'Blackwater' is the term used to describe the kind of water found in the natural habitat of some acidic water fishes such as bettas, gouramies, killifish and arowanas. In the wild, if your fish comes from a habitat where leaves and other plant debris regularly falls into the water and decompose, your fish will be happier in that environment so trying to mimic it in your aquariums is strongly recommended. 

Leaves that fall into the water release many different compounds, from dyes to trace minerals, and animals living in the water adapt to having all those different compounds readily available. If your fish comes from the type of environment described above, Indian Almond Leaf Blackwater Extract is one way of simulating black water condition which is the natural environment for most tropical fish.

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Bettawan's Indian Almond Leaf Blackwater Extract Mix is made up of what we call low grade leaves, these leaves have either been damaged during the cleaning process or have more holes and tears than our Premium Indian Almond Leaves. The leaves are cleaned and then they are ground and bagged into plastic bags ready for shipping.

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Making your own Indian Almond Leaf blackwater extract is pretty much straight forward:

 

1st you need a bag of Bettawan Indian Almond Leaf Blackwater Extract Mix or Bettawan Low Grade Indian Almond Leaves (Terminalia Catappa).
 
Next you need a pot big enough to hold at least 1 gallon of water, but the bigger the pot the more extract you will produce. Put 100g of Bettawan Indian Almond Leaf blackwater extract or roughly 50 our low-grade Indian Almond leaves for each gallon of water inside the pot. (We have found with the blackwater mix it is best to use an old pair of tights or a thin sock. Just simply empty mix into tights or sock and place in water).
 
Fill the pot with clean water.
 
Let the leaves or blackwater mix soak in the water for 24 hours. It's best to put some type of weight on top of the mix or leaves to stop them floating.
 
The following day boil the pot of leaves or blackwater mix for 15 - 20 minutes. Put to oneside and let it cool and stew for another 24 hours. The next day boil the pot again for 10 - 15 minutes. Once the water as cooled you will notice that the water is black with a very strong fragrance.
 
Filter the Indian almond leaf blackwater extract through a coffee paper filter or again an old pair of tights. This is to stop any undesirable matter getting into the blackwater extract. The Indian Almond Leaf Blackwater Extract can now be poured into plastic or glass bottles, sealed and stored in fridge or somewhere dark and cool. Recommended Dosage: 1 ounce for 1 gallon of water.
 

Our Indian Almond Leaf Blackwater Extract Mix is ideal for bettas, discus, gouramis, killiefish, tetras, arowana’s, angelfish, South American dwarf cichlids, corys, plecos, some rasboras some cat-fishes and crustaceans.