Silk Plants

[Rielle]

Hello All,

I notice that every time people talk about using silk plants in an aquarium they say to make sure that the silk plants are for use with aquariums. Why is this?

I ask because I can't find a silk aquarium plant with leaves as large as I want to use (aprox. 10"by 4").

I currently have some silk aquarium plants as well as live plants in with my bettas, but I want to use some larger leaves to cover parts of the clear plexiglass divider in the tank so that they can have a little more privacy from one and other, and the screen that I am using currently is a bit of an eyesore.

If I was to boil some regular silk plants would that make them useable?

[Emerson]

Unfortunately, no. There are at least two reasons why you should not use regular silk (or even regular plastic) plants in an aquarium. First, many silk plants are not made to be submersed in water and their colors are not necessarily water-fast. Second, most silk and plastic plants meant for decoration have wire in the "leaves" and "stem" which can become exposed over time and rust.

If you do a search on google.com for "aquarium silk plants" you should find a number of online sellers who offer larger aquarium-safe plants. Here is one you might start with:
www.petdiscounters.com/aquarium/plants/pp_naturals.html

sef

[Rielle]

Thanks sef, for your quick reply, I'll definitely check that out !