THE MULTIPLE BENEFITS OF THE DRY INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES

We use Indian Almond leaves for different purposes. Basically the leaf releases these anti-bacterial
substances into the water and the water gradually turn brown like hot tea color.

For over 35 years of experience in raising bettas, I uncovered the multiple benefits of this herbal
leaf.

1. We put one leaf in a 10 - 15 gallon tank to keep the fishes healthy and active and it will extend
to almost double the water changing cycle. (leave the leaf in for about 1 - 2 weeks).

***We recommend overnight aged water with minimum amount or none of chlorine***

2. We put the leaf in a breeding tank to increase breeding frequency in your fish and keep the fry
healthy and alert and improve their vitality. (Put a new dry leaf in every 3 - 4 weeks and discard it
after 1 week. Repeat this until the fries are 4 months old).

3. To cure sick fish having any type of bacterial infections. Please consult your veterinarian initially
if your fish is ill or needs preventive care. The usage of indian almond leaves is an alternative. (Put
a dry leaf in a 1/2 - 1 gallon jar or bottle and keep the fish in for 10 - 14 days. Avoid any direct sun
light, but keep the temperature around 70 - 82 degrees F.) Feed the fish preferably with live food
such as live larvae or blood worms once a day at the same time of the day.

4. To speed up the healing process for damaged fins or bodily injuries. Put 1 dry leaf and the fish in
a 1/2 - 1 gallon jar or bottle with temperature around 70 - 82 degrees F. for 2 - 3 weeks. Avoid
direct sunlight and feed the fish preferably with live food such as live larvae or blood worms once
a day. This will help grow the fins back faster and keep the skin and scales healthy again.

5. We use the leaf to condition our fighter bettas. We prime our young bettas when they are ready
to be transferred from the community tank to an individual tank. (The process lasts 2 to 3 weeks.
*see an article on "How I prime my picks of the spawn" from www.siamsbestbettas.com on
Articles/Gallery page).

6. The dominant young male betta loves to build bubble nest under the floating whole leaf in the
community tank to claim his territory and fight off or chase away other male bettas who challenge
him.

7. Put a dry Indian Almond leaf and let it float on the surface. The male will build bubble nest
under the dry leaf. Put another dry leaf on the bottom to allow female to hide from male attack.
The water will become brownish to simulate its natural habitat.

**Dosage of crushed leaves for your bettas: Put approximately 4 - 5 square inches of leaf to treat
1/2 gallaon of water and 6 - 7 square inches to treat 1 gallon jar of water.

KETAPANG LEAVES OR HUU KWANG LEAVES OR DRY INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES

Indian Almond leaves - the so called Asian Breeding Secret Recipe which creates a natural
environment and induces spawning.

Ketapang or Huu Kwang Leaves

Most of the tropical fishes that lives in the rivers and lakes, their natural and best environment is
Black Water. Black water have a distinctive brownish tea like colour and contain many dissolved
organic materials.

It was first noticed that fishes living around the water where the ketapang/Huu Kwang/Indian
Almond trees grew are found much more vibrant, beautiful and healthy. Thus started the practice
of putting in ketapang/Huu Kwang/Indian Almond leaves into aquariums to try and achieve the
same condition as those found in their natural environment.

The ketapang/Huu Kwang/Indian Almond tree is a big 'pagoda-shaped' tree with distinctly tiered
branching. The origin of the tree is in Malaysia and Thailand. A noted pecularity of this species is
the tendency for its leaves to turn bright red and fall - a rarity in the tropics where most trees
remain evergreen throughout the year. The bark, fruit and leaves of the tree have traditionally
been used to treat various ailments ranging from skin disease, dysentery, headaches and colic in
children. Research has identified properties which could be used in treating hypertension.

Ketapang/Huu Kwang (TERMINALIA CATAPPA, or commonly called tropical almond, badamier, Java
almond, amandier de Cayenne, wild almond, Indian almond, myrobalan, Malabar almond,
Singapore almond, Huu kwang, Sea almond, kobateishi) tree is known to produce a poison in its
leaves and sap to defend against insect parasites. When the dried leaves falls into the river, a
strong brown dye is given off. The dye is full of organic acids like humic and tannins.

So the dried Ketapang/Huu Kwang/Indian Almond leaves actually release organic acids like humic
and tannins which lowers the pH of the water, absorbs harmful chemicals and help create a
soothing and calm environment for the fish.

What is Humic Acid? Is it a mixture of several organic acids? Humic acids are a complex mixture of
partially "decomposed" and otherwise transformed organic materials. The freshwater humic acids
can come from a variety of sources, most of which are on land (decomposing terrestrial
vegetation.) These substances wash into lakes and rivers, undergoing further transformations
along the way, and ultimately into the ocean.

Humic acid contains Sulfur, Nitrogen and Phosphorus in varying amounts. It also contains metals
such as Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn etc. which can be 'chelated' in some undefined way. Humic acid can be
broken down into two groups based on the polarity and size of the individual 'compounds'.

The smaller, more polar fraction is generally termed fulvic acid and the larger, more non-polar
fraction is generally termed humic acid. Humic acids are the end product of microbial degradation
of plant and animal debris and are one of the most important constituents of fertile soils.

Tannins, lignins and fulvic acids are sub classes of humic acids. They all tint the water yellow.
Tannic and humic acids may be useful for inhibiting many types of bacteria including cyano-
bacteria and are fairly benign for your fish.

Another paradoxical effect of humic acids is the detoxification of heavy metals. Humic material
and detritus in the aquarium also rapidly absorb and detoxify many chemicals including zinc,
aluminum and copper! One might expect them to be made more, not less toxic by humic acids,
but the studies seem to indicate a detoxifying effect.

Also important to know: The harder the water the more ineffective the humic acids - - - more
exactly: the dissolved lime in the water produces undissolvable calcium humates. So, the higher
the water hardness, the higher must be the supply of humates in order to achieve an acidifying
effect. The softer the water, the less humates are needed and the better the effect. It creates a
natural environment similar to that of the lakes in the tropical rainforest and some area of the
Amazon River. It also induces spawning for most soft water and acid loving fishes. Too much of the
ketapang/Huu Kwang/Indian Almond leaves may result in too low the water pH.

Courtesy of Chris Yew.