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Is cherry hedge (aquatic plant) safe for turtles? The pet store said so, but I wanted to double check. I live in MA and anacharis is banned all over the place here.

From what I could find out, it's more of a terrarium plant but can be used in aquarium. I wouldn't go by what the pet store says, far too many people have got far too much bad info from pet shops when it comes to turtles.

OT, but when did anachris become banned in MA? It must have been fairly recently...You've saved me a trip across the border (I'm in CT and it's illegal here, too). Thanks

I've heard from every petstore I've been to that it is banned, however I haven't done any actual legal research. So far I have only been able to find one web site that would sell (and ship) it to MA (and even NH). I just bought a small amount of it and am hoping to make it last a while.

Like your avatar.

Last year I was told that Petco in Springfield sold it. If petstores are saying it's banned, I think it's been banned. They're fined heavily they're caught selling invasive plants (the garden shop where I could buy it several years ago ditched everything they had for fear of being fined by the plant).

I talked to him again and he said it was banned as of Feb of 07. Luckily some sites will still ship it here!

This is likely a stupid question, but why would a plant be banned?

I'll assume it's to prevent contamination into the rivers, etc. but that sounds like a far stretch....

Yes, plants are banned when they become invasive species in the area. Anacharis and some floating water plants like water lettuce can quickly out-compete native plants and take over an ecosystem.

People dump aquarium plants outside? Well, I guess if they dump everything else (pets, garbage, etc), it shouldn't seem so surprising to me...

Callie wrote:People dump aquarium plants outside? Well, I guess if they dump everything else (pets, garbage, etc), it shouldn't seem so surprising to me...

So true! The world is going downhill at a fast pace.