Can Artificial Plants be a BAD thing for Fish? Will they eat them?

Question

Has anyone ever had trouble with artificial plants in aquariums? We've been keeping Goldfish in a 10 Gallon aquarium for months and months but we have NO luck. So I was wondering, what could be the problem? Can anyone explain the "Nitrogen Cycle" to me please? And if Fish do bite off pieces of Artificial Plants, would that hurt them or kill them? If anyone can be of some assistance it is very appreciated. God bless and thank you very much!

Answer 1

Here's an excellent article on the nitrogen cycle. Read through that and if you still have questions feel free to drop me a line.

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

I have never had any problems with fish actually being able to eat plastic plants. They nip at them from time to time but I haven't had any to actually be able to eat them. I doubt that's your problem with the goldfish honestly. Once you read the attached article, you may discover your problem is in how you handle the tank or possibly the tank is over stocked leading to problems, hard to say not knowing how many goldfish you have or how large they are.

MM

Answer 2

I've never had a fish eat an artificial plant. It shouldn't be a problem.

My guess is you are putting to many gold fish in there, and the water is becomeing toxic with their waste and killing them.
As far as goldfish in a 10 gallon aquarium... Goldfish will get too big for that aquarium. A good rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish (adult size) per gallon of water. For example, 10 gallons would be good for a betta (three inch adult size) and 4 otto cats (1.5 inch adult size each) (this would make a pretty tank, but you would need aheater. betta's do best at about 82 degreees F.)


Nitrogen cycle... if you google it, you'll get a lot of good information, but here's the readers digest version. Fish poop. The poop is broken down in to the waste product AMMONIA, wich is TOXIC to fish. There is good bacteria that will grow in a tank's filter media and gravel. this good bacteria will break down the ammonia into NITRITE (wich is also TOXIC). then the NITRITE gets broken down into NITRATE. The NITRATE, isn't as toxic. You want to keep it aroun 20 ppm. It can be removed by doing weekly or bi weekly 25% water changes once the tank is established.

To find ways to CYCLE your tank, go to FISHLORE.COM. Hop on the forum, and ppl there will help you!

Answer 3

My guess is that you have more then one goldfish in a 10 gallon which could be your problem. Each goldfish needs at least 10 gallons of water to themselves. Goldsifh produce a large amount of waste, so the ammonia levels rise quickly. Make sure you only have one goldfish in your tank and also have an adequate filter. My favorite filter is the Aqua Clear (for your size tank you should have the Aqua Clear 30).

I doubt fake plants are your problem, I have never seen or heard of fish eating fake plants. The only problem I've seen arise with fake plants is that some are sharp and will cut your fish.

If you click this site it explains in detail what the nbitrogen cycle is, including easy to understand diagrams
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/nitrogencycle.html

If you don't want to try goldies again, I suggest for your tank maybe 5 glow light teras and a couple of female platys. They will need the temperature to be about 75° and a ph around 7. Easy hearty fish and lots of fun to watch

good luck

Answer 4

Goldfish should be kept 10 gallons per 3" of fish.

The nitrogen cycle starts out with fish releasing ammonia from respiration and digestion (goldfish release a lot). Beneficial bacteria blooms and lives on filter media and in the gravel. The bacteria breaks the ammonia into nitrites, which are slightly lesstoxic. Another bacteria then breaks the nitrites into nitrates, which are much less toxic. The nitrates are then kept under control by frequent water changes.

Artificial plants shouldn't hurt the fish. What you need is a bigger tank and a liquid test kit for ammonia and nitrites in the very least.

Answer 5

If the artificial plants were made specifically for aquariums they are safe. I have several along with real plants and have fish that have lived way past their life expectancy. You might want to check the source where you are getting your goldfish. The only thing I can think of that might be a downside to artificially plants is that you would end up with fish with "trust issues". ;)

Answer 6

I have had artificial plants in my aquarium and my fish are fine. What is the problem with your fish? If you go to the pet store they can explain the "water cycle" in your tank. If your fish are dying I would suggest seeing if they have ICK (little white spots on their body, like sugar crystals). If they do then you need to treat your tank for ICK. Also DO NOT buy your fish from Wal-Mart. Most of the stores do not take care of the fish and sometimes the fish are sick when they get in from the company they buy them from.

Answer 7

Artificial plants should be no threat to the fish. If your gold fish are eating the fake plants, switch to the real thing for awhile and see if there is any improvement. As the plastic ages it may be breaking up in the water. Just because you bought it recently doesn't mean that it hasn't been around for awhile.

Answer 8

Look the nitrogen cycle up online or go to a local pet store. They normally have some literature on it. It'd be good to have something like that for future reference. The plants probably aren't your problem. Are you being faithful with your water changes? You can also try a chemical that speeds up the nitrogen cycle. You also may want to be sure that you aren't keeping too many fish in one tank.

Answer 9

The nitrogen cycle works as follows :

Waste in your water (fish droppings, uneaten food) leads to ammonia. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish, especially at levels above .25 ppm. Once it is present in your tank, bacteria will however grow to consume it and turn it into Nitrite. Nitrite is also highly toxic to fish at levels above .25 ppm. However, second form of bacteria will now grow to consume it and produce Nitrate. Nitrate is far less toxic below levels of 20 ppm.

The bacteria reside on available surface areas covered by your water, not in the water itself; this is partly why filter sponges are used - huge surface area. They also reside on your gravel and on any decorations.

So the objective is to allow your bacteria develop to levels which will accomodate the waste produced by your fish. This can be done prior to putting fish in the tank by feeding a source of ammonia into the tank so that the first stage begins and continuing to feed so as to allow the cycle complete. To do this you need to monitor water conditions with a test-kit. API Pharamceuticals is the best one and it works by putting drops of test liquid into test tubes of your water. Do not rely on paper strip tests. You need the kit to monitor the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels - when you have 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite and some (5 - 10) Nitrate, you are cycled, in that ammonia added to the tank is being converted through to Nitrite and then Nitrate. This process can take 3 - 6 weeks but is greatly speeded by adding some gravel/filter media from an established tank. Note, adding water does nothing; this is not where the bacteria reside.

You can also get the cycle going and complete it while fish are in the tank, but this is pretty hard work and can lead to losses. To do this you need to do large water changes (50% back to back if necessary) every time Ammonia or Nitrite goes above .25 ppm. This is far slower than feeding a source of ammonia in the tank without fish, because just as the bacteria are beginning to 'bloom' you have to change the water to remove their food source (Ammonia and Nitrite) in order to keep the levels safe for the fish.

The other problem you will have is tank size. A 10 gallon tank will be far more volatile as regards water parameters; there is simply less water and so the effect of any minor biological
overload will be magnified.

I would doubt that your artificial plants are causing your problems (by which I presume you mean fish death). Fish will not bite bits off them, and they in fact provide a place for the bacteria to grow. I think you unfortunately are working with a tank which is far too small for goldfish. Generally, goldfish require about 20 gallons per fish and need a lot of filtration. The notion that you can keep them in an unfiltered tank is false, as they are particularly messy fish (lots of waste produced). If looked after properly they can live for 10 plus years. However, they can also grow very large (do a google search - you will be surprised!), which leads to stunting.

Stunting is the basis for another myth - that fish grow to fit the tank. It is true, but the reason it is true is because while the Fish' skeleton stops growing due to space it's internal organs do not, and eventually dropsy or other intestinal disorder sets in leading to death. They literally burst internally.

I would also say your problems are caused by lack of familiarity with the Nitrogen Cycle.

I think it's great that you are willing to ask questions about this stuff. What you should consider is using your 10 gallon for some other kind of fish. For instance one male betta, with some ghost shrimp. If you really want to keep goldfish get a slightly bigger tank; say 30 gallons - ironically, it will be easier to maintain water conditions, and the fish (one or maximum two goldfish in there) will be far more comfortable and may enjoy a full healthy life.

You should also consider buying a test kit; that way you will not be guessing as to what is the problem, if any with your water. And start by testing your tap water to make sure it is coming out clean. Then read up on cycling :

www. aquariacentral.com
www.thinkfish.co.uk
www.aquaticommunity.com

...and you will soon be in a position to add fish which will thank you for keeping them. When you say "we" have no luck, this might mean your family is enjoying being involved with fish ? There is nothing so upsetting as having to explain deaths of the cute little fish, and you can avoid this by keeping the right fish in the right tank and learning the best way to maintain their environment.

Best of luck; it's a great hobby.

And I speak as somebody who did not know anything about the nitrogen cycle 6 months ago.

Answer 10

Goldfish may be my determination for a pond of that length and shape, they meet all the factors you prefer in a pond fish. As for vegetation, i might recommend issues like water lilies and cat tails which would be planted in pots alongside the factors. That helps you guard the vegetation and helps stay away from the vegetation from taking on the pond like can ensue certainly with floating vegetation or bunch vegetation like elodea. i think of your best project would be protecting the debris from accumulating on the backside of one in each of those deep pond. attempt carefully to no longer over feed and look ahead to leaves and different stuff accumulating interior the backside. I jiffy to eliminate them as you notice them will extremely beat an afternoon of shoveling moist 0.5 rotten leaves interior the autumn. MM