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Amy's Ketapang Inc
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  SquareTrade © AP6.0 Amy's Ketapang Inc You are bidding for 100 Grade A Large (most 7"-10") Indian Almond Leaves.
These will be packed into 2 ziploc bags and will be shipped out to you in a light but sturdy box as soon as possible (usually within the same or next day of receiving payment by Paypal). Quality Assured & Value for money Guaranteed! Read my quality control process, and the testimonials below. About Me I am actually a homemaker... who has become quite an expert on Terminalia catappa leaves, having sold more than 500,000 leaves to satisfied customers mostly through Aquabid and Ebay (read testimonials below). I started picking and selling Ketapang leaves initially as a project for my children. You see, we want them to be responsible for their own pets (fish and hamster etc). So we thought of a way for them to earn their own pocket money to buy their pet supplies (of course we do not require them to pay for anything else -- we just want them to learn responsibility in regard to their pets). Since my husband occasionally collects the Ketapang leaves for breeding his bettas and shrimps; we decided to collect more to sell. Not realising that there were others selling the leaves at much higher price, we began to sell it at a price we thought to be reasonable. We did not increase the price a lot even when we knew about other suppliers. So our price is extremely competitive for such good quality leaves – regardless of whether you are buying a few or in bulk. Today my children still collect some of the leaves whenever they can, and my retired father has also joined in the effort. I reimburse them for whatever they collect. But I now do all the washing and the quality control… rejecting sometimes up to 80% of the leaves collected. These leaves that are rejected are thrown away if they are too bleached (and therefore thin and useless – will not tan the water) or too green (and therefore will pollute the water if used, or will become mouldy in transit). If the leaves are torn but still thick and useable, they are set aside for sale as low grade leaves (sold by weight). The whole process of picking, washing, quality control and packing involves quite a lot of work and time. But it supplements our modest family income. Ketapang or Sea Almond or Indian Almond or Terminalia catappa leaves are known to most, if not all Asian breeders of blackwater tropical fishes, to be one of the best water conditioners to promote healing and breeding. They are known to have antibacteria and antifungal properties. Bettas are known to be induced to spawn by just putting a few of the leaves into their tank. Fish suffering finrot or injuries (such as spawning injuries) will definitely benefit from having the leaves in their quarantine tub. But they can be used for the usual aquariums too. When soaked in water these leaves will leach a strong brown dye that is full of organic acids like humic acids and tannic acids. These may be useful for inhibiting many types of bacteria as well as to detoxify harmful heavy metals found in the aquarium. But that is not all! Referring to leaves from the Terminalia catappa tree, Dr Robert J. Goldstein (not the podiatrist- wannabe terrorist of Florida; but the aquarist and environmental consultant of North Carolina who wrote numerous book on fish-keepings), writes in his 2002 paper entitled “Water Conditioners and Additives”: The large, leathery leaves are used in folk medicine to treat infections, indigestion, and other medical conditions. The water extract makes a pharmacologically powerful tea… In southeast Asia, betta breeders add a dried leaf to provide a surface for the bubblenest and to leach substances that protect the fry from diseases. As the leaves decay, they also provide detritus to grow extract-resistant infusoria for the babies. Of 35 aromatic (ring structure) substances identified from these leaves, noteworthy were benzene-acetaldehyde, acetones, and sabinen-hydrate. The first is strongly antimicrobial, and several of the 35 others destroy microbial cell membranes. And he adds: “So these leaves are not simply sources of stains and tannins and other acids as we would get from oak or hickory, but rich in many other kinds of complex and highly effective chemicals with a wide range of physiological and antimicrobial effects.” Most of your leaves will be between 7-10" (and sometimes reaching up to 12"). They are selectively collected from leaves that have naturally fallen and of good quality. See my introduction above, and see photo for indication of quality (colour hue may vary from batch to batch, but all leaves that are greenish or smell green are rejected). And yes, in case you are wondering, the leaves in the photo are crispy dry. You may wish to note that our leaves are selective picked from those that have naturally fallen from the trees after turning red or brown in a natural chemical/biological process. These are the leaves that tan the blackwater streams in the forest where bettas and arowanas are found. We do not harvest green leaves from the trees and dry them. If we do that, the leaves will look very nice and indeed easier to obtain; but we doubt their efficacy for aquatic use. We do not know of any tropical fish breeder who will use such leaves. All the breeders we know who use Ketapang Leaves will only use naturally fallen and dried ones. Indeed, if you try these naturally fallen leaves once, you will probably never go back to freshly harvested leaves! They have an aromatic smell that leaves harvested from the tree do not have (it was this sweet smell that first led breeders and herbalists to suspect that they have beneficial properties). Dosage For bettas, put a 1-2 sq inch piece (or a quarter of a leaf) into each 1 gallons (4 litre) jar. For usual aquarium (with tetras, gouramis, arrowanas, apistos etc), put 2-3 leaves per 25 gallons (100 litres) of water for 14-21 days. Simply put the leaves into the aquarium. After 1-2 days the leaves will be water-logged and sink. Apart from their beneficial effects on the water, they will tan the water slightly (to a clear amber) and provide a very natural stream-bottom look to your aquarium. Alternatively, you can boil the leaves to make blackwater extract and dose when you need. Soaking the leaves in a bucket for a week will produce a similar result. Quality Assurance All our leaves goes through a four-level quality control:
Grade A+ Large leaves are 7-12" Leaves that are generally without holes or tears, and have been flat-dried. Grade A+ Small leaves are 5-7" Leaves that are without holes, and have been flat-dried. Grade A Large leaves are 7-12" Leaves that are generally thicker and darker without holes or tears, and have been sun/shade dried. Grade A Small leaves are 5-7" Leaves that are without holes, and have been sun/shade dried. Grade A baby leaves are 3-5" Leaves that are without holes, and have been sun/shade dried. Grade B Large leaves are 7-12" Leaves that are generally good quality leaves with a couple of small holes or tears, and have been sun/shade dried. Grade B Small leaves are 5-7" Leaves that are with a couple of small holes or tears. Grade C leaves are mixed size whole leaves which have more holes or are not too badly broken. Grade C+ leaves are mixed size whole leaves, which are red/darker-coloured or are thicker, but have holes or tears. Grade D leaves are generally broken or badly worm eaten leaves which can still are still usable (i.e. not green, mouldy, bleached, etc)
We
do not use any heating implements (hot iron or microwave or oven) to
dry or prepare the leaves as they may destroy the beneficial properties
of the leaves. We've always used our leaves as they are after washing
and have never experienced any problem with bacterial or parasites etc.
Handling & Shipping The leaves have been washed and dried and are ready for delivery. They should arrive within 2 weeks for most destinations in US, UK and Europe. They may be used immediately upon arrival. Utmost care is taken to ensure that your leaves arrive in a good condition. If I have to buy a bigger box or pay more for postage for this purpose, I will do so at no extra cost to you. This makes my profit margin very low but I will rather have your satisfaction. However, occasionally some of the leave will suffer some cracks as they are thoroughly dried. Such cracks, of course would no diminish the efficacy of the leaves. Shipping Cost My shipping charges are according to what the Post Office charges me. In fact, I usually have to pay an excess due to larger leaves! We so not ship with tracking for small packages (less than 800 leaves) as it is much more expensive to do so. But shipping is guaranteed through re-shipments at not extra cost to you. I have had customers who ended up with 2 packages at the price of 1 due to postage delays. I don't earn anything from postage (everything you pay goes to the post-office), but I try to keep the price of my leaves low to make it affordable to you. Price Guarantee I keep my price low as a principle (For the LORD our Creator provides the leaves freely, and all I do is select, wash, dry, sort, pack and send!). I also keep my price low by putting up only as many ads as I can be fairly confident there will be a buyer. I doubt that you can find the same quantity of similar quality leaves at my price. But feel free to give me a offer if you think my price is still too high for you. Why Buy in Bulk (100+)? Not only is it cheaper and you do not need to keep buying, but the leaves have practically no shelf life. Testimonials (These are unsolicited comments that came through the email when my customers received the leaves. They are used here with their permission... though I have kept their name anonymous for privacy sake except for one who urged me to go ahead to use his name)
A customer from Italy wrote:
"As I'm writing, I have the two ziplock bags with the leaves in front of me. The leaves appear to be in perfect condition. The colour and scent are lovely, I'm amazed by the quality and the sheer size of these leaves...I think I now have enough ketapang to last for a lifetime! I want to congratulate you on your excellent job in selecting and packing the leaves. I am totally pleased with this transaction." An Australian customer (of Melbourne) wrote: "I just want to let you know that the leaves are fantastic. The smell and quality is unbelieveable." A US customer (ebay id: Karmafarmaquatics) wrote: "I got them!… They are PERFECT!! Exactly what I wanted. I am SOOOOOO happy with the leaves!... I will be buying more as soon as these are gone. I will NEVER buy from anyone else ever again! … The last person who sent me leaves sent TINY leaves that were still green!! What a waste of money..... the leaves weren't even mature! By buying from you I am assured that i am getting leaves that are MATURE, which have fallen from the tree naturally." Another US customer (of Phoenix, Arizona) wrote: "I just received your almond leaves... The size and quality of the leaves are excellent and my Bettas love them. I had two pair just spawn this morning after I put them in the spawning tank last night with a nice chunk of leaf. .... They really are the best I have seen -- rich and dark in color. Even the smell is a lot stronger than ones I have used previously. The other ones I have used never tinted the water but these do just like the Atison's Betta Spa I used to use." Yet another US customer (of Naperville, Illinois) wrote: I recieved the Indian Almond Leaves, yesterday. They are some of the best quaility I've ever purchased. When I am running low, I will be purchasing more from you, every time!
A customer from Ireland wrote: Just to let you know the leaves arrived today and I'm over the moon with them, the quality is great and they're a lovely big size - thanks so much! Very well packed too. I'll be sure to buy from you again when these run out... I really am happy with the quality of the leaves (and of course, the price!) - I bought some a while back from someone else on eBay and they were awful little things. A UK customer from London wrote: Just want to say thanks for the leaves, they arrived really quickly and are the best leaves I've seen! hope to buy from you again soon. Thank you for reading. Thank you in advance for your business and your confidence.
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Shipping and handling Item location: Singapore, SC, Singapore Shipping to: Worldwide
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