Thanks! 😀
It's from the fern Lophosoria quadripinnata, from our garden.
My dad collects ferns so we have all sorts, though not many seem tough enough to go in a tank. One of the things I'm really interested in now is collecting interesting leaves and pods which are a) free and b) unusual. They really add a new layer of complexity and natural feeling to the tank, especially as all my creatures love to interact with them. My dad is a walking plant encyclopedia so I'm lucky that he can easily identify plants and trees that could work for the tanks and not poison it, and where I might find them around London. Botanicals are one of those things people don't miss, since it's just picking up a few leaves/pods or trimming off a dead bit, so they're easy to gather. I got the palm flower stalk from my neighbour's garden!
A while ago I just went into the garden and nabbed all sorts of interesting dead leaves and this was one... it doesn't seem to affect the fish or water quality in any way and takes a long time to decompose. It's an evergreen fern so I think that makes it more tough, I'm eyeing up the green/yellow leaves now but they haven't browned yet... might have to wait until winter/spring. In the background of the tank are 2 Chaemerops humilis cerifera small-medium-sized palm leaves, I have a few extras of those if you want some, I trimmed off quite a few as nobody has trimmed it and the dead leaves seem to last years and years outside on the plant, they're very tough.
It's from the fern Lophosoria quadripinnata, from our garden.
My dad collects ferns so we have all sorts, though not many seem tough enough to go in a tank. One of the things I'm really interested in now is collecting interesting leaves and pods which are a) free and b) unusual. They really add a new layer of complexity and natural feeling to the tank, especially as all my creatures love to interact with them. My dad is a walking plant encyclopedia so I'm lucky that he can easily identify plants and trees that could work for the tanks and not poison it, and where I might find them around London. Botanicals are one of those things people don't miss, since it's just picking up a few leaves/pods or trimming off a dead bit, so they're easy to gather. I got the palm flower stalk from my neighbour's garden!
A while ago I just went into the garden and nabbed all sorts of interesting dead leaves and this was one... it doesn't seem to affect the fish or water quality in any way and takes a long time to decompose. It's an evergreen fern so I think that makes it more tough, I'm eyeing up the green/yellow leaves now but they haven't browned yet... might have to wait until winter/spring. In the background of the tank are 2 Chaemerops humilis cerifera small-medium-sized palm leaves, I have a few extras of those if you want some, I trimmed off quite a few as nobody has trimmed it and the dead leaves seem to last years and years outside on the plant, they're very tough.