Pond Plants

[BULLER44]

Hello i have a pond with a oxygenating weed/plant in it would i be able to put some in my tropical tank without it having any affects on my water or fish??

 

[FISH KEEPER EXP]

Hi buller44,

you can put pond weed into an aquarium, as long you sterilse it first, best bet is to wash the weed in pond disenfectant first. Just bare in mind that Elodea crispa, which is the normal pond weed likes to grow in coldwater so tropical tanks may effect its growth.

You can get an actual tropical strain called Elodea densa, most trop shops should sell it or beable to get it.

 

[PaulEbs]

I usually just bathe the plants in tank water for a few hours, making sure any nasty bits are removed. I don't see the need to steralize your pond plants, not unless you fear for the water quality in the pond.

I tried groing the elodea from my pond in a tropical tank but unfortunately it didn't take off as I thought it would. As Fish Keeper Exp said, it's best to get the stuff thats used to warmer waters - you can usually distinguish it by the fact the warmer stuff is 'softer' and the leaves are more rounded than sharp. Also, the growing tips of the pond type are bushy and rounded, where as the tropical type has less bunched up leaves.

Regards,
Paul

 

[FISH KEEPER EXP]

the main reason i would sterilise the plant is that you don't want to introduce any parasites or bacterium into the tank, especially this time of year. Within a pond as it gets cold parasites are sometimes forced to go either to the bottom of a pond, of to latch on to areas with a high o2 and metabolic rate. This makes plants or fish a perfect place to exist as a dosile state.

The problem can arise when its put into a warm tropical tank, where it can sustain constant temperature and continue to exist and breed, it is a small chance but a risk iwoudn't take especially when costia and trichodena parasites are usually the culprits.