Is Devil's Ivy (pathos) Safe To Grow In Tropical Freshwater Aquarium?

I have a tropical freshwater aquarium with fish, and am wondering if it is safe to root some Pathos
in my tank and let the foliage hang outside the glass. I've read conflicting opinions online whether the plant is toxic to fish, especially if they nibble the roots. Some say its poisonous, while others say fish will likely leave the roots alone.

If pathos is a bad idea, can anyone recommend an alternative plant that could root in water like pathos, with foliage draping down the outside of a tank?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I'm new to the hobby, so sorry in advance if my questions seem stupid.

 

Not sure whether or not pothos is poisonous for fish, but it's surely is for dogs and cats. You can grow pothos in aquarium. Many aquariusts use that plant in order to help suck up nitrates. Just make you don't submerge the whole plant, just only the roots.

 

I think it depends on the type of fish. Herbivorous fish might nibble on it and get sick but carnivorous fish should be fine. My professor had some golden pothos in her tank with angels and a bristlenose and I saw all of them nibble on the roots with no ill effect.


Now that I think about it, there might have been algae on the root so I can’t say for sure

 

I actually just added some to a new filter I got today. I'm unsure of adding it to the tank itsself tho, but I have seen many videos and even my lfs has it in hob filters.

 

For an alternative could you try potatos/yams or avocado pits? Put them above the water and let them get roots

 

For an alternative could you try potatos/yams or avocado pits? Put them above the water and let them get roots

Ivy might be poisonous so let's just toss some deadly nightshade in the tank instead lol! Jk jk. I did potatoes for a while and they did pretty well so those are good ideas. Just can't eat them.

 

Fish will most likely leave the roots alone, but my betta has nibbled on the base of the stem and hasn't had any problems. Many people have pothos growing in their tanks and don't have an issue with it.

Basically almost any plant that can be water rooted can grow in the aquarium. I currently have some wandering Jew cuttings doing great in my aquarium. I had an Arrowhead cutting that was water rooted for a long time and I did plan to put it in my aquarium, but I potted it instead to grow for more cuttings.

 

The thing is, pothos is likely not to kill fish.

Basically the thing that makes it so poisonous is the fact that it contains oxalates. Oxalates is rather common in many plants, due to being a deterrent for animals to eat it.


Now, what makes oxalates so bad is it has the potential to bind to calcium in the body/bloodstream, which in turn can lead to issues of being calcium deficient. (This can lead to a weakening of bones, heart function and muscle control for example). Now, if you feed your fish a balanced diet, this is likely not to be an issue.


(Plus I've never ran into issues, along with countless of others around the world with having the roots in with fish. From my understanding, may be wrong... but I read somewhere that the oxalates tend to be concentrated more within the leaves)

 

I have pothos in all 4 of my goldfish tanks. the goldfish will eat and chew on most plants but they leave the pothos alone.

 

I added some to the top of my ten gallon as well as some wandering Jew and spider plant. My tetras haven’t really touched it but there haven’t been any ill effects.

 

I used to grow pothos in my 20 gallon tank. I just stuck a couple trimmed stems in, and it grew roots and expanded. It grew extremely fast and absorbed tons of nitrates.

My fish never had an issue with it.

I haven't used it since upgrading to a 75G tank. But I definitely would grow it again the same way if I overstocked my tank and wanted some help with nitrate removal.