# Transplanting plants found in the 'wild'?



## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

I live near a huge lake (Lake Hartwell in GA/SC) that has plenty of marshy bits. 
Instead of overpaying at petsmart for low quality plants, would there be any unexpected issues if I went to the lake and uprooted some locally available plant life and put it in the tank? 
Are there any wild plants that would work better than others? 
Are there any posts or guides on this subject that might be of use? 

Thanks,
eb

tank: 
55g long, Mix of Tetras with 5 Otos and a Dojo.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Be sure it's legal to take wild plants, in a lot of areas they're protected. Also, think about pesticides, bugs, contamination, and so on. You might be able to find something in the saltwater side of the forum, the wild collecting part especially. I would also try and make sure first of all that you're getting plants that you know are either bog plants or aquatic. It'd be a shame if you got bog plants, put them in your tank, and they all died


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

There are several plants available that can be found in the wild. Just make sure its legal and make sure its from a location that no pesticides and such are used. Always quarantine any plants collected to make sure you get rid of pests on them before adding to your tank.

Quarantining also helps to adjust them to artifical lights. Some don't adjust as they will only grow in like full sun areas. But there is a lot that do. Around here we get fissidens moss in the creeks during the spring time and its fun just going out and collecting.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Lake Hartwell on my side says its illegal to remove plants rocks and twigs from the area unless authorized.Best bet is to contact the forest admin in the area and explain to them what you are doing.They may or may not let ya.

Where abouts are ya located?Im in Easley,SC


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## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

majerah1 said:


> Lake Hartwell on my side says its illegal to remove plants rocks and twigs from the area unless authorized.Best bet is to contact the forest admin in the area and explain to them what you are doing.They may or may not let ya.
> 
> Where abouts are ya located?Im in Easley,SC


I'm in Anderson. 
There are places where I've gone catfishing that are overgrown with weeds and swampgrass? Not sure what their official names are and I'm no expert on aquatic plants. 
While it may not be 100% legal, I don't have an ethical problem with liberating a bit of aquatic foliage from an overgrown area so long as it's not going to cause any issues once transplanted. 

As for quarantine, would a bleach solution in a 5gal bucket be sufficient or should more be done to cleanse any potential pesticides or bugs?


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## alyssabentley (Sep 27, 2011)

A bleach solution _should_ work. Just make sure to soak the plants in clean water after with extra dechlorinator. IIRC, it's 1cup of bleach per 5gallon bucket. I could be mis-remembering, however. There are plants that won't take well to being bleached, such as moss. And many plants will die if their roots are bleached. Still.. better than introducing golden velvet, ich or, even worse, leaches! to your tank. Not to mention hundreds of bacterial or viral strains that your fish from who knows where may or may not have any immunities to. 

>.> another option would be to try trading some of your current plants with other people in the area for different plants, and growing your own to seed your tank with. You can always grow plants out in a bucket, too. Just feed 'em dirty tank water and throw a halogen light over them. (well, that works with a lot of plants, but not the difficult ones...) 

Another thing to be aware of is that a lot of plants out in the swamps today are actually invasive species from people like you and me who import exotic plants from other countries for our aquariums. Tossing out the "cuttings" sometimes results in those plants growing wild and choking out the native wildlife. If you see plants that you would normally have to import, feel free to take them.  The forest rangers probably want you to.


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## Pigeonfish (Jun 23, 2011)

You could just buy plants online... they're chaper online.... Aquabid is great and I've never had trouble with Sweet Aquatics.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

agree with all above.

I would setup a tub/bucket/small tank and let the plants grow in the for a few weeks. To insure you don't have pests and the plants you got thrive underwater.

But basically if legal the idea is sound.

my .02


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I have chain sword if you would like some.I would just really hate you to get caught taking plants from the lake.They have a hefty fine for that.And I could even meet you somewhere,we go to Anderson quite a lot.


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## Razmear (Sep 23, 2011)

majerah1 said:


> I have chain sword if you would like some.I would just really hate you to get caught taking plants from the lake.They have a hefty fine for that.And I could even meet you somewhere,we go to Anderson quite a lot.


The thought of parasites is a bit more worrying to me than getting caught by fish and game, so I'll probably pass on raiding the lake, for now. 
If you have an over abundance of plants I'd gladly take some off your hands. 
I've seen what they have on AquaBid but never bothered to order any online in the past, might take a new look. 

My monster pleco died recently, and buying any plants was pointless while he was around as he would happily uproot anything that I planted (guess everyone needs a hobby). Now that he's passed on I'm planning on doing some more serious aquascaping and finally getting rid of the cheezy fake plants and replacing them with live ones. 

eb


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Remember any wild collected plant will have snails. One plants you can get at pond shops that is very similar to those in the wild is Duckweed. It seems to know what season it is even in a fish tank. Wild Plants in the USA are exposed to seasons and will need a period of dormancy. Some water plants in the USA are introduced species, considered pests, and moving them around is considered a crime.


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