Feeding and Nutrition :: ? about plants not on "what to feed" list

[kidzncatz]

In the ongoing effort to make Tubby's diet healthier, I sent my husband to check out the fresh plants at Petsmart (armed with the list printed out from this site.) The only two they carried were the anacharis & the hornwort. They were out of the anacharis so he snatched some hornwort(and much to our delight, she really likes it!)

My question is, would these other plants be ok to try with her, even though they are not on the site's list? Is it safe to assume that since they are being sold for tanks with living critters that they are all edible?

I am very excited at the prospect of her liking fresh plants (after the way she's turned her nose up at the veggies) and would like to offer her a large variety. Thanks in advance for your responses...

[scripta_elegans]

Are you sure it isn't hornwort? I know tht one is good.

[jenaero]

I think if you can give a list of the names of the other plants it might help. I've tried Amazon Sword before but they never ate it. I'm told it tastes quite bitter. I've also asked the fish guy at the pet store if the others were safe and he didn't know (suprise).

[kidzncatz]

Yeah, I definately meant HORNwort (& have since edited my post.) We've been reading a lot of Harry Potter around here so maybe that's where I got the "Hog"?!

Next time my husband goes to Petsmart I'll have him write down the names of the other available plants. I know they had Amazon Swords (but if they're bitter I probably won't waste the money trying them.) Thanks for your responses...

[marisa]

If they're aquatic plants and they're sold for fish aquariums, I think they're safe for turtles.

[BullDog]

I would do a quick google search with the name of plant. If that doesn't yeild anything useful, try the plant name + "turtle" or "poison". I bought a brazilian sword (mistaking it for an amazon sword), and googled it before I gave it to Ralph, and found it's actually a lilly, which is poisonous.

Think of it this way: Plants they sell in pet stores are almost always thought of plants for fish tanks for looks. Fish usually don't eat the plants, so there's no guarentee they're not poison if you're not familiar with it.

[lotsofpets]

I bought an amazon sword, 2 anacharis plants, hornwort, and java fern from a place on the internet. I actually was confused on which the hornwort and java fern were until I looked it up. http://www.aquariumgarden.com/ This is where I got mine. They were all healthy when recieved. http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Decor%2 ... Plants.htm This site has some helpfull tips on growing aquatic plants and good pictures. (but please ignore the water turtles section!)

[marisa]

Fish do nibble on plants in tanks. If you don't go out of your way to try to get something exotic, the standard aquatic plants sold in shops for fish aquariums should be OK for turtles.

[kidzncatz]

What's funny is my husband thought he would just "grow" the plants he got in our fish tank (so Tubs would have a constant supply) but our fishie's have other ideas! The silver dollars and our parrot fish are going nuts for the Amazon Swords and can't keep their mouths off of it. They are constantly nibbling at them but don't seem to like the Hornwort (which is good because Tubby likes that one.) I can't believe we never had live plants in there before since the fish seem to enjoy them so much (they are all hanging out around them and swimming through them, even when they're not busy nibbling.) Anywho, thanks all for your responses. I think I'll just stick to the ones I've heard of and if in doubt, I'll just google

[iac637]

I can't keep live plants in my tank my RES eat them to fast all the way down to the roots.