Christmas tree for litter

[keddre]

I’m curious if anyone has tried adding Christmas tree branches and needles into tanks as debri and litter for shrimp to play in? I know firs have a chemical that isn’t good for humans when burned, but I’m not sure about fish. 
 

ps: yes I am that guy just now cleaning up Christmas decor lol 

[Shenandoah Aquatics]

The sap would make this not a good idea. 

[keddre]

3 minutes ago, alpenglow007 said:

The sap would make this not a good idea. 

I didn’t think of that. I saved a branch before throwing it in the dumpster, so maybe I will boil it and stick it in a 5 gallon with some shrimp and see what happens

[DSH OUTDOORS]

Unless you went and cut it down yourself it will most likely have some kind of poly, acrylic or shellac coating on it to keep it greener longer.  This is why they are such fire hazards and give off a black smoke when burned.  I'm all for experimenting but I wouldn't try this even with the "don't try this at home" disclaimer.

[Maggie]

I've heard bad things about pines and aquariums- not sure if it's a specific species or pines in general, but maybe hang out here for a while and wait for one of the many plant experts to weigh in. 

[MJV Aquatics]

I would NOT use it!

[Will Billy]

A long, long time ago, when i was a child my fishing buddy uncle and i used to sink our old christmas trees in our favorite fishing spots. It would make hiding spots for fish to increase our chances of catching them in the spring. Admittedly this was a long time ago when we used to put kids in the back of pick up trucks, and people used to smoke in hospitals. Not sure how long the have been adding shellac to christmas trees, but we havent done that in over 30 years. I would advise against it unless you cut down your very own tree like Clark Griswald from chistmas vacation. 

[OceanTruth]

@Will Billy I have this odd feeling that 30 years from now people will look back in amazement that people actually walked around without wearing a hazmat suit. Lol.

[Brandy]

Even beyond the shellac, conifers do have turpenes and other chemicals in them that are toxic. In areas where you threw those trees, you likely either had flow or MANY MANY GALLONS OF planted water to dilute the poison. Our tanks are tiny closed systems, and so a tiny fraction of a chemical will do more damage. It isn't that what @Will Billy was doing was wrong at all, it is that our little aquarium doesn't have the filtration or dilution capacity that nature does.

[Brandy]

7 hours ago, keddre said:

I didn’t think of that. I saved a branch before throwing it in the dumpster, so maybe I will boil it and stick it in a 5 gallon with some shrimp and see what happens

I would start tiny, like 6 needles, if you are determined to try. Boiling will likely help as many of the chemicals that are toxic are volitile.

Edited February 18, 2021 by Brandy

[keddre]

Thanks everyone. This is just one of those times where I was looking at my tank and at my tree and going “hmmm”. 
 

also this tree definitely has shellac just from reading your posts. Two months after Christmas and it still looks brand new haha

[keddre]

9 minutes ago, Will Billy said:

A long, long time ago, when i was a child my fishing buddy uncle and i used to sink our old christmas trees in our favorite fishing spots. It would make hiding spots for fish to increase our chances of catching them in the spring.

Use to? Our DNR still has a program to encourage this. It’s also why I lose 1,000 fishing hooks a week

[lefty o]

xmas tree's are great structure for fish, but in a lake or river it has a vast amount of water to dillute whatever comes out of the tree vs an aquarium.