Gambario Leaves - Benefits and Properties

In this article we will name the best leaves and botanicals for shrimp, as well as their properties and benefits for aquarium shrimp.

WHAT ARE THE LEAVES FOR IN A GAMBARIO?

More and more people are deciding to add natural elements to your shrimp, and this makes a lot of sense, because most of the aquarium prawns hobbyists come from streams in Southeast Asia, an environment that has significant tree growth and intense foliage.

In nature, leaves, seed pods, and fruits fall into this water and begin to decompose, creating black water conditions, with humic and tannic acids that accumulate in the water reducing the pH and the hardness in the process.

The decomposition of leaf litter and other natural materials create biofilms, which consist of a set of microorganisms, bacteria, fungi, etc. These biofilms serve as a food source for shrimp, which spend a lot of time grazing on them. Prawns They use these materials as a grazing “substrate”. Biofilms form when bacteria adhere to surfaces in some form of aqueous environment and they begin to excrete a viscous and sticky substance, which consists of sugars and other substances, which can be anchored to all kinds of materials, as also, in our case, leaves and botanicals. The shrimp will scrape the matter anchored to them, such as the growth of algae and fungal filaments from the leaf surfaces and so on. As well, many of these materials are consumed directlysuch as leaves and some seed pods with soft interiors. The good thing about leaves in aquariums is that they do exactly the same thing they do in nature, break down. This makes the shrimp consume them and the chemical effects in the water are very beneficial.

The biofilms on decomposing leaves they are practically the base of food chains in rivers and streams around the world. They are of fundamental importance to aquatic life.

Each type of leaf offers its own benefits. The leaves of different tree species offer therapeutic or medicinal properties based on their unique active components. The type, quantity, and combination of these components varies widely from species to species.

In the analysis of the leaves of Almendro Indio "Terminalia Catappa", one of the most widely used leaves so far has revealed the content of flavonoids, isovitexin, vitexin, isoorientine, rutin and triterpenoids. They also contain volatile oils, quercetin, corilagin, kamferolfenols, saponin, saponin glycosides, cardiac glycoside, balsam and squalene. Terminalia Catappa leaf tannins include punicalagin, punicalin, geranin, granatin B, tergallagin, tercatain, terflavin A and B, quebalgic acid and corilagin.

FEATURES OF LEAVES AND BOTANICALS FOR PRAWNS

Leaving leaf scraps is the best source for create a biofilm in the cabinetSmall and large prawns love to graze on them. The contribution of sheets improves shrimp survival rate in his first weeks of life. The leaves are also a food for shrimp fantastic, since in its natural environment it is one of its main foods. Furthermore, the tannins they give off have antibacterial and fungicidal properties. Adding too many leaves can color the aquarium water to a light yellow or brown color, this is the effect of tannins and is completely normal, healthy and beneficial. If you don't want to have too much tannin and stain the water, you can soak the leaves for 1 or 2 days before introducing themBoiling them for a short time works just as well. The leaves decompose over time and it is completely safe to leave them in the shrimp aquarium. The microfauna and the snails will end up eating them completely. It is recommended to have leaves in the aquarium at different stages of decomposition.

The main characteristics provided by the leaves dry are:

Create a natural aquatic environment for shrimp and tropical fish.
It recreates the natural biotope of animals and provides them with places of refuge.
It improves the natural color of the inhabitants of the aquarium.
It helps the process of moulting shrimp, greatly reducing the mortality rate during this stage.
Contains acids and tannins that have antibacterial and antifungal properties.
They provide a large amount of substances and food that serve for complete nutrition of shrimp.
It prevents bacteria and diseases.
Stimulates breeding.
Reduce stress
It lowers the pH.

USE AND AMOUNT TO BE ADMINISTERED

To the aquarium shrimp Caridines and Neocaridines they love to graze on leaves.

For us the only "limiting factor" in the use of natural products, dried leaves and botanicals for aquarium in a shrimp it is a matter of creating stable water parameters and maintaining high water quality. In smaller aquariums, such as typical shrimp nano aquariums, the impact of anything we place on them within their environment is potentially significant. It is known that, under certain chemical parameters, (such as very soft and acidic water), botanicals for aquariums can influence pH more significantly than in more alkaline and "harsher" conditions, so you should do what we recommend for any situation like this: Go slowly and do not add more of the account.

With a nano aquarium for prawns, the entry of a large amount of organic matter into a small but stable environment, can degrade water quality in a short time and create a possible ammonia spike or other unpleasant problems. Again, it's about going slowly and add these leaves and botanicals little by little in order to take advantage of their efectos beneficiosos.

As for what the shrimp will consume, the aquarium shrimp graze on anything they collect biofilms and algae in its pores and surfaceactually actually physically consume many of the botanical products they have softer internal components like leaves.

There are many products, including dried leaves, seeds and dehydrated vegetables which can be offered to shrimp as supplementary food and we think it is quite correct to label them as such.

In shrimp farming, a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, etc. are used, which offer good nutritional profiles for shrimp, in terms of protein, amino acids, etc. There are no main characteristics that make a food superior to all others, each type of leaf, dehydrated vegetable or seed brings different properties to the aquarium and prawns.

NATURAL FOOD FOR PRAWNS

The interesting thing is that some natural foods, such as seeds, tubers, etc. They have different levels of elements such as calcium, phosphorus, vitamins, trace elements and very varied proteins.

Most of the botanicals we offer in our store have nutritional values that are acceptable for shrimp health when they are used as a supplement, when it is not their only diet and we accompany it with complete commercial foods.

If you like prawns and are prepared you can use many of the natural products that we offer for them, as long as you add them little by little, prepare them for use and apply a healthy dose with common sense and, if possible, a small monitoring of the water parameters.

It's fun looking for new supplementary food sources that provide natural grazing opportunities and food for our prawns, apart from aesthetics and being able to recreate a little the natural environment from which they originally came.

A botanical is almost as good as any other, so use the ones you prefer to decorate your shrimpIn the following points we are going to collect the ones that seem most appropriate for shrimp and their main characteristics

LEAVES AND BOTANICALS MOST USED FOR GAMBARIO

Here we will briefly and briefly name some of the Botanical items best known and used for aquarium shrimp. There are many others that can be used for this purpose, we offer this short summary as an introduction to have a basic understanding of the subject.

INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES (TERMINALIA CATAPPA)

All the Indian Almond leaves they create both an environment enriched in tannins and with antimicrobial and fungicidal properties. And, in addition, they also give a very natural look. These are the best known leaves to add to a shrimp. They tend to decompose fairly quickly in the aquarium compared to some of the other leaves commonly used in the hobby.

GUAYABA LEAVES

All the guava leaves they are also used quite frequently in gambarios, since they offer a complete supplement of vitamins, sugars and antibacterial properties. Prawns go to these leaves immediately. They tend to last a bit longer and stain the water less than Catappa leaves, and they are a beautiful decorative element for the shrimp aquarium.

AMARANTH LEAVES

All the amaranth leaves they are used very frequently as a source of supplementary food for shrimp. Are known to be rich in carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fiber. All of these are believed to be helpful in supporting shrimp health during the molting process. They are used as food, and as an improvement for the substrate.

BLACKBERRY LEAVES

These sheets are known to be rich in carbohydrates and they help in the health and maintenance of the exoskeleton supporting the molting process. Like amaranth, they are mainly used as food and for aesthetic purposes or as a substrate improvement.

Loquat leaves

Completing the selection of leaves most used for shrimp we have the loquat leaves. They are one of the botanical products most recent used for ornamental shrimp. These sheets are wonderful for creating a unique aesthetic. It's known that contain important polysaccharides (complex sugars), vitamins and offer some anti-inflammatory properties. Prawns quickly feed on these large, attractive, longer-lasting leaves in the aquarium.

OTHERS BOTANICAL

While the leaves have been used for quite a few years in shrimp, there are many other botanicals, such as branches, seeds and bark, which also perfectly fit these needs. We recommend that you experiment with them because they also give excellent results.

Other articles of interest may be:
Caridines and Neocaridines - File and Care Aquarium Prawns

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