SaltyShrimp Leaves & Bark 100ml

Leaves & Bark – Extract from Catappa leaves and various barks

With Leaves & Bark, you add the valuable substances contained in Indian almond leaves and various barks of mainly tropical trees, without visibly coloring the water. They can help balance your aquarium biologically and may even increase the resilience of the animals in your tank against pathogens like harmful bacteria or viruses.

Indian almond leaves and various barks are very popular thanks to their positive influence, and they have been in use in the aquarium hobby for many years. Unfortunately, natural materials tend to release all the active substances within a few days, and then you remove them when changing water, and they also decompose during the natural processes inside the aquarium. What’s left over is dead organic matter that decays slowly and is broken down by bacteria and other microorganisms over time. Moreover, leaves and bark can stain the water considerably, something that does not agree with each and every setup. Leaves & Bark enables you to replenish the positive substances easily and comfortably without the need of adding new leaves or pieces of bark every week. Indian almond leaves are harvested from the Indian almond tree, Terminalia catappa. They contain large amounts of different secondary phytochemicals like flavonoids, humic acids (humic acid and fulvic acid), tannins, iridoids, pyrethroids and saponins. These substances are known to inhibit bacteria, prevent inflammations, help with tissue repair and mildly tan the mucous membranes of fish and inverts, which makes them more resilient. Moreover, they boost the willingness to spawn in shrimp and ornamental fish, they can prevent the spawn from being infected with fungi and can have a supportive effect to the immune system in the case of infections. They even have the ability to bind to toxic heavy metals in the water, rendering them harmless – for a good water quality.

Nature’s way of protecting trees has been giving them bark, where their defenses against pathogens and parasites from the outside are concentrated. Various barks are traditionally used as medicine and care products, and with Leaves & Bark they now have been introduced into the aquarium hobby thanks to their manifold beneficial effects.

We use the bark of the African plum/cherry tree (Pygeum africanum), of the cat’s claw (Uncaria tomentosa), of the lapacho tree (Tabebuia impetiginosa), of the oak tree (Quercus) and the quebracho tree (Aspidosperma quebracho-blanco).

These different barks add, amongst other substances, tannins, humins, humic acids, calcium and magnesium. They are especially valued as they have anti-inflammatory properties, but they can also have a positive influence on fertility, optimize the digestion of your aquarium animals, they fight fungi and parasites, inhibit viruses and boost the immune system of your aquarium inhabitants.