zebra in planted tanks Warning!

[zebra046]

I would like to give a heads up on aquarist who keeps there zebra or other plecos in a planted tank, I use nylon threads to tie down some of the plants on the drift wood and rocks but the plecos seems to chow them off a few months ago a zebra was caught in the tangled string, when I found the fish it has already cut through the skin all the way to the bone around the neck area luckily the fish survived, gives a new meaning to the phrase "ring around the neck" a couple of weeks ago the same thing happend to another fish but this time the string was still attached to the wood, when I saw this the fish looked like a wild bronco jerking around.

[McEve]

I lost a Golden nugget this way But it's important to identify the real killer here, which is the nylon string and not the plants When I first started reading your post it sounded as it was the plants one should beware of

I know some people rather use rubber bands if they need to fasten a plant to a stone or whatever, as the fish don't manage to get in under a rubber band - and if it comes loose it won't damage the fish like nylon thread does.

I haven't personally used this technique though, if I want a plant that should attach itself to a root or stone I rather wedge it between to rocks until the plant sits where I want it.

I can only stand behind your warning zebra046 - never ever put strings or threads in the tank.

[husky_jim]

Never use either rubber bands or nylon string to attach plants on wood or rock.The best solution is with a thin cotton line which will be 'melted' by the time the plant will have attach itself to the wood/rock.

[zebra046]

If it happend to both of us McEve it could happen to a lot more people out there. I should haved titled it "Stringed Zebra"

[IMCL85]

I thought to put plant on rock driftwood etc you should use cotton instead of nylon as I read from one of the famous hobby magazine the cotton will milt over time? correct me if I'm wrong.

[McEve]

I personally wouldn't put any string of any kind in a tank with catfish. I know of a person that used to tie a cotton string to the fork she used to weigh down veggies for the catfish. This enabled her to pull the string and get the fork up after the catfish had eaten the veggie, without getting her hands wet to get at it.

She stopped doing that after her beautiful and much loved vampyre pleco managed to hang himself in the thread during the night.

I guess what it all comes down to is that strings of all kinds are safe as long as they stay firmly in place, wrapped around a rock or whatever, with no gaps whatsover that a catfish can get caught in. The problem is that you don't know if and when the string will become loose enough for a catfish to entangle itself in it, which in most cases will lead to certain death. Zebra046 was lucky inedeed to see it happen and manage to rescue the fish. That's not the usual outcome when a catfish get caught in a string.

I hold on to the rule "No strings of any kind in my tanks, permanent or temporarily!"

I'm paranoid when it comes to strings and threads

If you want a plant to attach itself ot a root I would wedge it to the root using a stone or rock, then remove the stone when the plant has attached itself to the root. Yes, it will stick to the stone or rock as well, but a gentle removal of the stone will will leave the plants roots on the root or bogwood. A bit more work though, but considering the benefits...

[Caesars]

Totally agree. I avoided the nylon strings for this reason, used elastic bands but they tended to deteriorate quickly and I was not convinced they didn't affect water chemistry. So I went on to black soft cotton thread, which I thought to be better. I thought that was safe as my baby LDA33s used to go in and out of it without any harm. That until I saw my Queen Arabesque jumping up and down and sitting on a plant she never used to. I had a closer look and her left pectoral fin was tangled in the thread. She was not harmed, I freed her and she duly departed for food search - but thread is out too. I can't have plants in the substrate, my plecs make a mess out of them - so I decided to grow the plants in the sump and put them in the tank when they are attached.

[nightowl1350]

I wouldn't use thread either. I have albino long finned BN and one looked like it had a plant root in it's sucker...I netted it and looked closer. There was a tiny circle of thin cord like thread stick in it's mouth. I very gently rubbed it off and put the BN back in the tank. Glad to say he is fine.

[marktman]

I don't have any hair but my wifes and kids have long hair. I was watching one of my cory's flail around for seemingly no reason. I got him loose and found out it was a hair that had somehow gotten into the tank and wrapped around a plant.