Anyone ever use these leaves to feed their shrimp???
Any one know of others experience?
Any one know of others experience?
Ginkgo Biloba, leaves and shrimp?
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Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
Never heard of using ginkgo leaves for this. I"m not sure if ginkgo is classed as a hardwood or not. If it is, most articles I've read say hardwood leaves are ok. Oak is most often mentioned, but there are many more than oak alone. If it's a softwood, I'd probably not want to try them, as the same articles have said softwoods aren't good for aquariums. Softwoods are not good for tanks because they rot fast, perhaps the leaves do too.
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
Fwiw, I went and looked up gingko on some woodworking sites. Not much info on it's use for making things of wood, it's mostly medicinal info, mainly for traditional chinese medicine. It's supposed to increase blood flow, hence is said to enhance memory.
The little info on the wood itself says it is fairly soft and smells awful when being worked, and I'd be a bit leery of using gingko leaves in a tank, in case they also smell terrible when they start to break down. Just a thought.
The little info on the wood itself says it is fairly soft and smells awful when being worked, and I'd be a bit leery of using gingko leaves in a tank, in case they also smell terrible when they start to break down. Just a thought.
treemanone2003
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ginkgo is definitely a softwood. The wood is similar to a fir or yellow pine. It REALLY stinks like crap when it goes thru my chipper.
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OP
OP
Just got back from a trip.
Thanks for the responses.
The leaves don't seem to smell at all.
I am drying them anyway for a picture for my mom who had to move and she loved the tree. I am framing a nice one for her. So I thought I might be able to use the leaves for the shrimp.
Maybe improve their memory!!! Just kidding about that.
I have used Oak leaves mostly, didn't care for the Catappa, Indian Almond leaves. I think that the Indian Almond Leaves are a soft wood tree too.
It shouldn't be toxic, just curious. They seem to be great for people...
Thanks for the responses.
The leaves don't seem to smell at all.
I am drying them anyway for a picture for my mom who had to move and she loved the tree. I am framing a nice one for her. So I thought I might be able to use the leaves for the shrimp.
Maybe improve their memory!!! Just kidding about that.
I have used Oak leaves mostly, didn't care for the Catappa, Indian Almond leaves. I think that the Indian Almond Leaves are a soft wood tree too.
It shouldn't be toxic, just curious. They seem to be great for people...
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OP
OP
Was doing some reading and the terms hardwood and softwood seem to be based not upon the hardness of the wood but whether the trees lose their leaves or not lose leaves. Lose leaves = hardwood, Balsa (very soft wood) is said to be a hardwood tree, but not hard wood; don't loose leaves = softwood.
I am checking into this a wee bit more.
I am checking into this a wee bit more.
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treemanone2003
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yes and no. Sort of. Conifers are softwood. They have needles. They are non deciduous meaning they retain their needles during all seasons. Your hardwoods are deciduous meaning they lose their leaves. Now it does get somewhat confusing. You can have soft hardwoods and hard softwoods. Balsa being an excellent example. Now I'll throw in another confusing fact. Larch trees. They are deciduous conifers and an extremely hard softwood. Larch trees have a long history from being used by surveyors, use in bonsai creations, and fuel wood. Also used in things from boat work to medicinal values established by aborigine people. They're also fairly easy to clone from cuttings.
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Tacit Blues
Aquarium Advice FINatic
You made me curious, and now I know more than I ever wanted to know about this!
OP
OP
ROFL...
Thanks for the extra help, all. I have a small but limited background with this stuff, so that is why I was even more curious, especially since some trees lose their leaves in some climates but not more mild climates.
I'm planning on buying a few trees soon and for sure one or two will be trees for my fish/shrimp tanks
I had a couple at my old house and one of the stores I used to shop at had a nice young white oak which didn't get sprayed around it but it was cut down for a parking lot extension so I am looking for a new spot.
Will be adding a Ginko tree for mom to see, I understand cloned male tree only due to stinking fruit. Interesting about the wood being stinky. Maybe I will find a dwarf variety so I won't need to trim it, lol! As a side note, a Mulberry, and an Oak of some sort.
Thanks for the extra help, all. I have a small but limited background with this stuff, so that is why I was even more curious, especially since some trees lose their leaves in some climates but not more mild climates.
I'm planning on buying a few trees soon and for sure one or two will be trees for my fish/shrimp tanks
I had a couple at my old house and one of the stores I used to shop at had a nice young white oak which didn't get sprayed around it but it was cut down for a parking lot extension so I am looking for a new spot.Will be adding a Ginko tree for mom to see, I understand cloned male tree only due to stinking fruit. Interesting about the wood being stinky. Maybe I will find a dwarf variety so I won't need to trim it, lol! As a side note, a Mulberry, and an Oak of some sort.
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
If you go for Mulberry, try to get a white one. White mulberries are the ones you pay an arm and leg for dried and in supplements. Very healthy ! Taste something like a raisin but not quite as sweet.
Btw, Indian almond leaves work really well. They don't last very long, which is annoying. Oak leaves last so much longer, there is no comparison. But IAL is said to have antibiotic properties, and it certainly seemed to help when I used it for a Betta that ripped off its own tail. It healed remarkably fast.. had the fish not committed suicide I think he'd have grown an entire new tail at the rate he was going. IAL leaches like crazy too. If you want 'blackwater' they'll give you dark water much faster than wood will.
I"ve left them in tanks until all that was left was the midrib, and they never cause water problems. They just sort of fade away. I find them useful enough that I don't mind paying for them, but I gather oak leaves every fall from my friend's yard, because no one in the entire area sprays anything on their lawns or gardens.
To be honest, I don't know why the articles all seem to recommend hardwood leaves. Perhaps because evergreens have so much resinous sap, which I suppose might be toxic, and probably messy too.
One thing is for sure, gingko trees are lovely.. and male trees are far less mess than females are. You can get mulberry trees that do not fruit either, if you don't care for the purple berries, though they make a nice jelly.
Btw, Indian almond leaves work really well. They don't last very long, which is annoying. Oak leaves last so much longer, there is no comparison. But IAL is said to have antibiotic properties, and it certainly seemed to help when I used it for a Betta that ripped off its own tail. It healed remarkably fast.. had the fish not committed suicide I think he'd have grown an entire new tail at the rate he was going. IAL leaches like crazy too. If you want 'blackwater' they'll give you dark water much faster than wood will.
I"ve left them in tanks until all that was left was the midrib, and they never cause water problems. They just sort of fade away. I find them useful enough that I don't mind paying for them, but I gather oak leaves every fall from my friend's yard, because no one in the entire area sprays anything on their lawns or gardens.
To be honest, I don't know why the articles all seem to recommend hardwood leaves. Perhaps because evergreens have so much resinous sap, which I suppose might be toxic, and probably messy too.
One thing is for sure, gingko trees are lovely.. and male trees are far less mess than females are. You can get mulberry trees that do not fruit either, if you don't care for the purple berries, though they make a nice jelly.
OP
OP
Thanks! 
We love the berries from mulberries, mom had a white and red. Never got to jam making as the birds and kids would eat them up!
Ginko doesn't seem to grow too fast. They are oddly shaped I guess until maturity.
Probably will try out these Ginko leaves on my red to brownish red shrimp, since there aren't very many in the tank right now. I need to do a whole tank clean out as soon as the babies get a little bigger.
When ever that happens, I will make the report on how it goes.
We love the berries from mulberries, mom had a white and red. Never got to jam making as the birds and kids would eat them up!
Ginko doesn't seem to grow too fast. They are oddly shaped I guess until maturity.
Probably will try out these Ginko leaves on my red to brownish red shrimp, since there aren't very many in the tank right now. I need to do a whole tank clean out as soon as the babies get a little bigger.
When ever that happens, I will make the report on how it goes.
OP
OP
A similar issue question to ponder about leaves for shrimp... Like Mulberry or Oak.
Would a green leaf dried be better for them than an autumn leaf, as the Spring or Summer leaf would have more sugars in the leaf, whereas the autumn leaves sugars generally return to the tree???
Would a green leaf dried be better for them than an autumn leaf, as the Spring or Summer leaf would have more sugars in the leaf, whereas the autumn leaves sugars generally return to the tree???
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
I see Gingko's frequently, being sold as potted seedlings; potential bonsai. Usually about ten bucks for a plant with four inches of skinny trunk [ I say trunk 'cause it's got bark on it ] and about the same amount of fresh green new growth with maybe four leaves. So easy to kill at that stage, sadly. They are very slow growing, but eventually become enormous. Like Catalpa trees, if they haven't been pruned into those sad, distorted balls on fat trunks along someone's driveway. To me they look like terribly distorted topiaries which is sad because Catalpa trees have gorgeous flowers and become simply huge, if given a chance to grow.
Fishfur
Aquarium Advice Addict
Actually, I think I know this. Dry autumn leaves are best, because all the sugars and sap are withdrawn before the leaves fall. All trees have sugars & resins in their sap, which is also in their leaves. Using green leaves the way we use dead leaves in a tank, would result in fouled water.
Fresh green leaves, with their sugars, ferment quickly, and support a lot of fast bacterial growth. The basic recipe for home made infusoria calls for crushed lettuce to be left in water for a few days, basically, until it goes bad. Once it does, you have your bacteria, aka your infusoria, all ready to go; but don't get too close with your nose.
If you were feeding green leaves, like a green veggie, you'd only give a tiny amount to shrimp or fish, what they'd clean up before it goes bad. Not much different from feeding kale or spinach.
Fallen brown leaves are mostly carbon, nothing fermentable, so they take much longer to break down. You don't get the fast decay and rampant bacterial growth you'd get with green leaves, whether they're off a tree or out of the veggie garden. But left in a tank for some time, dead leaves will support some bacterial growth in a tank, making useful food for tiny fry and shrimp as well, or long lasting leaf litter that provides hiding places.
Same reason you don't use green wood in a tank. You have to season wood if you want to use it for tank decor. Most of the sources I've read say to age green wood a minimum of one year in the elements, sun, wind, rain, etc. before it's safe to use in a tank. Green wood is full of sap too.. sugary, fermentable sap. Even if it's not toxic as such, you still wouldn't want it in a tank.
Fresh green leaves, with their sugars, ferment quickly, and support a lot of fast bacterial growth. The basic recipe for home made infusoria calls for crushed lettuce to be left in water for a few days, basically, until it goes bad. Once it does, you have your bacteria, aka your infusoria, all ready to go; but don't get too close with your nose
. If you were feeding green leaves, like a green veggie, you'd only give a tiny amount to shrimp or fish, what they'd clean up before it goes bad. Not much different from feeding kale or spinach.
Fallen brown leaves are mostly carbon, nothing fermentable, so they take much longer to break down. You don't get the fast decay and rampant bacterial growth you'd get with green leaves, whether they're off a tree or out of the veggie garden. But left in a tank for some time, dead leaves will support some bacterial growth in a tank, making useful food for tiny fry and shrimp as well, or long lasting leaf litter that provides hiding places.
Same reason you don't use green wood in a tank. You have to season wood if you want to use it for tank decor. Most of the sources I've read say to age green wood a minimum of one year in the elements, sun, wind, rain, etc. before it's safe to use in a tank. Green wood is full of sap too.. sugary, fermentable sap. Even if it's not toxic as such, you still wouldn't want it in a tank.
