Coconuts and plants

Genieworx · Post by **Genieworx** » 16 Nov 2006, 19:43

As usual I'm hoping this is in the right place. I was recently given some coconut halves, that previously contained birdfeed. I have soaked them in boiling water and scrubbed them but they still appear to leech fat into the soaking water. I was just wondering i'f i'm wasting my time, as I don't want to put them in my tank if they will be in any way harmful to my fish. I currently use others as caves, which appear to be quite successful. Any thoughts on this would be great.

My second query is simply about attaching plants to bogwood and ornaments. I have sand in my tank, so to ease the maintenance I have all my plants attached to wood etc. To date I have purchased these plant/wood combos, but would like to make some of my own. Again if anyone has any ideas about this, that'd be great also.

Cheers Paul

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 16 Nov 2006, 19:50

I have used coconut halves for decades and they're perfectly safe for a fishtank. the fats leaking out don't harm the water; you might rinse it a few more times and do some extra waterchanges in the next few weeks.

there's 1 fly in the ointment: the small holes in the top and eelshaped fishes....this can and does lead to small tragedies.
if your coconut halves have these 3 holes popped through and you have eely fish (Spiny eels, kuhli loaches etc) don't put them in; one day you'll find a dying fish stuck halfway thruogh that hole.

happened to me when I was 12 or so and it upset me quite a bit to loose the first fish that actually had a given pet's name (a Peacock Spiny Eel). buried him in the garden.

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 17 Nov 2006, 10:08

I have successfully attached Anubias to wood in my tank using sewing thread and on other occasions cable-ties. Both work well. Just make sure that there's no possibility for fish to get "inside" the thread or tie.

If you use cotton thread, it will eventually rot and "disappear", which isn't a problem, because by that time the plant should have attached itself to the wood by it's root.

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Mats

Genieworx · Post by **Genieworx** » 17 Nov 2006, 11:17

Many thanks guys. The residue from the coconuts was a tad worrying, but I guess the temp in the tank is'nt going to be sufficient to encourage the leeching. Is it okay to leave a little husk on the nut shells?

Cotton thread sounds great. I was a little worried that it might cut into the plant after a time, but if it rots (which I should've considered) then thats fine. I have always had issues with plants growing in the sand, so the bogwood idea seemed a bonus. The only issue has been adding taller plants to the back of the tank.

Can anyone recommend a good surface floating plant?

Cheers

Paul

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 17 Nov 2006, 11:34

Pistia (water lettuce) is a good floating plant. Not too aggressive in growth/spreading and doesn't appear to get eaten by the fish either.

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Mats