We recommend starting with 2-3 pieces of botanical materials (literally 2-3 twigs, a small handful of live oak, or 2-3 magnolia leaves) per 5 gallons of water. This is because botanicals are FUEL, acting as part of the bioload in your aquarium, and their introduction will spark additional growths in beneficial bacteria and fungi.
How To Prepare Aquarium Botanicals:
1) Rinse botanicals under hot tap water for 60 seconds
2) Boil all botanical materials for 5 minutes in fresh tap water
3) Drain and strain your botanicals, discarding the first batch of water
4) Boil or soak your botanicals in fresh dechlorinated water until water logged. This second batch of water is safe for use in the aquarium, along with the water logged botanicals.
Adding Botanicals to Shrimp Tanks
***we would like to reiterate adding botanicals to established aquariums slowly. Shrimp keepers need to pay special attention to this, as the oxygen levels of the aquarium can be impacted from using too many botanicals as the bacteria and fungal colonies ebb and flow.