Aquarium Botanicals: Collecting and Cleaning them!

[@metalheadz07]

Father fish also says don’t wash it, boil it or bake it 😮 mine has gone straight in the tank from a local pond fish are ok at present

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

Father Fish here in the US suggested taking leaves and twigs from the trees in my yard and start the process in a container with water. I have a catalpa tree so hope get some pods in addition to the leaves. That way I’ll also have some tannin water as well. As we’ve now lived here 10 years and use no pesticides, they will be safe.

[@xmisstangerinex]

Cannot thank you enough for this info. I'm from Adelaide and I had no idea these were an option for my tank. I've been spending stupid amounts of money on almond leaves online! I have all these trees within walking distance of my home!

[@123genki]

I wish I had found your video/channel before. I am brazilian but have been living in Sydney for a bit over 3 years. I just setup my first tank about 4 months ago and I have never found Australian youtube content (fish keeping related). Omg I better follow you on Instagram and message you there lol. Thanks for the awesome video!

[@SansVertigo]

Rafael Rocha Thanks! There’s definitely not a lot of Aussie aquatic KZbin Channels about. I wish I had more time to dedicate to videos too! If you’re looking for Aussie channels there’s a few I can recommend after I dig through my subscriptions.

[@tracyperry3238]

Great to watch an Australian channel. Here in nsw im on a property so I have huge access to botanicals for my fish. They love it

[@PotooBurd]

This is so informative!!! Fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝

[@nicola3540]

Thank you! I rather suspect that here in Australia we will soon wake up and realise the botanicals that are freely available on our doorstep are the envy of aquarists the world over. Any enterprising folk out there could capitalise on this - stick a handful of banksia pods in a brown paper bag, tie a bow around it with some jute, and swap it with someone in the US for $40! (I mean it’s not as if they grow on trees or anything!😉)

[@snakewithapen5489]

I've got a similar situation here in florida- So many of the plants that are being sold online for upward of 10-20$ like sea grape, magnolia, live oak, guava, loquat, mulberry etc, are literally freely available in people's yard waste bins LOL

[@johnjwedrall4290]

Found your channel today and subscribed today 👍

[@Cuprea527]

Great video! Thank you, I’ll be collecting my botanicals ✌🏼

[@afterburnerboyz]

Not sure what I can find in the northeast USA this coming fall other than some oak and magnolia leaves and some acorn caps but I’m going to start surveying my area this summer. Please tell me what is the substrate that you have in that aquarium you have shown.

[@YehoshuaMenachem]

Hi. I'm in Israel in the Samarian hills. I take plenty of oak leaves and loquat leaves straight from the ground and plop them into my aquarium since about a month ago. I don't process them. So far thank God no issues.

[@SansVertigo]

That sounds very convenient! Where I live it is a lot of dense city, and things get sprayed here with chemicals from time to time. :(

[@johnjwedrall4290]

Interesting, informative video. Thank you 😊

[@C.Radulescu]

Great video. I am going to gather leaves today because of you:)

[@tristanpabon3957]

How big is that Betta fish he looks huge

[@mq9047]

Great video, thank you!

[@Jen.K]

West Australia here, I've been collecting my own botanicals since I got back into aquariums a few months ago. I haven't found much variety so far, but love the leaves that I've found, much better free than a dollar a leaf. I'm wondering if pine cones and the seed pods from eucalyptus trees are safe.

[@jordan-rf3id]

Thanks so much for this video, very informative!

[@kadalora]

Nice video thanks. I'm in NZ and will also try to find suitable botannicals in Autumn. It seems like a lot of work doing the salt, drying, then boiling stuff, I would simply do the last step or perhaps just steam them all? I don't want to boil as this will mean I lose loads of the tannins I'm after in the first place. However, I know it's important to kill any possible bugs

[@guccigrape44]

Can you use acorns and pine cones?

[@SansVertigo]

Acorn caps are fine (the top part of the acorn that comes off), but I would not use the whole acorn seed. The seed itself is not dry inside and will probably spoil in the water. Pine cones should be avoided, the sap in the cones are toxic. A good alternative to pine cones is alder cones, they are not from pine trees and are safe despite looking similar.

[@angiejoy3802]

Great video, thank you! Lots of useful information here :)

[@shazmunchdylbertoid]

are there any handy guides for what to look out for? also in Melbourne 😁

[@SansVertigo]

Mostly look at forums and tannin aquatic's stuff as a start! If you look up biotope aquariums and Biotope Aquarium Design Contest, there are sites with details about the plant species they use in their aquascapes. There are many potential botanicals with native Aussie plants- just be careful with plant saps, collect only fallen leaves and pods, boil them well before use, and don't dump in a lot at once if you're not 100% sure on their safety with aquarium fish.

[@valleylakefishroom8825]

Great Information! Where can I find those bags you put them in?

[@SansVertigo]

I got mine online from eBay, you can probably find them on Amazon too. I can't remember the exact name- but searching for "kraft self seal bag" should be a good start.

[@valleylakefishroom8825]

@@SansVertigo Thankyou😃

[@jordanhall267]

Hey do you know if gum nuts are safe to use? I'm worried about the oil.

[@SansVertigo]

Apologies, it's taken a bit to get around to comment. I'm not sure, I haven't tried them myself. I've seen gum nuts in Australian biotope aquariums in small amounts- so there is some use for them in aquaria. Just not sure if it's safe for all types of freshwater life.

[@goderea]

Thank you so much, I just discovered your channel and there's so many things I've learned and found answers for. Keep up the good work! Was wondering if using a sodium bicarbonate solution to clean off pesticides/herbicides before the salt bath and rinse would alter the water ph? (Sodium Bicarbonate is what we use in pesticides applications to neutralize and clean the applicatiors )

[@SansVertigo]

Sorry for the late reply! Notifications get a little lost. It's best to try this and use it in a bucket of aquarium water, testing the pH of the water several days after leaving the treated and rinsed botanicals. Sodium bicarbonate normally does have a direct affect on pH, but if it can be fully rinsed off it sounds like a good step with cleaning.

[@gerlandkent6377]

[thank, you for you're video] 🇺🇸 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@user-cf3zh8tq9m]

I found magnolium leaves in my town, tons of them... the website that you shared is a rip off, in my opinion.... they sell botanicals as if they were gold... some people buy but they do not look around..... nice tip thanks

[@SansVertigo]

I agree that botanicals can be expensive, especially if you can find them locally! There are some people that live in areas that are fairly limited, like large cities with fewer useful trees or sometimes there's something super specific that is harder to find. I can't find banksia pods where I live- but they're quite expensive to buy. :(

[@user-cf3zh8tq9m]

Sans Vertigo you are right. They are all beautiful but most are not accessible. Unfortunately.

[@neutronshiva2498]

Best to take leaves from pond or ditch, they already have good microbes on them, no need tobe so afraid of nature.

[@SansVertigo]

The waterways where I live are extremely polluted- it's highly urbanized so it's often full of trash and oily film from runoff. I would have to travel quite a bit to find cleaner water. :(

[@youngndangerous101]

im lucky have a kurrajong in my front yard and a she oak nextdoor

[@fishoutwithjuno]

Love this video. :)

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

I think you will enjoy his videos and find a fellow naturalist!

[@meep2576]

I understand the whole process but I don’t want brackish water, I like clear water

[@You-zo1pz]

Because tonight will be the noight that i will fall for youuu over agaainn dont make me change moy moynd

[@luckygorabbitfoot]

for us filthy Americans, 20g per liter = ~1.2 tbsp per ~4.2 cups.

[@DEXTER-TV-series]

Do you really think it is enjoyable to listen 8 minutes this music 🎶 🎶 noise ?

[@SansVertigo]

No idea! It's subjective. I'm no professional at making videos, so I'm not sure if people prefer silence or music under narration.

[@imgonnakate]

Cope

[@usmc187]

🤦🏻‍♂️