I had a couple of their silk plants, and a couple of the softer plastic ones for my boy. During my recent cleaning, I noticed what looked like a stain on the glass bottom of the tank. Realizing it wasn't just waste, or coming off easily. I pick up the plant and look at the base. It was RUSTING. Their bases contain some sort of metal. Beware!
That's not the only thing.... When I had those in my tanks with mollies the ends of the leafs frayed. What ended up happening was the mollies swallowed the threads...they must have blocked up their digestive systems because they all started to drop like flies. I of course thought this was some sort of internal parasite because the threads protruded halfway out of them. I had started to treat with some heavy medications which ended up stressing and killing the rest of the Mollie. Point being natural is better... Natural plants absorb ammonia and other by products, provide shelter for fry or bullied fish, or even look nicer and more vibrant. I think these plants are modeled after real amazon swords *I think thats the common name* and I have seen them in green but they might exist in red I just haven't seen it.
I have a possible idea. If you like the plants, take them out of the base. Use or buy some aquarium gravel. Then buy some aquarium safe sealant, make your own plant base.
Yeah, I noticed that the leaves frayed really quickly, so I would trim off the threads during each water change. I was going to replace the plant after it got frayed beyond repair...
I'm sorry about your mollies, PaulO. I was actually thinking of using live plants...but I'll be moving in and out of my dorms quite a lot, so it wouldn't be very convenient...
is it the base rusting or the wire inside the stems that is exposed at the bottom and rusting? I think those bases are ceramic but I have had stems with exposed wires start to rust.
Petsmart should take them back. I took back a plant I had used and said it was defective because some metal was exposed. They were very understanding. Just make sure you have the receipt.
After you said that yours is rusting after a week White Mage, I'm in the process of dulling the sharp edges of my Marina pennywort plant to replace the petsmart plant.
Now my tank has only Marina plants, hahaha. But they are really awesome plants, more expensive, but worth it.
I just took out the petsmart silk plant, and looked at the bottom part. It doesn't look rusty, contrary it looks like plastic. I also have one of those magnetic tank scrubbers and used it to see if the bottom of the decoration was attracted to it. It wasn't.
Correction: I felt a slight pull, so I guess there is metal
Hmm...just wondering. If we bought a new one of these silk plants, and plugged the hole at the bottom with AQ silicone, would it prevent the wire from rusting?
Maybe for the 2 plants at the top, but I know one of the other one I bought had the metal going all the way up the stem and there were little mini gaps where you could see rust. D:
oh god! How do i fix them? Silicone? My betta is fine...
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