General Care Discussion :: live plants--poison or not

[kelkel]

Hi,
I tried searching the forums but I didnt seem to find it. Does anyone know where I can get a list of live plants that are safe for the turtle? I think the petshop guy was lying or bsing just to sell me some plants. When he told me I should keep it in the 10 gallon tank they had on sale... I stormed out.
Granted, I don't have a turtle yet. But I want to get the safe set up first.

Anyone know where I can find a list? I'd prefer live plants but I'll settle for fake if it's the consensus that that's the safest bet.
Thanks!
Kelly (with no turtle yet hehe)

[megcornell]

This may help: http://www.anapsid.org/resources/edible.html

Anytime I add plants to my turtle's tank they are mashed to bits in hours, so if you're planning on these staying around for decoration, you may want to look into some fake plants to be more permanent tank residents
But aquatic plants are an excellent food source to add variety to a turtle's diet.

[marisa]

The live plants that are sold for use in fish aquariums are fine for turtles. They may come with some tiny snails on them, which some turtles like to eat, so you may want to give them a good washing before putting them in the tank (it's easy for them to breed and get out of control). It's a good idea to wash the plants in clean water first in any case. Some turtle prefer certain plants to others, but anachris is popular with most turtles.

[pumpkinsherbet]

don't know about the list, but my vet suggested duckweed, yellow dea and... i seem to have lost the list and do not remember what the last one was.

i've also read that anacharis is good.

[marisa]

I'm not familiar with yellow dea...

[Starchick]

Napoleon loves the anacharis. Me, not so much. It came apart in little clods just big enough to plug up my syphon, it took weeks to get rid of them all and cleaning was a real pain in the butt. If I buy it again I'm definitely feeding it outside the tank.

[pumpkinsherbet]

i wouldn't doubt i'm remembering it wrong...

[SpotsMama]

Spot's very fond of anacharis and it's not expensive. I try not to give him too much at a time because he will make a mess of it. If I just give him a couple of strands at a time the tank stays (relatively) neat.

[scripta_elegans]

You can get great deals on Anacharis and duckweed on Ebay. I just bought 2 gallons for 20 dollars. That should last 'em awhile!

[DavidY]

Anacharis is illegal in NH.

[scripta_elegans]

That sucks! The turtles love it almost as much as pellets!

[DavidY]

I guess it spreads like wild fire in the local lakes and ponds around here. I'm hesitant to collect any wild stuff cause of parasites. Oh well, they love the bagged salads!

[steve]

Do you know where the Anacharis online comes from? I'm wondering if any chemicals are used on them...

[DavidY]

why would anyone do that?

[scripta_elegans]

There are about 7 different sellers that have non chemically treated water plants that also come from non animal populated ponds. I like these because it reduces the risk of parasites. I did contact 3 of the 7 who did not list if they used chemicals or not, to ask if they did. I have had nothing but excellent plants from them! They make the anacharis that I have purchsed at the pet store in the past look quite sickly and feeble.