Ok. I posted this question on a previously started thread, but got no responses. I have some nice, expensive silk plants that I put into the very back of my halfmoon betta's tank, and I noticed his fins getting shredded. The only thing I can figure is that he is ducking around behind the plants, and the plants seem to have plastic stems (WITH METAL IN THEM!) That I did not notice at first. Is there ANY way to make these plants safe for my bettas? Is there any way to remove the metal wires from the stems? The leaves are just fine, but the metal (covered in rather rough plastic) stems seem to be a problem. I even thought about cutting some aquarium air hose and covering the stems with the hose, attaching it with aquarium sealant. Any other ideas? I hate to just toss these plants out. I KNOW he does not have fin rot, as this happened to his fins in less than a week, and he was fine when I set up this new tank for him. Water quality is good, and I do frequent water changes, (at least weekly) and he is in a heated 5 gallon tank. Any help will be greatly appreciated!
farmgirl598
Are these Aqurium safe silk flowers, or the ones used for crafts, I have noticed the craft ones also with the wires, in them, not for Aquariums.
+1 to lelei.
Also, are you sure it's not the filter doing it? I have heard that some filters can shred bettas' fins if they happen to sleep near them.
Also, are you sure it's not the filter doing it? I have heard that some filters can shred bettas' fins if they happen to sleep near them.
Nope, they are made for the aquarium. They were NOT cheap, either! It's not the filter doing the fin damage, as I only have a small sponge filter, and it has been turned down so low you can literally count the bubbles from the output. I have my pumps on gang valves, so I can adjust the intensity
You can always trim off the rough parts. I noticed my betta had two tears in his top fin, realized that one of the silk plants fake pointy buds did it. So I cut the tips off and checked to see if the rest of the plants had sharp/rough parts, haven't seen tears since.
I think I am going to have to find the time to go over the thing with a fine tooth comb. It's a TALL plant, with lots of stems, so it might take a while! LOL.....perhaps I can find a way to make it safer for my babies. Thanks for the advice, and I would LOVE to hear others' experiences with this sort of problem. There are so many good, creative ideas on this forum!
I sympathize...the biggest waste of money I had on my new tank was plants that were "safe for bettas" that were not safe at all. Some couldn't be fixed. A couple just had pointy plastic bits, and I was able to use a file to sand them down. Can you file them down a little without exposing the metal wire? I like the airline tubing and aquarium sealant idea.
I don't recall the brand, but I sat down last night with them, and realized the ONLY wire parts were at the very bottom, so I got some wire cutters and cut the metal off. Then I checked some of the leaf stems (made of very flexible plastic) and a few of them had rough area that I clipped and filed. Plants seem much better now, but I still have a fish with tattered fins. I put some VitaChem in his ater last night. He's still eating and very active, and due for a water change today. Should I put some AQ salt in his new water? Will it hurt if I have VitaChem in there too?
From what I just read about VitaChem, I wouldn't use the salt. VitaChem looks like it is a broad spectrum multivitamin for fish, so I would only recommend that it be used by itself to prevent any overloading.
I see that it has claims of doing a whole lot but I can only be skeptical. Good Luck with your fish.
I see that it has claims of doing a whole lot but I can only be skeptical. Good Luck with your fish.
His fins are just beginning to heal. They still are far from perfect, but look alot less tattered on the ends. I'll keep up the water changes and good food, which I think does as much as any medication. He's active, spunky, and eating....so that's good too. I think I am going to stick to mostly LIVE plants from now on.
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