How long do I keep catappa leaves in tank?

[Nygbrian9]

I've got a portion of a catappa leaf/Indian almond bay leaf in my nano.
Just wondering how long I should keep the leaf in there.. I'm using it to feed shrimp. Should I just leave it to rot until the shrimp finish eating it? Or pull it out before that happens?
Also, will leaving it in to rot, until fully consumed, affect the health of my fish (3 tiny galaxy rasboras and 2 cardinal tetras).
Thanks in advance!

 

[Nygbrian9]

Any advice would be greatly appreciate. The piece of leaf has been sitting in my tank for a little over a week and my shrimp won't go near it.. And have yet to eat it/eat from it.

Just want to know if I did anything wrong in preparing it.. Or if I should take it out and try again.

 

[TwoFish]

I've got a portion of a catappa leaf/Indian almond bay leaf in my nano.
Just wondering how long I should keep the leaf in there.. I'm using it to feed shrimp. Should I just leave it to rot until the shrimp finish eating it? Or pull it out before that happens?
Also, will leaving it in to rot, until fully consumed, affect the health of my fish (3 tiny galaxy rasboras and 2 cardinal tetras).
Thanks in advance!

I put catappa in with my CRS, I'd leave it in until it started to look like it was coming apart and it never had any ill-effects on the fish (four endlers livebarers).

I don't think I noticed the shrimp eating or browsing on them until the leaves had been in there for a while. I think mine tended to stay in at least a month, maybe longer sometimes.

I'd check parameters at two weeks just to be sure it isn't spiking ammonia or anything, but otherwise should be fine to just leave it (this reminds me I was going to put some in my tank today!).

 

[Nygbrian9]

Oh wow, that's really encouraging. I'll definitely be leaving them in for about a month or so now. Like I said, the leaf has only been in for a almost 2 weeks now, and the shrimp couldn't care less about it. But now I'm excited to see how they react to it in the next couple weeks. Thanks for the advice!

 

[TwoFish]

Oh wow, that's really encouraging. I'll definitely be leaving them in for about a month or so now. Like I said, the leaf has only been in for a almost 2 weeks now, and the shrimp couldn't care less about it. But now I'm excited to see how they react to it in the next couple weeks. Thanks for the advice!

No Problem, and glad I could help with what little experience I Have. Even if the shrimp don't ever pick at it, I think the leaves look rather lovely in the tank.

 

[Nygbrian9]

Oh I couldn't agree more (about the leaves being nice to look at hahahh).
And I've got one more question, if you don't mind. Around what week (within the month or so) do you see your shrimp start to pick at it?