Sponge in Potted Plants Harmful?

[Manix]

I bought Glossostigma Elatinoides that is potted. The only way for me to plant it was to leave 1/4" of the sponge intact with the roots. I covered it up with sand.

Can the sponge cause any harm to the fishes?

 

[new to the scene]

I really never heard of this and I can't completely remove all of the sponge some times and never seen any problem that I thought was from the sponge

 

[abrahamavelar]

i dont think but its recommended to remove as much as possible iven tho its never 100% possible try ur best to get it all off usually it helps when u do it wit that underwater i do it inside the bucket while doing a pwc

 

[epiphysis]

The sponge they use is made up of a very soft fibreglass material. In general its harmless unless you have loaches or catfish like corries. It will definitely irritate their mouths and babrbels.

 

[Manix]

The sponge they use is made up of a very soft fibreglass material. In general its harmless unless you have loaches or catfish like corries. It will definitely irritate their mouths and babrbels.

How about Kuhli Loaches?

I'm sure they are smart enough to stay away from it after the first time. And the plant is only 1 inch in diameter. So they have plenty of room to stay away.

 

[epiphysis]

Kuhlis are scavengers. They search the whole tank in search of food. Yes, they might stay away for a bit after they got a sniff of the sponge. But its their instinct to go around looking for food and will just end up back there. If you take that sponge stuff from the plants and rub it between your fingers you'll notice it has some irritating feeling to it. Now imagine what it must be like for a 2 inch fish.

What I do is rinse it off under the tap. It does get most of it off. I agree its near impossible to get all of it off. But we do our best. afterwards you can make sure the gravel/sand covers it. That should keep the problem to a minimum.

 

[Manix]

Okay I'll remove as much as possible but still leave some on so the Glosso can stay planted.

As more of it spreads and grows elsewhere I'll remove the sponge entirely.

Thanks

 

[abrahamavelar]

u should post some pics!!!!

 

[kindafishy]

I read somewhere that it can cause algae problems (?)

 

[aqua_chem]

I read somewhere that it can cause algae problems (?)

It's made out of fiberglass, which is not involved in any biological process that I know of.


So no, probably not going to do anything with algae. At least not that I've ever heard.

 

[Manix]

u should post some pics!!!!

I will be sure to do so when things get settled.

 

[kindafishy]

It's made out of fiberglass, which is not involved in any biological process that I know of.


So no, probably not going to do anything with algae. At least not that I've ever heard.

Yeah, I was just sort of throwing that out there. You never know with the stuff you read on the 'net!