Perfect little botanical additives for your shrimp aquarium!
Sweet Gum pods come from the appropriately named American Sweet Gum tree (Liquidambar styraciflua). These odd little pods add wonderful texural interest plus the benefits that come with lots of little nooks and crannies for shrimp or fish fry to shelter and forage in.
These pods are untreated and between one to two inches across.
Useful for bio-films, Sweet Gum pods release wonderful tannins in the water as they break down. They are also useful as a water softening buffer in quantities. Many Tetra types need softer water to breed and look their best!
As they are organic and untreated, these will eventually break down in the aquarium. This is a completely desirable and natural process, and makes your shrimp and fish feel right at home. Depending upon the thickness, I'd say about a year is a reasonable expectation.
These pods are full of air pockets, and so will float for up to two days when you first add them to an aquarium. You can mitigate this (and remove much of the tannins) by boiling it for up to 5 minutes. Let it cool, and plop it in your fish tank!
Basics:
- Key breeding and feeding habitat for Dwarf Shrimp, fish fry, and snails alike!
- Releases beneficial, protective tannins
- Untreated and wholesomely harvested.
- Pieces will be naturally irregular!