# Metal thing from petsmart plants... Answer asap :) pls



## Canadianbettas (Oct 18, 2009)

Ok.. quick question
I bought a darn hornwort from petsmart... it comes with this metal thing... not sure if its metal....

i use it to attach my hornwort at the bottom then i put it in the gravel

anyone know what material is this thing? its very bendable... is it metal? its in my tank right now

i have fish/plants/shrimp
im scard this will be bad...

Lmk 

thx


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## WiyRay (Jan 11, 2009)

It is just a plant anchor and I want to say it is harmless. But there are more than just one type of plant anchors that people use. So I'm not sure what kind of metal it is.

So I would say if you don't need it then take it out.


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## Canadianbettas (Oct 18, 2009)

WiyRay said:


> It is just a plant anchor and I want to say it is harmless. But there are more than just one type of plant anchors that people use. So I'm not sure what kind of metal it is.
> 
> So I would say if you don't need it then take it out.


i just did some research...

I believe its a lead strip....

some say lead is bad for fish overtime?

Until i get some rocks to tie..it down.. i guess ill keep it in there... for a short time..

Ugh I hate my hornwort now.. if i let it float its ugly.. if i tie it down the bottom will rot... lol


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Yea its a lead strip... I don't like leaving mine on either.

I just try to plant each stem on its own and I hope that it takes root. I don't know if hornwort will work out for you well that way lo


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

forget the lead strip! Have you seen my egg tumbler videos? Tumbling plants all the way! I'm starting a new trend. 

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12725


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

Its like-lead. There is NO WAY anything would be sold with REAL lead considering how dangerous it is. So they call these strips like-lead, an alloy or something that mimics lead. Take it out, and take the time to plant your hogwart. it will grow lush without the band as well.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 28, 2008)

BettaBeats said:


> Its like-lead. There is NO WAY anything would be sold with REAL lead considering how dangerous it is. So they call these strips like-lead, an alloy or something that mimics lead. Take it out, and take the time to plant your hogwart. it will grow lush without the band as well.


+1. The bands are likely not lead.


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## WiyRay (Jan 11, 2009)

BettaBeats said:


> Its like-lead. There is NO WAY anything would be sold with REAL lead considering how dangerous it is. So they call these strips like-lead, an alloy or something that mimics lead. Take it out, and take the time to plant your *hogwart*. it will grow lush without the band as well.


Hahaha... sounds like we found ourselves a potter fan.


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

they wre meant for aquarium use...Big Als sells them on their site....hornwort needs to be tied down or else it will just float..it never sends out roots...

also you can bury it or throw a corner under a rock


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## Aquatic Designs (Apr 2, 2006)

Hornwort is a submerged oxygenator. It does not root. In it's native habitat it will be floating just under the surface. The lead like strip will eventually cause the plant to rot where it is tied and it will then float again. Best time and place to buy this plant is the summer from the garden centers. You get a huge bunch of it for under $5. Be careful however, it is grown in ponds for out door planting. It could have many things you don't want to introduce to your aquarium.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

BettaBeats said:


> Its like-lead. There is NO WAY anything would be sold with REAL lead considering how dangerous it is. So they call these strips like-lead, an alloy or something that mimics lead. Take it out, and take the time to plant your hogwart. it will grow lush without the band as well.


I am slow today, you are very right. I just remembered my boss saying it was a lead strip a couple of years back but there is no way that would be safe. LOL My bad. :3


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

Hornwort does too root. It is most commonly seen floating. However, it most definitely will root, given an appropriate location. It does not seem to attach itself to rock, but will send out roots into a substrate that it likes.

As for those little bits of "lead" that are around your plants, they sell it at most LFS, in a little package. They are most likely a zinc+magnesium alloy that is not harmful to your plants or your fish.

You can test yours to find out: see here: http://theaquariumwiki.com/Lead
W


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## WiyRay (Jan 11, 2009)

Despite concerns over poisons from the lead strips, I bought a pack from Big Als (kinda overpriced imo). So far there hasn't been any visible signs of problems with my fish or shrimps. 

I needed some to keep what HC cuba I have left rooted down in the substrate. 

Darn giant MTS...


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Ciddian said:


> I am slow today, you are very right. I just remembered my boss saying it was a lead strip a couple of years back but there is no way that would be safe. LOL My bad. :3


They used to be lead some years ago.

Btw, people are very paranoid about lead these days, perhaps more than is justified. But even when the strips were lead, I didn't leave them on, though people commonly did, and nobody died of it. ;-)


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

I am looking for a roll of this stuff. ANybody seen it for sale in a ROLL form at any LFS?

http://www.forpets.co.uk/product.php?xProd=729

W


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> I am looking for a roll of this stuff. ANybody seen it for sale in a ROLL form at any LFS?
> 
> http://www.forpets.co.uk/product.php?xProd=729
> 
> W


You can just put a few pebbles on over the roots until the plants get established.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> I am looking for a roll of this stuff. ANybody seen it for sale in a ROLL form at any LFS?
> 
> http://www.forpets.co.uk/product.php?xProd=729
> 
> W


if you speak with George in the fish room at Petsmart he might be able to help you. I've only seen 6-7 strips avail before.

From what I recall he used to buy it in a giant roll so you might be able to talk him into buying some from him. I am not sure, but its worth a ring if you really need some.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

Which petsmart? kennedy commons? whitby?

W


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Whoops! Sorry.. That would be kennedy.


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## shrtmann (Feb 15, 2009)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> Hornwort does too root. It is most commonly seen floating. However, it most definitely will root, given an appropriate location. It does not seem to attach itself to rock, but will send out roots into a substrate that it likes.
> 
> As for those little bits of "lead" that are around your plants, they sell it at most LFS, in a little package. They are most likely a zinc+magnesium alloy that is not harmful to your plants or your fish.
> 
> ...


wow, i have never been able to get mine to root ever. Altho im always playing with it throwing out the old to keep it a nice green...how long did you have to leave it settled before it sent out roots...Ive had it in another locvation too for quite sometime kind of half buried under a slab and that has never sent roots...its been there for about 1 or 2 mos.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

Hornwort doesn't have real roots, it has highly modified leaves that resemble roots. These are the scattered string-like white things that appear at apparent random on the stems of floating hornwort.

You can stick hornwort cuttings in the substrate, but they won't form a set of roots under there like most stem plants. Still, they will stay there for a while, if that's what you want.

You can find out more if you google on 'Ceratophyllum'.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

Bae is right in that the 'modified leaves' resemble roots. And they will "attach" to some materials. I had forgotten that factoid.

I think that it will "attach itself" (if not truly root) in laterite clay (non clumping cat-litter, the el-cheapo planted tank solution) or most reasonable (expensive) planted aquarium substrates. It will not root (in my limited experience) in any "glossy regular aquarium gravel". Porosity of the material in question appears to be a factor.



In a regular aquarium, I find the floating thing is "visually annoying" so I "play pretend" (heck everything in my tank is fake, even if it's real, it's not in its proper place in the real world). I found that the plant is happier floating, but that I am happier having it in there to add oxygen and remove nitrates, but that I need to see my fish. Another solution I have thought of is a rubber suction cup on the back of the tank, where I attach a clump using some kind of plastic recloseable tie-back or a large loop of some kind that I can thread the hornwort through, this keeps it from floating up and doing the tumbleweed thing and obscuring my fish. Of course, if I have baby guppies, they love the floating plants. So you can have pretty, or functional, I find, or some mix of the two, but not both in perfect harmony. 

W


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