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Sometimes it seems to me that things are made to be much more complicated then they need to be, I just skimmed a thread on the other forum, and looked at this one.
I have never made tadpole tea per say. Just added a piece of almond leaf or oak if I have no almond, to a cup of spring water or whatever it is that people use for their tads currently (another subject that gets beaten to death). I am sure boiling, brewing, works great, I just wonder if it is really needed.
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boiling releases the tannins more effectively, I believe and softens the leaf up , to make munching easier.
No right or wrong, like a bunch of stuff in the hobby, only personal preference.
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Seems to be somewhere in the cobwebs of my addled brain, that I read there is one species of frog for which the almond tea for tads is not good....can't remember which species...
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none that I'm aware of....
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On darkness or strength of the tea...
I would make mine diluted to the colour of light American Iced tea. I doubt that 'darker' or stronger will harm the tadpoles. I like seeing them in the cups and not having the water look like the Amazon river, so much.
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Has anyone tried making tad tea with magnolia leaves? I imagine it would take quite a bit of boiling considering how hard they are, but I have access to a nature reserve that is literally COVERED in magnolia trees. The leaves are definitely clean as the reserve is huge and no chemicals of any kind are used on the property. Oh, does anyone need magnolia leaves by the way? haha
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Not all leaves contain 'Tannins' and some more than others. Indian almond is fairly well established as one, if not THE best leaf for production of Tannins for our hobby purposes.
From Wikipedia
Occurrence of Tannins:
Tannins are distributed in species throughout the plant kingdom. They are commonly found in both gymnosperms as well as angiosperms. Mole[16] (1993) studied the distribution of tannin in 180 families of dicotyledons and 44 families of monocotyledons (Cronquist). Most families of dicot contain tannin-free species (tested by their ability to precipitate proteins).
The best known families of which all species tested contain tannin are: Aceraceae, Actinidiaceae, Anacardiaceae, Bixaceae, Burseraceae, Combretaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Ericaceae, Grossulariaceae, Myricaceae for dicot and Najadaceae and Typhaceae in Monocot. To the family of the oak, Fagaceae, 73% of the species tested (N = 22) contain tannin. For those of acacias, Mimosaceae, only 39% of the species tested (N = 28) contain tannin, among Solanaceae rate drops to 6% and 4% for the Asteraceae. Some families like the Boraginaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Papaveraceae contain no tannin-rich species.
You'll have to research what Family and Species your particular Magnolia leaf is. Chances are, the tannins it would produce would not be nearly as 'good' as the Indian almond or even a temperate Oak.
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Luckily I also have access to a large amount of oak leaves as well via the same nature reserve. I just can't bring myself to pay for leaves...
