Dracaena Sanderiana.

[Jake Jackson]

picked up some white ribbon plants @ Petsmart 2day. Now I read they are toxic. Just wondering if anyone had used them?

 

[nry]

Can't comment on toxicity, but dracena are not true aquatic plants, they will likely last a few months then rot and die.

 

[Themuleous]

Ditto

 

[jimbe1969]

A couple of years ago, I had some Dracena in my tank. I had it at the top of the tank in one of those, hang on the side, clear plastic containers that I had drilled holes in. After a week or so, my Cichlids became lethargic and just looked sick. Soon afterward, I snapped that it was the Dracena, and after I removed it, they were back to their old selves again, in no time.

 

[This Younger Spouse]

Interesting. We picked up a handful of so-called "aquatic" plants at Petco the other day, and the Gold Ribbon, Dracaena variegatus, was one of them. Based on what I just read here, I pulled the plant from the tank. My Jack Dempseys and Firemouths hadn't become lethargic, and are still eating aggressively and moving well, but the plant had only been in there about two days.

 

[trianglekitty]

Interesting. We picked up a handful of so-called "aquatic" plants at Petco the other day, and the Gold Ribbon, Dracaena variegatus, was one of them. Based on what I just read here, I pulled the plant from the tank. My Jack Dempseys and Firemouths hadn't become lethargic, and are still eating aggressively and moving well, but the plant had only been in there about two days.

I've had the ribbons plants in for several months...I can't say I've noticed any fish acting lethargic, but I did lose two guppies for no clear reason. They were fine one day and dead the next (they didn't die at the same time, but weeks apart). The water tested perfect. Now I'm wondering if the plants played a role.

I'd planned to get rid of them anyway, as I did find out on here that they aren't truly aquatic- and indeed they have been slowly dying, and I've replaced a number of them. Silly me, I thought it was a problem with my tank not having any fertilizer. The clerk at the store pushed them as an easy, snail-free way to have a planted tank- I REALLY wish I'd more research before purchasing.

 

[This Younger Spouse]

kitty, it might just be a cichlid thing, but I don't know. I just pulled it based on jimbe's experience. No point in taking chances on a plant that may be toxic to my cichlids and will die anyway.

 

[This Old Spouse]

They're now happily planted in soil in a cute little antique McCoy planter, sitting on the windowsill where they belong.

UPDATE: I just sent a nastygram to Petco about this particular species. I'll post if anything happens.

 

[trianglekitty]

kitty, it might just be a cichlid thing, but I don't know. I just pulled it based on jimbe's experience. No point in taking chances on a plant that may be toxic to my cichlids and will die anyway.

I'm know, I'm not saying for sure it was the plants...but it burns me that Petco and Petsmart push these things that could be dangerous at worst and at best are just going to rot and die. I'd rather have snails and healthy plants that for sure won't hurt my fish.

 

[This Younger Spouse]

I know, I'm not saying for sure it was the plants...but it burns me that Petco and Petsmart push these things that could be dangerous at worst and at best are just going to rot and die. I'd rather have snails and healthy plants that for sure won't hurt my fish.

Yeah, it torches our fannies as well. It'll be interesting to see what sort of reply my mate gets to her blistering e-mail to Petco. She's got that blistering e-mail thing down pat.

But the LFS with the best selection of plants and fish in the whole area isn't much better. Dead fish in the tanks for days running. The female half of the ownership team is pretty good. I bought some plants from the male half the other day and had to watch him like a hawk. I'd point to a specific plant, the healthiest individual of the species, and he'd start to pull up the brownest/deadest of the species. Three times with three different species I had to reiterate that I wanted THAT ONE, not the dying one.

I know why he does it that way, but I'm not laying down the lolly for the weakest of the bunch.

 

[ian]

let me just clear this up a bit...

Dracaena won't kill your fish per say. They will last 6 ish weeks before you start noticing that they are rotting. The rotting causes the problem as you'll get ammonia spikes. The spikes aren't really enough to kill off you fish though, i personally would have thought that the plant would be removed before that point.

They are sold in LFS because they make great Palladium plants. However they all seem to get sold, so the LFS will order more in.