#TanninBae Beginner Variety Pack
About This Pack:
The #TanninBae Beginner Variety Pack was designed for aquarists new to the botanical method. Each botanical has been selected for its durability, safety, and role in fostering the natural processes that define this method—beneficial decomposition, biofilm growth, and gentle water conditioning through tannin release. This beginner’s mix helps you understand how botanicals condition and influence the aquarium environment, making it the ideal first step toward creating your own self-sustaining ecosystem.
Essential Details
- Tannin Level: Moderate to high
- Tint Color: Warm amber to deep golden brown
- Durability: Mixed – includes long-lasting alder cones and slower-decomposing leaves for gradual conditioning
- Habitat Location: Inspired by tropical streams and forest pools typical of blackwater habitats
- Optimal For: Most fish, amphibians, and reptiles, including bettas, tetras, rasboras, gouramis, angelfish, and shrimp
- Use with Caution: The alder cones could pose choking hazards to axolotls and goldfish
- Size Range: Small cones and twigs to large leaves; assorted for natural layering and surface diversity
- Quantities: 20 Alder Cones, 10 Indian Almond Leaves (varied sizes), 5 Magnolia Leaves, 10 Oak Leaves, and 5 Oak Branches. Each pack is unique; variation in color, size, and shape is expected.
#TanninBae Beginner Variety Pack for Aquariums & Vivariums
This pack provides a hands-on introduction to the ecological engine behind botanical method aquariums. As the botanicals begin to soften, they release tannins—natural compounds that gently lower the pH of soft water and enrich it with beneficial humic substances. These compounds help replicate the natural water conditions many tropical fish have evolved to thrive in, while the botanicals themselves promote the growth of biofilm, a soft, translucent layer that forms on their surface and serves as a critical food source for shrimp, snails, and microfauna.
Each botanical breaks down at its own pace, mirroring how organic matter accumulates and decomposes in nature. This decomposition is beneficial—it’s how nutrients are recycled and life continues. Durable materials like Magnolia and Oak Leaves maintain structure for months, while softer botanicals fuel detritus formation that sustains the microbial community. Over time, this combination develops into a balanced layer of leaf litter, detritus, and biofilm—the aquarium itself becomes the largest filter.
For new hobbyists, this pack encourages patience and observation. Begin with only a few pieces, let your aquarium adjust, and add gradually. Watch as water color deepens, microorganisms flourish, and your fish begin to display calmer, more natural behaviors.
Beneath the Leaves: Your First Step into Nature
In forest streams where many popular aquarium fish originate, leaves and branches fall into the water, forming beds of decomposing organics that host entire communities of life. Tiny crustaceans graze on biofilm, fish seek shelter beneath curling leaves, and microorganisms recycle nutrients through continuous decomposition. The #TanninBae Beginner Variety Pack allows you to capture this within a small-scale ecosystem, inviting you to recreate these natural cycles in your aquarium. This is your first collaboration with Mother Nature—she leads the way.
Sustainability Note:
This product’s packaging is home compostable. Just like the botanicals inside, it will break down naturally and return to the soil, because what supports your ecosystem should minimally impact our planet.
Not for human consumption. Preparation required.
This is a natural product—variation in color, shape, and texture is expected.
#TanninBae Beginner Variety Pack
Home is getting more natural
While the aesthetic appeal of botanicals and tinted water can be quite attractive to us, the recreation of nature to emulate water conditions, feeding patterns, spawning displays, and territory building are the true benefits botanicals provide to our critters.
Botanical FAQs
Compostable Packaging Promise
Our packaging is designed to return safely to the Earth, just like the botanicals inside. Every bag is BPA- and Phthalate-free, GMO-free, and contains no animal products. Each meets ASTM D6400 composting standards, ensuring it can fully break down in a home compost bin.
What are the Fluffy White Growths on my Botanicals?
That’s biofilm and fungi—what we call the “goo phase.” It’s one of the clearest signs that your aquarium is alive and functioning. These growths wax and wane naturally as botanicals decompose. They’re harmless, even beneficial, and will disappear on their own once microbial populations stabilize.
Will botanicals lower the pH of my water?
That depends entirely on your source water. In very soft or RODI water, botanicals can gradually lower pH as tannins and humic substances accumulate. In medium to hard tap water, buffering capacity often resists these shifts, and you may not notice much change. At Betta Botanicals HQ, our very hard water (350+ ppm) shows almost no pH change unless we use botanicals like Alder Cones or Macaranga Leaves.
When should I replace leaves or pods in my tank?
We recommend allowing botanicals to fully break down into detritus, since this fuels microbial life and enriches the substrate. You can remove them once they stop tinting the water, but you’ll lose some of their ecological benefits. Each time you add new botanicals, follow proper preparation and observe your livestock until you learn your aquarium’s rhythm.
Are your products just for bettas?
Nope. Our botanicals are safe for almost all aquariums, terrariums, vivariums, and paludariums. The only exceptions are goldfish and axolotls, which may ingest small pods like alder cones or casuarina cones. For those species, we recommend large leaves such as Indian Almond, Loquat, or Jackfruit.
What are Tannins?
Tannins are natural compounds released by leaves, seed pods, and bark as they decompose in water. They soften water, gently lower pH, and create the characteristic tea-stained tint found in blackwater habitats. But their role goes far beyond color—tannins fuel beneficial bacteria, fungi, and biofilms, which form the foundation of a healthy ecosystem. They also offer mild antifungal benefits and help reduce stress in fish by replicating the natural conditions they’ve evolved in. At their core, tannins are plant-derived antioxidants that connect your aquarium to the same processes at work in wild flooded forests and streams.