Plastic Plants

[kurukdew]

Hi all,

Remember Fred? He is doing well with his 2 snails. I have had him in a plastic tank for about 3 years now with plastic plants, real rocks etc. My question is with the brackish water will the plants degrade over time and leech chemicals into the water? Should I buy new plastic plants? If so, which brand does well in brackish water? Are there other decor anyone recommendations? Also, is the plastic aquarium okay with the brackish water over time? Thx!!!

[Dch48]

I would think all plastic plants sold for aquarium use would be fine. I wouldn't worry about the tank at all.

[kurukdew]

I am worried, Fred when I do see him, is brown not red. I am worried the plastic is slowly degrading over time in the brackish water. I have tested all other aspects of the water and it is fine. Thinking I should get some new plastic plants...thoughts?

[Mustafa]

Can you post some pictures of your shrimp and plastic plants? I'm not sure what you mean by "brown". These shrimp never turn brown.

[kurukdew]

Hello,

I have attached some pics. One tiny image of Fred taken about 2 months ago...hardly ever see him. The tank is in the sun in these pics. It gets about 1 hour of sun each day. I have 2 snails George and Ralph, and Fred the shrimp. I feed a few fish flakes every 2 weeks. He goes from bright red to reddish brown like in this pic. I have tested the water and the temp is about 69 degrees. Just worried as these plants are getting about 3 years old now. Thank you!!!!

[Varanus]

It looks to me like you have quite a bit of algae growth so you shouldn't need to feed, let alone every two weeks.

[Mustafa]

Your plastic plants look fine to me. They have quite a bit of algae growth, which is also fine. Just feed less. I wouldn't be worried at all at this point.