[s]grass[/s] ground cover :)

[migsly]

so far so good. i'll let y'all know of any problems that may occur.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Why not just get a cactus and put it in your tank? It's on the same level of absurdity as putting terrestrial grass in your tank.

 

[GaryE]

Rooted grasses can survive for flood periods underwater. They survive well through the snow melt period here, when they're often under frigid water. Unrooted grasses in a tank are just litter to me. You run ahead of their decomposition, and they add nothing beneficial to the tank. They won't even look good, floating on the surface.
What they do does depend on what grass they are.
I don't know where you are. If it's legal and you can get out on water, there are better free plants. I have Vallisneria grasses in a lot of my tanks. I scooped them up as they floated by my kayak, planted them and they took. They didn't cost me anything, and they have a positive biological function in the tanks.
Depending what fish you have, dried oak leaves can be added to tanks, and removed as they start to go. They also add positives.

Grass though? Nah.

 

[gwand]

Grass? Mow it or smoke it. That’s it.

 

[migsly]

They won't even look good, floating on the surface.

it doesn't float on the surface. it fills up the tank like a jungle. wish i could post a pic but can't.

 

[Uberhoust]

I have never heard of putting grass in the tank, but around here during the spring runoff season we can get minor flooding where the marginal grass is submerged for a significant length of time, during this time you can often find the pacific tree frog and western toad tadpoles feeding in this zone.

I could see protozoans growing on the submerged grass providing a food source. As well the grass could possibly provide shelter for some fish. There will be some risks but I am curious how it works out for you, and perhaps pictures.

It might provide the flooded forest type of environment for the fish, but I wonder how you deal with the attached soil.

 

[Fishmanic]

it doesn't float on the surface. it fills up the tank like a jungle. wish i could post a pic but can't.

Either post a pic or it didnt happen.

 

[Burleson]

I like this idea it sounds awesome might try it myself though I only have one spot in my yard that has grass lol
don't know why y'all are giving him so much crap when he was just trying to share what he is doing and how it is going
a little curiosity can go a long way

 

[Fishmanic]

I like this idea it sounds awesome might try it myself though I only have one spot in my yard that has grass lol
don't know why y'all are giving him so much crap when he was just trying to share what he is doing and how it is going
a little curiosity can go a long ways

He should be able to post a pic here. No reason why not if he has truly done this.

 

[GaryE]

I like this idea it sounds awesome might try it myself though I only have one spot in my yard that has grass lol
don't know why y'all are giving him so much crap when he was just trying to share what he is doing and how it is going
a little curiosity can go a long way

Here's the issue to me. Fish are living creatures whose lives are worth respecting. If for whatever reason we choose to keep them in boxes, I think we owe them a good level of care. They aren't ornaments, but animals.
Many people disagree, and do things differently.
I take curiosity seriously, but I also respect learning. I'm never the first person to think of something - billions have lived lives like mine and I can learn from the ones that were and are interested in the same things as me.
One thing we've learned is that dumping plant matter into an aquarium for no reason other than it's cheap would be harmful. If you're curious and make a mistake, if living creatures are involved you fix it. If you do harmful things, whether it's putting lawn cuttings in an aquarium, feeding a dangerous food to a dog or trolling a forum, you're going to get a reaction. If you put it on a forum, you want to discuss it, especially if you've kept fish for 19 years as @migsly would appear to have. You'd be between 30 and 40 years old and a person who wants to discuss an idea. You would bother to learn what grasses are involved and would share a lot more info to feed the discussion than the OP has.
It could be we have two posters here - one of whom just found the old account somehow and began to use it. They could be brand new to aquariums, not know how they work and apparently not care. They could be playing the pwn game little kids used to enjoy, winding up the too serious people. It's the internet, and some of us are very suspicious. A quick phone shot of the experiment would prove this person is serious, and that taking 5 minutes to answer here isn't part of a game.

In the meantime, I have several types of grass around my house. None would do anything positive in a fishtank. They would just rot. I'm curious so I have learned what wood does what in a tank with fish. I collect and treat wood based on what I've learned, and use it to decorate tanks. Not all wood works positively. Some would be like grass, or worse. I collect aquatic plants from nature. I experiment with wild caught foods for fish. Again, I learn what lives and learn from people here who are equally curious.

So @migsly , lay it out here. Why did you choose grass? What's in the tank (other than lawn debris)and what's your set up? What are you looking to discuss? What's your goal?

 

[migsly]

Here's the issue to me. Fish are living creatures whose lives are worth respecting. If for whatever reason we choose to keep them in boxes, I think we owe them a good level of care. They aren't ornaments, but animals.
Many people disagree, and do things differently.
I take curiosity seriously, but I also respect learning. I'm never the first person to think of something - billions have lived lives like mine and I can learn from the ones that were and are interested in the same things as me.
One thing we've learned is that dumping plant matter into an aquarium for no reason other than it's cheap would be harmful. If you're curious and make a mistake, if living creatures are involved you fix it. If you do harmful things, whether it's putting lawn cuttings in an aquarium, feeding a dangerous food to a dog or trolling a forum, you're going to get a reaction. If you put it on a forum, you want to discuss it, especially if you've kept fish for 19 years as @migsly would appear to have. You'd be between 30 and 40 years old and a person who wants to discuss an idea. You would bother to learn what grasses are involved and would share a lot more info to feed the discussion than the OP has.
It could be we have two posters here - one of whom just found the old account somehow and began to use it. They could be brand new to aquariums, not know how they work and apparently not care. They could be playing the pwn game little kids used to enjoy, winding up the too serious people. It's the internet, and some of us are very suspicious. A quick phone shot of the experiment would prove this person is serious, and that taking 5 minutes to answer here isn't part of a game.

In the meantime, I have several types of grass around my house. None would do anything positive in a fishtank. They would just rot. I'm curious so I have learned what wood does what in a tank with fish. I collect and treat wood based on what I've learned, and use it to decorate tanks. Not all wood works positively. Some would be like grass, or worse. I collect aquatic plants from nature. I experiment with wild caught foods for fish. Again, I learn what lives and learn from people here who are equally curious.

So @migsly , lay it out here. Why did you choose grass? What's in the tank (other than lawn debris)and what's your set up? What are you looking to discuss? What's your goal?

i have done this before but it was a long time ago. and it worked out splendidly. the fish were very healthy and happy.

but i shouldn't have said 'grass'. it wasn't grass. it was wild ground cover. the kind that grows with the grass. it's got leaves and blooms too. when you pull it up it's like a vine. you bunch them up and put them in the tank and it's paradise for the fish.

i lived on a bayou so the groundcover was probably not harmful to wildlife.

 

[migsly]

He should be able to post a pic here. No reason why not if he has truly done this.

I like this idea it sounds awesome might try it myself though I only have one spot in my yard that has grass lol
don't know why y'all are giving him so much crap when he was just trying to share what he is doing and how it is going
a little curiosity can go a long way

thx. just realized it wasn't grass tho but ground cover that grows with the grass.

 

[Boundava]

i have done this before but it was a long time ago. and it worked out splendidly. the fish were very healthy and happy.

but i shouldn't have said 'grass'. it wasn't grass. it was wild ground cover. the kind that grows with the grass. it's got leaves and blooms too. when you pull it up it's like a vine. you bunch them up and put them in the tank and it's paradise for the fish.

i lived on a bayou so the groundcover was probably not harmful to wildlife.

Wonder what type of ground cover. Lysimachia nummularia (creeping Jenny) is commonly found in yards as well as in aquariums.

Would love a picture of it.

 

[migsly]

i have done this before but it was a long time ago. and it worked out splendidly. the fish were very healthy and happy.

but i shouldn't have said 'grass'. it wasn't grass. it was wild ground cover. the kind that grows with the grass. it's got leaves and blooms too. when you pull it up it's like a vine. you bunch them up and put them in the tank and it's paradise for the fish.

i lived on a bayou so the groundcover was probably not harmful to wildlife.

Wonder what type of ground cover. Lysimachia nummularia (creeping Jenny) is commonly found in yards as well as in aquariums.

Would love a picture of it.

i wish i had a pic of the one from years ago. i am having trouble uploading on my computer. but it kind of loo mkN BH§§

Wonder what type of ground cover. Lysimachia nummularia (creeping Jenny) is commonly found in yards as well as in aquariums.

Would love a picture of it.

it was a wild ground cover. i don't know the name of it but it was so pretty in the tank. wish i'd taken a pic. it was in the early 2000s. it's kind of like guppy grass. it's so cute how the fish behave in it. they can actually rest on it. hide. nibble. play. etc. i replaced it once a week. i never left it in there long enough to see if it would thrive. i have to admit that i haven't set up a tank here yet. i just wanted to share my experience right away with y'all.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

i pulled up some grass wild ground cover from my yard and put it in my new tank. it looks so pretty. the fish seem to love it and eat and hide in it. i'll replace the grass ground cover when it shows signs of rotting. does anybody else do this? i'm so glad i don't have to buy any plants. lol

so far so good. i'll let y'all know of any problems that may occur.

i have done this before but it was a long time ago. and it worked out splendidly. the fish were very healthy and happy.

but i shouldn't have said 'grass'. it wasn't grass. it was wild ground cover. the kind that grows with the grass. it's got leaves and blooms too. when you pull it up it's like a vine. you bunch them up and put them in the tank and it's paradise for the fish.

i lived on a bayou so the groundcover was probably not harmful to wildlife.

So...I'm confused. Are we talking present tense, this is something you're currently doing, as your first few posts indicate, or distant past tense that you suddenly changed to when asked for a picture?

If this is something you're currently doing, please post a picture (let us know if you're having technical difficulties and we can help you out with that); we can identify the plant and possibly learn something useful from you if what you're doing is actually working.

If it's something you did a long time ago in a place you no longer live, why post about it now in the present tense?

If you're just trolling, please go elsewhere. We have better things to do.