Horsetail grass in an aquarium?!

[Natrualbeauty22]

Ok call me a newb but I went to the black water river by my house an got som horsetail grass rinsed it good and put it in! I love the way it looks I figure if people put it in there ponds why can't I put it in my tank? I just trimmed it to size. I hope it works out!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[FishCr8zy]

The risk about taking plants in from water sources in nature is you may be bringing parasites/toxins/other pests into your tank. I would do a peroxide or bleach dip before putting it in. Was that plant submersed or emersed in the river?


Sent with my fingers

 

[evil Nick]

The risk about taking plants in from water sources in nature is you may be bringing parasites/toxins/other pests into your tank. I would do a peroxide or bleach dip before putting it in. Was that plant submersed or emersed in the river?


Sent with my fingers

Someone told me (recently) if you have unsure plants from nature or the store even to give them a rinse bath in peroxide and then tap water. the Peroxide will kill most things that hitch hike in without harming the plant and the bath cleans it off.

You can then quarantine for a bi to be sure in pretty much any container with some of your tank water.

Not sure since Im still new to plants and pretty much correctly setting up tanks lol.

 

[Natrualbeauty22]

Wow that's good advice! I will do that next time! As for the plants being in the water yes that we're partly submerged. They are always submerged at least half way. In the summer during our rainy season the are all the way under water.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Fishfur]

They are truly a marginal plant, meaning they do best when only partly in water. Usually just the roots, or only the bottom third of the stems, depending on species. Chances are with continued total submersion it will not do well for long, though it's always worth trying.

Even stores will sell marginal plants and not tell you that's what they are, and they rarely last very long, sadly.

 

[Natrualbeauty22]

Thanks fishfur for the reply! Cool name! Well I can tell you this so far all is well with them no signs of problems yet. One cool thing that happened when I placed them in the tank, I was about 2 weeks into cycling the tank ammonia was @.25 and nitrate was @40 and Nitrite was @ 3 the very next day all levels zeroed out! My levels have been 0 ever since. I know it was risky putting wild plants in the tank but so far the benefits are out weighing the risk. These fish have been stoked! They weave in and out of these reeds like a dog in a AKC agility test! It's so cool to watch. The price I payed for plants in the pet store was crazy! If its free its for me! Lol. If they do die I will replace them with store bought jungle Val.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Natrualbeauty22]

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Fishfur]

Wild sourced plants aren't necessarily dangerous. Most often they tend to bring snails or other small critters with them, that's the main worry. Most would be harmless, but some are predatory, like insect larvae or hydra.

And if they were growing in a very toxic area, that's maybe a worry too, but since I think most folks have the sense to rinse off any soil, toxins would be mostly sequestered in the plant's cells. Marsh plants generally excel at removing toxins from water, a reason why wetland detoxification of treated waste water is becoming more popular.

I hope they survive.. and it's no surprise they helped the cycle. They'd have had their own coating of various bacteria, no doubt some of them the type we rely on to cycle our tanks. I'd be interested to hear how they do as time goes by.

 

[Natrualbeauty22]

Wow you seem knowledgable ill have to keep you in my contacts! I will defiantly keep you updated! I also have a few other plants I got from the same place they are doing great too.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Fishfur]

I am no expert ! But I enjoy doing research just to learn for my own reasons, and have a life long interest generally in botany,keeping aquatic life and many other things as well. I'm also very interested in learning how humans can reduce the impact we have on environments, particularly using natural methods, rather than chemicals. Waste water treated in wetlands is cleaner by the time it's finished than water processed at other types of treatment plants, because the plants themselves take up so many toxic elements better than man made filters can manage.

 

[Natrualbeauty22]

That's pretty interesting stuff!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Fishfur]

Should see some of the wetland setups they have in places like the Netherlands, among others. Even a few large buildings have set up wetland water waste management on their own sites. Wish it was mandatory to do that with new buildings.

 

[Natrualbeauty22]

I'll google it sounds cool.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[limnologist]

Ok call me a newb but I went to the black water river by my house an got som horsetail grass rinsed it good and put it in! I love the way it looks I figure if people put it in there ponds why can't I put it in my tank? I just trimmed it to size. I hope it works out!View attachment 253477View attachment 253478


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

that will want to grow out of your tank. It is not a completely aquatic plant.

 

[Natrualbeauty22]

I planed on keeping it trimmed to size. It's an experiment for sure.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Natrualbeauty22]

An update in the horsetail grass. It started to root new froths all over. A few turned yellow and a few grew something that looked like fungus. I decided to get rid of it just incase my fish would be harmed. The water parameters have been good though. Oh we'll. I will eventually replace it with jungle Val.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Wy Renegade]

Most N. American species of Equisetum (horsetail, snake grass, or scouring rush) are marginal plants (although some species are semi aquatic), that prefer wet, sandy soil. Most species in N. America are perennials and thus not only die back during the winter, but actually require a cold treatment period in order to thrive. They will tolerate being submerged or semi submerged for short periods of time, but will not tolerated being fully submerged for an extended period. There are a few evergreen temperature species such as the variegated and dwarf horsetails, and some tropical species which are also evergreens. The evergreen and tropical species may be usable in a paludarium type tank, but none are suitable for a regular aquarium. I've had no luck with the local temperature species even in paludariums, they do well for a short period, then die out.

 

[Natrualbeauty22]

Thanks good to know. I just loved the bamboo look they gave the aquarium. I wonder if there is anything aquatic that looks similar?


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice