unsuitable aquarium plants?

[michael]

Howdy,

My clowns share a tank with a team of defoliators (silver dollars). This is fine as it's just their nature to mow down plants and we've got enough planted tanks that I can pretty consistently "replace" plants in the loach tank with cuttings from the others.

Everything so far (largely with the exception of anubias varieties and moss balls) is fair game for the silver dollars and they (occasionally along with the loaches) seem to consume things with no ill effects.

However, it brings a couple of questions to mind. First, are there plants that are commonly sold which, if consumed (in regular quantities) are known to be poisonous/toxic to tropical freshwater fish.

Secondly, aside from observing bloating stomachs and missing plants, how best should I feed the tank? The silver dollars are in constant snack mode. So on days when plants are suffering, I tend not to feed them much, if at all. Is this ok? Will they get enough nutrients if several days of the week they're only eating aquarium plants?'

Michael

[Diana]

When you have vegetarian fish you need to feed vegetables. I would feed a rotation of just about all the vegetables and fruit that we eat, and see if this slows down their plant munching.
They also need protein, so perhaps 1 meal per day is some sort of meatier food like any of the various worms or crustaceans either frozen of freeze dried. A top quality flake would work well. Try www.almostnaturaltropicalfishfood.com

Some of the plants sold as aquarium plants are actually plants that can tolerate being under water for a few weeks or even a month or two, but are better used as house plants. I would avoid these. I think most aquatic plants are going to get eaten by fish that have a taste for such things. I do not know of any that are actually poisonous. Anubias and Java Fern are the two that I hear the most about fish not liking. Any other plants... buy them out of the food budget.

You might be able to grow plants separate from the fish behind some sort of mesh that allows water exchange, but the fish cannot get through. Perhaps egg crate. A sump is another safe place for plants. The aquarium will still get the benefits of plants removing nitrogen and other things.