November 15, 2015

A Pod For Many Uses

It's always fun to offer up a new aquatic botanical, and the lovely Magnolia seed pod is no exception! Long coveted by frog and herp enthusiasts as a habitat enrichment "vehicle," these gorgeous pods live up to they adoration they receive. Since we have so many frog enthusiasts as customers, we want to get you guys and gals the botanicals and such that make your hobby more fun and enjoyable! You asked us to source these great botanicals, and we're happy to oblige.

They do a great job as a habitat enrichment "prop" in vivariums, because they stand up to the moist environment really well! Of course, if you place them in such an environment, they will often initially get kind of gross and moldy/"fungusy", which can look nasty, but this unwanted growth will be consumed by a rapidly multiplying population of creatures like the (beloved by her enthusiasts) hexapods known collectively as "Springtails", which are eager to jump on that chow line and take down the nasty stuff...Of course, frogs aren't stupid, and many of them appreciate the work these guys do in keeping their homes free from mites and fungus, so they're likely to leave 'em alone.

(Springtails are Scary up close, but they're tiny!)

As a fish geek, of course, the first thing that you think to yourself when seeing a pod like this is, "Can I use it in my aquarium?"

And the answer to that simple question is...well, we have personally NOT tried them out with tropical fish, but we have no reason to believe that they wouldn't work. We marketed them mainly for frog enthusiasts, but far be it from us to discourage responsible fish geek experimentation! Maybe my answer is not too convincing for you? Here's the straight skinny: Our "beta testers" used these both in their vivaria on "dry land" and submerged, for use with their tadpoles. They consensus was that they worked great when submerged! The tadpoles tended to congregate among them, which means that they probably were seeking the usual benefits of hanging around stuff underwater: Protection and some foraging ground...kind of similar to the reasons why a fish would hang out around them, right?

The bottom line is, Magnolia seed pods are not any different, really, than the many different varieties of pods that we tend to embrace for aquarium use. So, with that caveat, we'd recommend that, if you're going to play with them in an aquarium- you: 1) Rinse them again thoroughly, 2) Boil them for at least 15 minutes, 3)Soak them in freshwater for another couple of days. Yeah, we're all about being conservative. Some frog people even recommend baking them a bit in the oven to really dry 'em out and kill of any potential pathogens...I can't really argue with any practice that is for the well-being of your animals!

So, if you're into frogs, and for that matter- fishes too, I say that you'll probably want to try out some of these gorgeous botanicals and see for yourself what the fuss is all about! It's cool to have a botanical that offers such a variety of aesthetic, biological, and utilitarian benefits!

If you've been using them in an aquarium setting, we'd love to hear more about your application and results..of course, pics are cool, too!

Stay curious...

And Wet!

Scott Fellman

Tannin Aquatics