Fishing Line And Rubber Bands

[cb854]

Hey just a quick question,
Are fishing line and rubber bands safe in an aquarium? i have fishing line holding my java moss to wood untill it sticks but everywhere on the net says to use thread? also i just left the rubber bands holding stems together on the plants that i got from my lfs and just shoved them into the gravel, are they ok aswell?

Thanks
Charlie

 

[dayzofspeed]

they are fine

 

[KittyKat]

I use fishing line (aka nylon string), rubber bands are also ok, although do tend to fall apart eventually. Be careful when fixing with fishing line because the fish can hurt themselves if it is loose or comes off: I once got given a fish which had fishing line throughout his body and in his fins, it was obviously causing him pain and discomfort, but had been there for so long that he had healed over around.. in the end, I caught him out in the middle of the night (while he was sleeping) and had to keep him out of the water while I cut it off and pulled it out of his body. To say the least, it was a very disconcerting experience.

 

[fluttermoth]

My lord, KittyKat; that sounds traumatic for both of you!

I'd also say be careful that your plecs or whatever can't get between the thread and the wood; I put a piece of bogwood in one of my tanks and didn't notice that it still had some thread on it from where it had had Java fern tied to it and my striped talking catfish got himself stuck; we noticed almost straight away, and he was fine, but it is something you need to be careful of.

Your stem plants would probably grow better if the rubber band was taken off and they were allowed to sprea more, but it won't affect your water.

 

[micko]

I emptied out gravel out of my tank when I decided to change to sand a few years ago. There were four rubber bands in the gravel which I'd never noticed being in there. Must have come with the gravel. Was in there for at least 18 months so I don't think a rubber band would cause any problems.
Fishing line is also fine. If your using it to tie moss down you can get a green line so it doesn't stand out too much.

Any stemmed plants I would bury in the substrate though. They will do a lot better.

 

[cb854]

wow that does sound pretty traumatic with the fishing line through the fish... must have been a pretty tough little fish...
I'll keep an eye on my pleco hopefully hes fine. Hes growing about 1cm a week so hopefully he doesnt try get into any small spaces once hes too big, there is a bit of a gap between the line and the wood in some places.
Thanks for the info