Oak, Maple;..... and Evergreen?

[Jonathan Aquari]

Hey everyone,

Wile I was outside getting rid of old oak leaves, I remembered reading about people using oak and maple branches in their tanks. So I started looking for some nice branches. Unfortunately for me, I only found 3 or 4 branches branches that had any resemblance to roots. Turning around, I say pine/evergreen branches that looked perfect. So, can I use these evergreen branches or not??

thanks,
Jonathan

 

[Mike Wise]

Oak leave are good; maple not so much. Oak leaves tend to acidify the soil around the tree (and in the aquarium); maple leaves have a more neutral reaction. Confers are not recommended because they tend to have more resinous leaves/branches; not good for closed systems like an aquarium.

 

[tjudy]

Pine resins will kill fish, so avoid evergreen branches. Cyprus roots are often sold for aquarium use, but they are dead and completely dry. Even then, if they smell like pine the resins are still too fresh.