Meanwhile, the trees grow wild along our tropical coast. We collect them by hand, cure them in a climate-controlled facility, and ship them fresh from Far North Queensland.
Shredded Terminalia catappa leaves in reusable cotton bags
Hand-harvested & climate-cured
in Far North Queensland
Trees grown in tropical Cairns, harvested at peak tannin content.
Sealed facility, controlled humidity. Consistent quality year-round.
Zero chemical residue. Reverts to plain oxygen. Aquarium safe.
Every pack traceable. Ask us anything about your batch.
Fresh Australian tannin in the format that works for your setup.
10-15cm hand-graded leaves for community and betta tanks.
15-25cm+ premium leaves for discus, aquascaping and biotope.
Shredded Catappa in reusable muslin. No mess, precise dosing.
Most Catappa leaves sold in Australia are imported. Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Thailand. The leaves travel weeks in shipping containers, sit in warehouses, and reach hobbyists months after they fell from the tree.
Tannin content degrades with age. Colour fades. Freshness matters.
Our leaves are harvested fresh, processed within days, and shipped direct from where the trees actually grow.
Best colour I've seen on Catappa leaves in ten years of keeping Caridina. Water tints immediately.
Finally an Aussie-made tea bag option. Convenience of Seachem at half the imported price.
The large leaves are actually large. Not the runty imports every shop sells and calls XL.
Every month a curated pack of fresh-season botanicals lands at your door. Skip any time. Cancel any time. Never run out again.
Four tiers based on tank count and hobby depth. Every one saves you money vs one-off ordering, and every one arrives fresh.
For 1-3 small tanks
For multi-tank hobbyists
Serious breeder volume
Premium curated
Match the pack size to how many tanks you keep and how much you dose.
Within 3-5 business days from Cairns. Batch fresh, ozone-sterilised, batch-dated.
Auto-shipped every 30 days. Never think about running out again.
Skip, pause, swap or cancel from your account anytime — no phone calls, no forms.
Yes, one click from your account dashboard. Going on holiday? Have too much stock? Just skip. We'll ship the next one on schedule.
Yes — swap any tea bags for extra whole leaves, or vice versa, up to your tier's total value. Adjust every month if you want.
Absolutely, any time. Upgrade or downgrade from your account. Takes effect from your next delivery.
One click, no questions asked. No lock-in contracts, no minimum term, no cancellation fees. Ever.
Yes — every state and territory, free shipping included in the subscription price. Regional and remote all covered.
Eight products across three ranges. All hand-harvested, all Australian, all batch-dated.
Subscribe and save up to 21% off retail. Fresh monthly delivery. Skip anytime.
See subscription tiers →Meanwhile, Australia's aquarium hobby imports the same leaves from the other side of the world. We started FNQ Botanicals because that made no sense.
Terminalia catappa — the tropical almond tree — thrives in the coastal climate of Far North Queensland. The trees drop their leaves twice a year, right on cue, exactly as they've done for millions of years.
We collect them by hand from mature trees across the Cairns region. Fallen leaves only, at peak tannin content — never green leaves, never anything sprayed or contaminated.
Every batch goes through a genuine four-stage process, unlike the ambient shed-drying most sellers use:
We're aquarium keepers ourselves. Our leaves go into our own shrimp and betta tanks. If we wouldn't dose our own fish with it, we won't sell it to you.
Ask us about your batch — we can tell you which weeks it was collected and how it was processed. We actually reply.
A look at how every leaf gets from a Cairns treeline into an aquarium anywhere in Australia.
Fallen leaves collected by hand at peak seasonal drop. Only fully senesced leaves — deep red, gold, or brown — enter our supply. Never green, never wind-damaged, never contaminated.
Leaves lay flat on insect-proofed screen frames inside our sealed coldroom facility. Temperature holds at 22°C, humidity below 55%. Consistent results year-round, not weather-dependent.
Every batch runs through a controlled ozone cycle. Kills mould spores, bacteria, and insect eggs — the same standard used by food processors and pharmaceutical producers. Ozone reverts to plain oxygen with zero residue. Nothing chemical touches your tank.
Every pack carries a batch number, harvest date, and pack date. Nothing sits in inventory long enough to lose potency. Ask us about your batch — we can tell you exactly what week it came from and what its journey looked like.
We supply LFS, distributors, breeders and aquascape studios across Australia and New Zealand. Consistent monthly stock, reliable freshness, proper shelf-ready packaging.
Stock a genuinely Australian-made Catappa range — including a rare local tea bag format — alongside premium whole-leaf SKUs from fresh FNQ harvests.
Add a locally-produced aquarium botanicals range to your catalogue. Strong fit alongside imported premium hardware and treatments — with an Australian-made story that supports the shelf.
Most Catappa on the market is imported from Asia. We're one of very few genuinely domestic producers — hand-harvested and processed locally in Cairns. That story sells at retail.
Local Catappa tea bag options are rare in the Australian market. Imports retail at $25-30. Our RRP undercuts them meaningfully while offering fresher, locally-processed product.
Year-round production from climate-controlled facility. No weather-dependent seasonal gaps. Consistent monthly restocking.
We'll respond within 48 hours with wholesale pricing, sample options, and lead times.
All orders ship from Cairns, QLD via Australia Post. Orders placed before 12pm AEST are dispatched same business day.
All product is ozone-sterilised before packing and complies with interstate biosecurity requirements for movement of dried plant material to WA, TAS and NT. Documentation available on request for wholesale accounts.
You'll receive a tracking number by email when your order ships. Any issues, reply to that email or contact us directly.
If your order arrives damaged, contaminated, or otherwise not as described, contact us within 14 days of delivery and we'll refund or replace it, no questions asked. Photos help but aren't essential.
Leaves are a natural product. Colour, size, shape, and minor blemishes vary between leaves and between batches. This is normal and doesn't affect aquarium performance. Perfect-looking uniform leaves usually indicate over-processed imports — variation is a sign of authentic, minimally-processed product.
Unopened packs can be returned within 30 days for a refund (excluding postage). Ship it back in the original packaging, we'll process the refund on receipt.
Cancel or skip any subscription order any time from your account dashboard. No fees, no lock-in, no minimum term.
Email hello@fnqbotanicals.com.au with your order number and we'll sort it within 48 hours.
FNQ Botanicals products are intended for aquarium use only. Not suitable for human consumption. Keep out of reach of children.
We provide dosing guidance based on typical aquarium setups, but every tank is different. It's your responsibility to monitor water parameters and adjust dosing accordingly. We're not liable for outcomes in your specific setup, including but not limited to changes in pH, water chemistry, livestock health, or plant growth.
Prices are in Australian Dollars (AUD) and include GST where applicable. We reserve the right to change pricing at any time. Prices on placed orders are locked at time of purchase.
Subscription orders auto-renew monthly at the price stated at time of signup. You can skip, pause, modify or cancel at any time via your account dashboard. Cancellations take effect from the next billing cycle.
Wholesale accounts require pre-approval. Minimum order values, payment terms, RRP protection policy and other conditions are outlined in separate wholesale agreements. Contact us via the Trade page.
These terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia.
When you place an order or subscribe: your name, delivery address, email, phone number and payment details (via our secure payment processor — we never see your card details directly). When you sign up for batch alerts: just your email.
Fulfil your orders. Send you shipping updates. Reply to your emails. Send occasional batch updates and product news if you've opted in. That's it. We don't sell your data, we don't share it with third parties (except our fulfilment partners like Australia Post, and only what they need to deliver), and we don't run ad-tracking pixels across the site.
If you subscribe to batch alerts you can unsubscribe any time from the link at the bottom of any email. No fuss.
We keep order records for the period required by Australian tax law (7 years). Marketing subscribers can be removed on request.
Email hello@fnqbotanicals.com.au — we actually reply.
Questions about product, dosing, an order, a batch, or anything else — we actually reply.
Response within 24 hours, most days same day.
For LFS, distributors, breeders, aquascape studios.
Not open to walk-in. Wholesale visits by appointment only.
Prefer to send it here? Fill in below and we'll reply to your email.
Digital gift cards delivered by email. They pick what they want — whole leaves, tea bags, a subscription, anything from the range.
Gift cards are delivered by email with a personalised message. Redeemable on any product, any pack size, or towards a subscription. No expiry.