here are some of the benefits of using indian almond leafs on bettas and the health benefits it provides
http://www.siamsbestbettas.com/articles.html#Ketapang

Interesting,have you tried it?

yes I have. I have it in both my male and female's tank. the breeder I got my fish from swears by it. he says he never has a sick fish when using it.

In the dried form,they keep long? I wonder,if they ship to Canada.I will ask.

Because no store sells them and I don't want to pay to ship leaves I use banana leaves. IF they work the same then I think they are great but I don't think you would want to use them a lot because it makes your water a light brown or yellowish color.

Another method I use is natural green tea. I put the tea bag in the tank for about 5 minutes. Makes my betta begin breeding right away rather than waiting for them to finish chasing each other or being all macho.

no they work differently. The banna leaves soften the tail so that the betta( especially young ones) can spred it more. The ial make the water anitbacterial, lower the ph ,harden the bettas scales, encourage breeding, make bubble nests stickier . you can use them all the time. My breeder freind uses them in all in all his bettas water ( I am talking about 100 bettas) and he says he has had no sick bettas .
here is a link where you can order some. I know they do not sell them in stores cause the best ones are the ones that dry naturally and falll off the tree and need to be collected by hand. that is why you usually have to obtain them over the net, or in my case I have a freind who's nephew in law in malaysa collects them and mails them here to the US to my friend. He sells the small packs for $5 which includes the shipping. here is a web site that sells them http://www.siamsbestbettas.com/order.html. They are supposed to slightly tint the water. I use it all the time and it does not tint it that much. If you ial do not tint the water then they may have already been used.

Would they be beneficial in goldfish tanks? I have them in with my bettas but I always wondered if they would be good for the goldies as well. What do you think? Have you seen any information on this?

Angela

actually in the link with the info at the top of the page says tropical , and ocean fish, I do not know about how they would work in Goldies.

Hmm...very interesting...I will have to check out that website. I recently fought a little bout of fin rot on my boy. These leaves might be worth trying! Bettaqueen...how long have you been using them? Do you add aquarium salt after each water change, as a preventative, in addition to the ial? Or would it no longer be necessary? Sorry to bombard you with so many questions.

that is alright. My friend used the ial by itself. I use the ial and add a low salt ration to the water when I chane it once a week. I put a fresh leaf in as well when I change the water. My breeder friend just uses the leave though

Cool. Thanks for the info! I will definitely read more on that website.

Beautiful new bettas you have there, by the way!

you are welcome and thanks for the compliment

You are very welcome. I saw the most beautiful boy at a lfs the other day. Guess I'll have to get another mini-bow huh!!

Go for it. The more bettas the better. I see you have caught the betta bug like the rest of us

You know it! Love those beauties.