Chuck's Planted Aquarium Pages

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Chuck's Planted Aquarium Pages HOME: Back to the introduction page EMAIL: cgadd@cfxc.com FAVORITE PICS: My favorite pics THE TANKS: 75g Rainbowfish 46g Paludarium 29g community tank FAUNA: Rainbowfish Catfish and Algae Eaters Other fish Everything else! FLORA: My complete plants list ARTICLES: A listing of articles about Plants, Fish, and DIY items. LINKS: Plant Links Fish resources Commercial Sites Jump to my non-fish home page

Invasive Aquatic Plants The cause: Protection of the natural environment is something that should concern all aquarium hobbyist. And we need to be careful that our actions don't damage the environment. One way that we might accidently damage the natural aquatic ecosystem is by releasing fish or plants from our tanks into the wild, either on purpose, or by accident. It is unfortunately very common for people to purchase a fish for their aquarium, then later, when the fish outgrows their tank, they release it into the wild. Depending on the species of fish, and where it is released, that fish could potentially wipe out the natural inhabitants of the ecosystem. Sometimes, aquatic plants are accidently released into the wild. If non-native aquatic plants are used in outdoor ponds, and those ponds drain into local waterways during heavy rain, then the non-native species can be released. Invasive and non-native plants are often introduced by other means, unrelated to aquaria hobbies. Ships and boats often accidently transport plants and other living things from one waterway to another. The effect: The introduction of non-native aquatic plants into an eco-system can do great damage. New plants might out-compete the native plants, and so they would wipe them out. In addition, the eco-system might not have any natural preditor for the new species, which would allow the introduced species to grow completely out of control. This throws off the balance of the eco-system, and can harm other plants, animals, and fish. The solution: Several of the most popular aquarium plants are considered "invasive species" or "noxious weeds". In some cases, the interstate shipment or sale of these plants is restricted. But if handled responsibly, these plants can be maintained in our aquariums without any threat to the environment. Even plants not officially considered invasive or noxious weeds should be treated as such. Releasing any aquarium fish or plant into the wild is reckless, and can potentially cause serious damage to the environment. As mentioned above, plants and other non-native life is introduced by several different paths, not all of which relate to the aquaria hobby. This fact doesn't mean that we aquarium hobbyists shouldn't take responsibility for our actions, but it shows that government regulations restricting the availability of plants to hobbyists is not the cure to this problem. The most effective solution to this problem is education, and aquaria hobbyists are more educated on this subject than the general population. To find out more about Invasive Species, or Noxious Weeds, you can contact your State agriculture or natural resources departments. You can also obtain information from the US Department of Agriculture. Article Survey Your feedback on this article would be greatly appreciated. All feedback is anonymous, so please, be honest. Your input can help me create better content. Usefulness of this article: Very    Somewhat    Not very    Not at all Technical Level: Too technical    Just right    Not technical enough Would you like to see more articles like this one? Yes    No Any comments about this article? (for questions that you want answered, use my email link below...) If you have any questions about this article, or if you feel that something is incorrect or missing, please let me know via email at cgadd@cfxc.com