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We have a massive 5 or 6 metre high tree in the back yard, and to think all this time I have been buying Indian Almond leaves from the fish shop! I will blanch some tomorrow and see if the shrimp are keen. if any WA SKF people want some to try let me know, happy to dry them or blanch and freeze them for you!

I don't think there is much difference but I use the black mulberry tree

You can look up propagating plants - I'm not really a garden person but I'll give it a go. I use a branch about the thickness of a a finger - if you have big fat fingers go for one the size of your little finger but I don't think it matters much. Use a sharp clean knife/ scissors etc and cut the branch into small lengths 20-30 cm - again size not critical but don't go too big. Take off all the leaves except maybe the top couple but trim them down as they will lose too much moisture make sure there are a few leaf buds on the cutting. Make a hole in your potting mix and put your prepared cutting into the hole making sure at least 1 leaf bud goes into the soil . Keèp the pot very well watered and you should see some leaf growth in a few weeks. You can use hormone powder but I haven't found it necessary. I put all my cuttings into 1 pot but don't use too big a pot . As the cuttings grow you can repot to slightly larger pot every couple of years. It's not a guaranteed way but works for me. Because I trim them all the time my trees remain bushes really although technically they are trees. It was recommended they be planted put once they get to 10 years old but they do get very big. Once you have some growing it's a good idea to take cuttings regularly so you always have a few available. They require a lot of water plus I use a normal citrus tree fertiliser around the roots. So far I haven't had any insect problems but I'm sure there would be a natural substance we could use if insects became a problem. I can take some pictures if my explanation isn't clear enough but it will have to be later today - I'm doing water changes just now You can just find a tree and take a cutting, you can buy seeds or you can usually buy a mulberry tree at a nursery. I bought my initial tree from an online nursery .

Thanks. Just because she has been obliging and within camera range and because she is such a little stunner some more pictures. I quite like her little white knees too.

As a noob I've had more setbacks than wins over the last 12 months with my yellow cherries. BUT...after reading about mulberry leaves on here I was amazed by the coincidence of finding a tree on a remote, pristine farm we regularly visit west of Wauchope NSW. After 4 weeks of feeding one big leaf per week to my tank of about 100 shrimp (30/70 adults/babies) there is no doubt that they have greatly improved the condition of my shrimp. The most noticeable things are the nice clean moults when they often died from that, the stronger colors, huge increase in activity and for the first time a bunch of shrimplets surviving and growing out. I don't mean to gush, but it's good when you get something right and I'm hoping this will help other noobs like me. I'm using leaves the size of a small plate. I put them in a pyrex baking dish and poor hot water from the kettle over them, then let them sit till they are sinking. When I drop them in they charge over to it, but tend to not start eating till the second day. Once they start eating it every single shrimp in the tank seems to be on it and they smash a really big leaf in 24-36 hours, stripped right back to the white fibres/veins in the leaf. Quite amazing. I would suggest that this is one of the super foods for cherries at least, don't know about others, and well worth using.

Looks like i'll have to take a few leaves from the gigantic tree at my parents property. Its probably 15-20m tall, so it could probably spare a few leaves without any worry haha.

As some of you maybe aware not only do I have a few tanks (7 at last count) I also have a 1000L pond in the backyard. Now this pond has long been a bit of a dumping ground for excess stock, usually cull cherry shrimp, endlers and plants that have gone balistic in my tank. But also occasionally the pond has even held short term bristle nose catfish and peppered catfish. So imagine my surprise last night when shining a torch into the pond looking for gudgeons and Pacific Blue eyes and any shrimp worth saving for breeding programs, I spied a little Khuli loach face resting in the plant life at the surface peering back at me. I can only guess that the Khuli population in one of my tanks laid eggs in the tangle of over grown plants prior to me dumping the plants in the pond, and the eggs have since hatched in what is effectively Khuli loach heaven. The pond is nearly entirely covered with lily leaves, has a massive tangle of hornwort and elodea as well as duckweed and probably a few inches of leaf litter on the floor. I tried to catch the Khuli loach (after thinking to get hubby down to see but not thinking about grabbing a photo) but it of course slipped away into the tangle of lily roots and leaf litter. Maybe tonight I will be able to con it out into an open area with food along with any of its brothers and sisters. I am also in a real quandary know too, on how on earth do I get the loaches out of the pond???? Sure I can remove all the leaf litter, but they will probably be hiding in that too, removing the lily they will probably be deeply buried in the jungle of roots and impossible to see let alone save. And then I have the black sludge that once disturbed turns the entire pond into a black blizzard and you cant see a thing. I am tempted to attempt making a mini eel trap in the hope that it might catch khuli loaches with less muss and fuss than a day dredging through the pond.

A bit straggly but shows my bigger trees, a smaller tree and a new cutting done last weekF

Eventually with all these mulberry tree in shrimp keeper back yards we could band together and sell excess fruit as SKF Mulberries LOL.

Just a quick reminder although mulberry leaves are an excellent natural food source for our shrimp please don't feed them exclusively. Shrimp still need other nutrients to keep them healthy. The mulberry leaves can be left in the tank but do feed a variety of both commercial and home made foods to keep them healthy

Hello @larrymull, All my tanks TDS were a lot higher then I usually keep them when I got back from my Holiday. When this occurs I don't got for a plain RO water change but I add half the amount of SS I usually do. For example I keep my tiger tank at 180 so I will mix my RO water up to 90 TDS. I will usually change between 10-15% each week until the TDS is back to where I want it. Once it is back to normal I just do my usual water changes.

@ineke i know the benefits of mulberry leaves, but have just run out, my shrimp love them too and it seems they go very quickly when I put them in the tank. I have just found a tree near my house....bonus!!!

Update - Tinkered slightly, rearranged a few things as I finally had a spare hour on the weekend. Also did a bit of a clean after neglecting the tank apart from water changes for the last two months. Still need to trim the Sunset Hygro... Also noted what I beleive to be GSA on a few leaves of the Hygro which is something new for me to look into and deal with. I also found I have had a massive Snail death which is concerning. I used to take out 20 a week due to population booms. I have read this may be due to high PH - I did a quick test and it is slightly high, but nothing horrible and the shrimp and fish are fine. Maybe a coincidence of being all old snails?

Sure, thanks for the advice. Will start skipping feeding days more often :)

I will post a photo tonight :) Sorry, I didnt explain myself very well. I only gravel vac in one spot which is opposite all plants, which is where i feed shrimp pellets and algae wafers. The fish make a mess of the area before the shrimp clean up. When I see there is a heap of food piling up that the shrimp no longer graze on, I vac it a little. I feed a variety of things - stock standard is nano fish food mnini pellets or flakes once a day,shrimp pellets now 4-5 days a week. occasionally an algae wafer, blood worms or spinach (maybe once every two weeks). My tank temp is room temp..., no heaters. The room is relatively cool though, and stable. I might do a 10% water change tonight on top of a 10% water change on sunday.