Swantekkie Posted March 9, 2022 Share Posted March 9, 2022 I’ve got some dead blueberry branches and was wondering if anyone has any experience with them in their aquarium. Will it leach toxins? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swantekkie Posted March 10, 2022 Author Share Posted March 10, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widgets Posted March 10, 2022 Share Posted March 10, 2022 I think it is only safe for the blueberry tetra. 🤔 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swantekkie Posted March 17, 2022 Author Share Posted March 17, 2022 (edited) So after more and more research, and some help from fellow aquarist I’ve come to the conclusion that it is not safe for the aquarium. Quite sure it’s what killed all my fish but I won’t be able to say for sure until I get new fish in the tank without the wood. Just wanted to update since I could find just about nothing on the subject matter and hopefully save some others the trouble I went through. Edited March 18, 2022 by Swantekkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 That's a total bummer. So what did you find out about the blueberry wood that is toxic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Widgets Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 This article says fruit wood is safe if it is dry (without sap), but does not specifically mention blueberry. https://aquariumsathome.com/what-types-of-wood-are-safe-for-aquariums/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biotope Biologist Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 It doesn’t appear to be toxic. It will leech blue/purple into the tank as the wood also has anthocyanin that is found in the berries. I found one other anecdotal piece on another forum of someone using blueberry branches in their tank to no mortality. Theirs was the northeastern variety. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeD Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 On 3/17/2022 at 10:36 AM, Biotope Biologist said: It doesn’t appear to be toxic. It will leech blue/purple into the tank as the wood also has anthocyanin that is found in the berries. I found one other anecdotal piece on another forum of someone using blueberry branches in their tank to no mortality. Theirs was the northeastern variety. Maybe the cause was secondary then? Bacterial or fungal infection? Could just have been a sudden ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spike caused by the wood. Was this a fairly newly established tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swantekkie Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 On 3/17/2022 at 11:36 AM, Biotope Biologist said: It doesn’t appear to be toxic. It will leech blue/purple into the tank as the wood also has anthocyanin that is found in the berries. I found one other anecdotal piece on another forum of someone using blueberry branches in their tank to no mortality. Theirs was the northeastern variety. Basically what I found was that dark berries that contain good antioxidants for us are bad for fish, and that it’s similar to deadly nightshade, all things I was told by a supposed aquarium guru. I know you can’t use choke cherry/cherry so maybe it’s a similar thing. I believe I read the same thread and the person had only put a nerite snail in. 🤷🏻♂️ I didn’t have any sort of ammonia or nitrite spike so it’s the only thing I can think of to cause such sudden death of every fish twice now. I’ve done a full water change and then multiple 50% changes, as well as add some new carbon in the filter to remove any remaining toxins. Getting just a few guppies tomorrow to see if the tank is ok now 🤞🏻 Then I’ll know for sure if it was the blueberry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swantekkie Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 On 3/17/2022 at 9:32 AM, Widgets said: This article says fruit wood is safe if it is dry (without sap), but does not specifically mention blueberry. https://aquariumsathome.com/what-types-of-wood-are-safe-for-aquariums/ Yeah I’m sure I read the same article, scoured the web for anything that mentioned blueberry. Only found one other forum and they only put one nerite snail in there with no recent update on if it survived. I also found that cherry/choke cherry is poisonous in aquariums, so I guess it’s not all fruit trees 🤷🏻♂️. I’m trying new fish tomorrow without the blueberry wood so I will update on if they survive. 🤞🏻🤞🏻 On 3/17/2022 at 1:00 PM, BrettD said: Maybe the cause was secondary then? Bacterial or fungal infection? Could just have been a sudden ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spike caused by the wood. Was this a fairly newly established tank? I wouldn’t suspect bacterial or fungus only because it was over night they all died. Parameters were all “good” with no spikes. I was converting from a 10 to a 20 gallon, but reused all my media and had the old filter running with the new one until it was “seeded”. I thought ammonia spike for sure but it’s been at 0ppm and I’m showing nitrates so seems like I kept my cycle. I’m really at a loss and hoping it was the blueberry all along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swantekkie Posted March 19, 2022 Author Share Posted March 19, 2022 So a bit of an update, after removing the blueberry wood and multiple water changes I just added a new fish to the aquarium an he seems to be doing great. Still not sure if it was my parameters or the blueberry but it’s quite the coincidence that everything’s fine after removing. Can’t 100% say but I for sure will never use it in an aquarium again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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