# What’s your favorite type of leaf litter?



## Roscoe09 (Dec 30, 2017)

I am uses bamboo leaves because I bought the exo terra kit on clearance. I thinking to switch to magnolia. What’s your favorite leaf litter or which one works the best for your tanks? Thanks. Have a good evening.


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## jarteta97 (Jun 13, 2014)

I personally like the magnolia leaf litter because it creates its own system of hiding spots and visual barriers for the frogs, and it can look quite nice.


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## Cakers (Sep 10, 2017)

The one thing I like most about magnolia leaf litter is the shape allows me to place it in small spaces.


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## cameronfarris627 (Dec 4, 2017)

I love the look of a few sea grape leaves with mainly magnolia 


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## Spaff (Jan 8, 2011)

I make a mix of layers. Bottom layer is something that will break down more easily (large oak leaves, maple) and provide basically instant food for microfauna. Above that, I’ll use live oak, magnolia, or water oak for a cleaner look and more durability. Keep in mind that one of the main reasons for the litter layer instead of moss is to provide surface area and food for your microfauna. Trying to make it as much of a forest floor by inserting variability is best.


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

I always try to use a mixture of different species leaves but the big three staples for me are oak, beech and alder. 
Alder has the advantage of breaking down faster and is a more microbially active and nutritious food for your microfauna.
I'm currently trying to find a good very small leaf to use as a sort of top dressing as sometimes I find that really big leaves look a little out of place, especially if they're bigger than the leaves of any plant in the tank.


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## Woodswalker (Dec 26, 2014)

Louis, what species of alder leaves are you using, and where do you get them?


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## Reece93 (Jul 24, 2017)

Oak, magnolia and cattapa 


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## Louis (Apr 23, 2014)

Woodswalker I'm using Alnus glutinosa leaves collected from the woods around my house. I started to always incorporate them into leaf litter mixes after I read a scientific study on the reproduction of a dwarf isopod species I'm culturing where it was found that they could *only* maintain a breeding population on alder due to _higher microbial activity_. That doesn't necessarily mean they're the absolute best leaves to use but for isopods im satisfied that they're better than oack or beech.
I've also been experimenting with pre-fermenting leaf litter to increase its nutritional value for microfauna based on another study I read where this promoted isopod reproduction.


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## Woodswalker (Dec 26, 2014)

I've read that same study, so I got excited when I saw your comment. It also occurs to me that I've read something indicating that other species had higher reproduction rates when using alder leaf litter compared to other leaf litter types. I may be mistaken, but that's how I'm remembering it, and I've been looking for alder leaves since I first encountered that information.


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## Woodswalker (Dec 26, 2014)

Ok, now I remember my primary reason for wanting them. I keep Porcellio dilatatus, and this article prompted me to look for alder.

https://www.researchgate.net/public...tacea_Isopoda_for_Laboratory_Test_Development

This article compares multiple litter types. I do not, personally, have access to it. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929139398000961

If you're having trouble reading the article from the first link, this one allows you to read it.

http://www.academia.edu/542572/Opti...tacea_Isopoda_for_laboratory_test_development


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

My favorite leaf litter is live oak, for the longevity, and I like the small gaps and hidey holes it makes for thumbnails and pumilio.

My favorite leaf litter is pin oak, because it breaks down faster to feed microfauna, and because I have a free source of it in my backyard.

My favorite leaf litter is sea grape, because they are big, and mostly flat. This allows me to stack a half dozen, and lean it at a 45 degree angle against the glass. Some of my thumbnails absolutely love to lay eggs in the stack. Now you just collect the whole leaf so you don't have to scrape any eggs off the glass, etc.

My favorite leaf litter is Magnolia, because they make great hides for dart frogs of all sizes, and have a great life span.

Oh, and my favorite leaf litter is maple, because it breaks down faster than any other leaf litter I've seen, and is good for feeding microfauna. Fair disclosure, I list this one as a favorite, but since my pin oak is free, I tend to use that instead of maple. 

I almost forgot to list my favorite leaf litter! It's Indian almond, because Indian almond rocks a tadpole tea like no other! 

Orchids and broms, however, are my favorite leaf litter, because they are growing all over my viv. When leaves fall, they add to the natural, messy forest floor I am after, as opposed to a neatly laid out garden.

They all have their uses, and they are all "the best" leaf litter...depending on what you want. If, for whatever reason, I could only have one kind...probably live oak. 

My vivs generally have a mixture of leaf litter. Live Oak, half crushed by hand, goes in all my vivs, along with a healthy portion of pin oak mixed in for the bugs. I have generally put Magnolia in every viv, too.


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