes, such as in Mexico for asthma, Indonesia for rheumatic pain and Brazil as a remedy for fever and dysentery. So as with almond leaves, the bark has excellent medicinal & anti-bacterial properties .

Written by Julie Lightfoot Shrimp and Scape 31/12/2014

Alder Cones

Benefits of using Alder Cones

Creates a natural water environment for freshwater shrimp

Provides biofilm grazing

Contains acids and tannins which have anti-bacterial & anti-fungal properties

Stimulates breeding

Relieves stress

Reduces pH Alder cones break down at a slower rate than leaves so will not require replacing / removing as frequently Alder cones are widely available in the UK. If you collect your own, ensure they are collected away from pollutants & pesticides etc. Otherwise, buy from a reputable seller.

Written by Julie Lightfoot Shrimp and Scape 31/12/2014

There are a variety of other dried leaves that shrimp keepers can use to similar effect to those mentioned, such as fallen hardwood leaves like Oak or Ash or dried fruit leaves such as peach as a food source. Again, the main consideration when adding dried leaves to your tank is to ensure they are free from pollutants, pesticides and/or harmful chemicals. Most of the products mentioned above are available from the Tantora Shrimp Series range of natural food and water conditioning products This range of products offer a natural solution for shrimp keeping. Products are grown and harvested away from town and city areas so are therefore free from pollutants. The leaves are carefully selected, harvested and prepared for safe use in your shrimp tank. Sole UK Distributor of Tantora Shrimp Series:

www.shrimpandscape.co.uk