# Sticky  Warning To All Buying Plants from PETCO/PETSMART



## Tallonebball

Since there have been a influx of new threads consisting of questions about the so called "aquatic" plants that Pecto/Petsmart regularly sell, I will give an outline of these products and what they really are.
This is the product you will normally find:








This, and any other plant you find in a container like this sold in any store, is NOT AN AQUATIC PLANT. They are normally terrarium plants which means they can live in a high moisture environment (such as a rainforest environment) but unfortunately all they will do in your fish tank is slowly die from drowning. Not only will these plants do nothing of value for your tank; but as they die they will actually lessen the water quality of your tank through their slow decomposition.
Here are some commonly sold "aquatic" plants that are actually terrestrial:
Aluminum Plant (Pilea cadierei)
Arrowhead (Syngonium podophyllum)
Bamboo Plant (Bamboo sp.)
Chameleon Plant (Houttuynia cordata)
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema simplex)
Club Moss (Lycopodium spp.)
Coconut Plant (Calamus spp.)
Dwarf Rush (Acorus pusillus)
Dragon Tongue (Hemigraphis repanda)
Dwarf Onion Plant (Zephyranthes candida)
Dumb Cane (Dieffenbachia spp.)
Elephant Ear (Caladium spp.)
Green Sandy (Dracaena borquensis)
Hedge (Alternanthera sp.)
Japanese Rush (Acorus sp.)
Mondo Grass (Ophiopogon japonica)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum tasson)
Pineapple Plant (Dracaena compacta)
Pongol Sword (Chlorophytum bichetii)
Pothos (Philodendron spp.)
Prayer Plant (Maranta leucoreura)
Princess Pine (Lycopodium obscurum)
Purple Waffle (Hemigraphis exotica)
Red Dracaena (Cordyline spp.)
Rush (Pontederia cordata)
Sandy (Dracaena sanderiana)
Scarlet Hygro (Alternanthera sessilis)
Silver Queen (Aglaonema sp.)
Spider Plant (Chlorophytum bichetii)
Stardust Ivy (Syngonium spp.)
Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus)
Ti Plant (Cordyline terminalis)
Underwater Palm (Chamaedorea elegans)
So if you come upon any of these plants remember, if you have a nice rainforest vivarium, they will be fine additions, but if your looking to add live plants to your aquarium, stay away.

The list of plants were found at: http://en.microcosmaquariumexplorer.com/wiki/Worst_Aquarium_Plants
Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it helps!


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## lohachata

i agree tallone....this post should certainly stay up top for folks to access..great information that will save folks time,money and aggravation..
also....many of the plants that are on that list will grow to 10 feet tall or more...lol


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## COM

Yet another example of the chains just being evil. Shame on them.


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## Tallonebball

feel free to add any plants I may have missed!


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## br00tal_dude

lets just say perhaps... hypotheticly some one were to have these plants in the aquarium... would they slow decay cause a surpluse of nitrates in the water?


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## Tallonebball

haha I believe so


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## br00tal_dude

well then they are prolly what is killing off my wifes guppies have been removed before they cause any more harm...


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## OCtrackiepacsg1

Does that mean true aquatic plants (swords) sold in those tubes would also die?


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## emc7

House plants. 2/3s of that list have grown in my mother's kitchen over the years.

The swords sold like that will die because the standard "kit" aquarium lighting isn't adequate for them to thrive.


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## lohachata

many species of sword plants grow both above and below the water surface..the ones that grow above do not do well in aquariums for the reason emc stated..unless you have some serious lighting..


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## Schwartzy61

hmm i never knew this, thank you


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## jrdeitner

even the ones petsmart has actually in the aquariums sometimes are not fully aquatic, so its best to research the plant before you buy.


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## fishloverzj

I suggest you just buy your plants from the local aquarium store and rid them of sanils BEFORER you put them in your tank.. and yes, Petco and Petsmart ARE evil, but sometimes they are your only option.


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## grapenutloli

Hhm, so none of the little tubie plants are really aquatic?

Dang, but I'm pretty sure I saw Java Ferns in one of those. Are they just a different plant with the same name or a close land-based relative?

I also saw leafy plants and a mossy rocks for sale inside a couple of the fish tanks on display. I can't remember the names but they should be legit aquatic plants, rite?


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## Homer

Damn i bought a spiral bamboo plant that was submerged and its been in my tank for about 2-3 weeks and has shown no sign of dying


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## emc7

bamboo can live submerged quite a while, but it can also suddenly die and start rotting without you noticing. Move it so a few leaves are out of the water even if you have to set it up on a rock or something. Its ok to have plants like that in the aquarium and they do take out nitrate, but let them have some air even if you have to cut a hole in the lid. Otherwise, move it to a glass on the windowsill. Again, a nice house plant.


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## sbetsy

So my petsmart is going to the dreaded tube system too. I saw some anubias and java fern (along with a ton of completely inappropriate plants labeled incorrectly). Are these some other non-aquatic version of the plant or are these safe options in a sea of houseplants?


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## emc7

You'd have to look them up one by one. I suggest you take a cell-phone pic and post it on one of the plant boards.


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## sbetsy

Good idea. I'll snap a couple pics next time I go in to petsmart.


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## squeekee35

I was thinking about maybe getting some plants for my aquarium.....but when i went to browse at the petco........all they had were house plants that they call "aquatic". they didn't have a single true aquatic plant! Not even in thier water tank filled with plants. Man i just can't believe that......i was so disappointed.


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## sbetsy

I never took pics at petsmart (totally forgot about this thread), but last time i was there I went through the "aquatic" plants and most of them weren't really aquatic, at least according to google.


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## carolo43

This is why it's as necessary to know your plants and what you want just as much as researching your fish before buying them. These stores sell plants for aquariums, terrariums and ponds. All are aquatic or bog plants but all do not belong in the same setting. Stores need to supply for all.

The arrow leaf, for instance, is a houseplant but does very well in terrariums so often you see it sold as an aquatic plant.


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## mousey

where I live we do not yet get any plants in little individual containers-- they are still loose in a big tank. Our petsmart also carries some terrestrial plants but mostly aquatic. however I have seen the packages you all describe when I am Stateside. It looks like a good way to me if the plants would be critter free and you could get some true aquatics.


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## Homer

well great i just bought 2-3 plants for my tank and it looks like they will be dying in a few months. No what would be better then a list of non aquatics plants, a list of aquatic(the ones usually sold at the pet store). Isnt it false advertising. The plants i bought were labeled "aquatic combo" (should i see if i can bring these plants back?

Can anyone tell me what plants i have and if they are aquatic?


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## Homer

the middle plant is actually 2 plants and part of it looks like an arrowhead and i dont know what the other part is. The plant all the way to the right is also 2 plants.


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## Revolution1221

some closer up pictures of each may help.


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## tropicalfish

Really?!?! I've been always buying my live plants from PetSmart and/or Petco!! 
Slowly and slowly I am realizing how horrible those places are...
Are the live plants that are in the tanks with the fish better? Like Marimo balls?


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## Betta man

We bought some plants sold in those containers and they lived a while.


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## chronoboy

thats why i dont bother with buying plants anymore from fish stores cause almost every store even the mom and pop ones buy these plants that where not grown and raised in a water filled tank, and all they do is plop them into a tank, and sure they will look good for a few weeks but after awhile they will die off, so i gave up on buying plants locally and have been buying them from, http://shop.plantedaquariumscentral.com/ i was very happy with the prices and the plants i get havnt had a single one die and all are growing very well almost to well "starting to take over my tank", im starting to get addicted to aquabid.com it has introduced me to some great online fish breeders and plant sellers  and in turn i have to thank FF for leading me to aquabid, my wife my hate you guys for showing me that site cause i have spent to much money on thier, but to me its worth it for the quality of product i get. 

P.S. sorry about grammer and spelling, but i have a newborn to take care of so no time to waist on here


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## Lanette001

Hey I just bought my plants from plantedaquariumscenter.com! They have a great selection and great prices! My plants arrived and were beautiful and healthy! I rearranged my tank just to make them look better  I have bought plants from petco and petsmart before and now I realize why I had so many problems.... I thought it was something I was doing to kill them, even after researching and learning about how to care for them!


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## chronoboy

thats awsome i really like the lady that owns that site she is very prompt with her orders last order i did with her she had a death in the family so i had to wait a week before she would send them but for my wait she added a few extra plants in their for me so i have no complaints, i think i am about to order some moss from her for my fry tank if i can get my german blue rams to breed and my angels to breed.


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## Homer

Tallonebball said:


> Since there have been a influx of new threads consisting of questions about the so called "aquatic" plants that Pecto/Petsmart regularly sell, I will give an outline of these products and what they really are.
> This is the product you will normally find:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This, and any other plant you find in a container like this sold in any store, is NOT AN AQUATIC PLANT.
> Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it helps!


I was in petco today and i looked at these tubes and one of them said amazon sword so either some are fully aquatic or it was labled wrong but it looked like an amazon sword


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## iheartfish:)

My mom got me a "peacock fern" in one of those tubes a few months ago. I had read this thread before, and so I was pretty sure it wouldn't survive. I put it in my aquarium, though, because it was pretty and because my mom went to the trouble of getting it (she doesn't understand my obsession with fish). So far it hasn't died, and has released roots and even grown. So... anyone heard of whether or not it's an aquatic plant?


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## mousey

did an internet search of the fish forums and the consensus is that it not an aquatic plant -also it should do well as a terrarium plant.


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## Blazer

Wow that's a shame, I was going to buy one of those plants the other day i'm glad i didn't.:fish:http://www.fishforums.com/forum/images/smilies/icon_fish.gif


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## iheartfish:)

I'll just stick to buying from my local private owned LFS. They have a fairly limited selection, but absolutely no snails and very healthy plants.

Do you think the peacock fern is slowly dying and might cause my pH to be high? Or ammonia?


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## Fishpunk

They do have some aquatic plants in the tubes. I have purchased java fern, anubias nana, and wisteria in the tubes. Best thing to do is walk over to the book rack. Pick up a plant book and look up the plants in the tubes. The best book is at PetSmart, where there is a red section that warns you NOT to buy them. Most of the plants are intended for ponds, but there are a handful of aquatic plants. The wisteria in particular grows like crazy. The attached photo shows my tank with wisteria from one tube grown out over a year or so. I have also harvested this plant to start other tanks.









So, my point is that if you are cautious a few of the plants in tubes are useful.


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## Nameless

They sell java ferns and anubias plants at my petsmart, both of which are on the aquatic list.
In fact, the petsmart that I go to mostly only sells various species of those two plants. But they do sell some land plants as 'aquatic'. So if you are into hermit crabs, it is rather helpful ^_^


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## Fuzz

yeah, i got my anubias and JF at petsmart in those tubes, both of which are growing steadily.

I also got needle leaf ludwigia, but it hasn't been in my tank for long. I bought it for the hell of it, but I already regret it even though it hasn't died. It came in a flat package in the same area as those tubes. There was no root structure at all when I got it and I'm afraid to pull it up and find out what's going on with it because it was a pain to plant. I ended up putting a little in a mini solo cup and jamming my substrate around it in hopes to keep it down so it wasn't floating around my tank. I don't think it has gotten any bigger, but it's so small that I can't tell if it is even doing anything at all. I might pull it tonight/tomorrow and see if it is at least getting some roots. If not, no major loss and a lesson learned.


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## mls3371971

I bought some Mondo grass. But I didn't see this before I did, I came home and checked it out online and found out its non aquatic, I yanked it out. I will be from now on buying from my fishman, not from Petsmart...


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## Zevyn

Not sure if they recently changed since the inception of this thread, but they put green caps on the non-aquatic plants to differentiate them from the aquarium-suitable plants (but you could still easily not notice that). I picked up a few swords in great shape there the other day.


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## Goldeen

you guys are making me hate petsmart...i already hated petco i just go to petsmart and petco for fake plants but looks like im going to my local LFS now *sigh* at least my SW tank will turn out better than my FW ones lol


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## Betta man

Why get plants for 15 bucks at petco, when you can buy silk plants for a dollar at the dollar store. I don't like petsmart and petco because they abuse their fish.


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## vaquero

So i have purchased these plants from petsmart and i have had no problems. They even say on the container whether or not they are for terrariums or fully submersible. What plants then, should I get to replace these bastard plants?????


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## vaquero

Homer said:


> I was in petco today and i looked at these tubes and one of them said amazon sword so either some are fully aquatic or it was labled wrong but it looked like an amazon sword


But right on the container it says whether it is fully submersible or not. Shouldn't these be alright if it says fully submersible????


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## lohachata

if you want really great plants at very reasonable prices try.....

www.aquabid.com

they have several plant categories..


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## Coolfish

They now sell dwarf hair grass at petsmart and bacopa.


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## Trout

It's weird. Mondo Grass is on that list and Bleheri (Echinodorus paniculatus) is not, and the mondo grass I have in is actually growing and such, while it seems the Bleheri is faded to a sickly Chartreuse and all the original leaves are gone and the new growth is so much smaller. Simply speaking the "land" plant is doing far better than the unkown plant in my tank. Wat?

Oh... It needs Iron. Derp I'll have to get some Iron Chelate to help fix this problem.


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## gillman

thanks for the warning bro


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## big b

i have a rule about plants from them if i dont know about it or own it dont buy it.


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