Is it okay to use rubber bands in an aquarium to hold plants in place while they are rooting?

Question

Are they toxic for fish, or anything?

Also, what other household materials would be suitable for this?

Answer 1

Your best bet is a rubber band, if properly cleaned prior to use. The correct way to clean them would be to soak the bands in hot water for 10-20 minutes, and wipe them with a gauze or lint-free material. If you are using a salt water tank, I dont suggest using anything besides plastic keepers.

FYI, if you have an aggressive fish, (I own a 6" Oscar Cichlid) he might try to pick at the rubber band a bit, but s/he will soon get bored or may not even notice it.

Good Luck.

-Devin

Answer 2

your best option is some fishing live it wont erode or anything and its harder to see that a rubber band and also if you need weigth you can use fishing weights

Answer 3

Rubber will rot it water after a while, i would use some kind of plastic clip.

Answer 4

Consider rubberbands as toxic material and do not use them.

Use the white nylon adjustable ties (any hardware store will have them).  They are a more "safe" source of material and you can adjust/control the diameter size so as not to "choke" the roots or plant.

Answer 5

i usualy hear about people using nylon  

Answer 6

NO, the fish will use the rubber bands to shoot pebbles at each other & u might end up with a fish getting its eye shot out by an aggressive guppy !  

Answer 7

I use plastic zip ties, I have had no problems.  

Answer 8

I've used rubber bands before and it's perfectly ok.

You could also use fishing line, it's practically invisible.

E-mail me for any questions!

Answer 9

Yup, as long as it's properly clean, I see no harm done. People use all kind of things to keep their planted tanks in place. When I buy plants online they're usually sent to me that way; when I bought anubias on driftwood, I noticed that there was a thin band being used to attach the plant to the wood, so there ya go. :P