So I've been doing some research lately into the different kinds of plastics that we use in our aquarium, and I found some quite damning things about a few of them, particularly PVC. Polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, is only rated as safe for humans when used with cold water; when exposed to warm water, it can leach out some nasty stuff, and as it erodes (say... from acidic water or from water movement), it breaks down into microplastics. You may have heard that word in the news a lot lately, because it's been turning up in frightening quantities in marine life. Microplastics are to plastic what sand and silt are to rocks... over time, water movement breaks down plastic into tiny little particles, which bioaccumulate in the ecosystem.
Now, this came at a very interesting time in my life. One of the oldest animals I have, and by far the longest I have ever had a fish, is my pike cichlid. She's an adult female belly crawler, and she lives alone in a twenty long. If you've kept belly crawlers before, you're familiar with their moray eel-like behavior of staking out a hiding spot and lurking with only their heads protruding, always watching the surface (they are insect eaters, so their eyes are up-turned, keeping an eye out for any unfortunate fallers-in). So, PVC pipes seemed like the perfect furniture for her. For years, she had two long PVC pipes in her tank, and she used them all the time. Quite interesting to watch her slither around, winding in and out of them. I suspect she even moved them around at night. But over the last few months, I started noticing this weird white stuff starting to accumulate near the surface of the tank. It's light enough to float on the surface, and it seems to re-appear even after being skimmed off. It's quite different than the organic matter that forms in any bioactive aquarium. I've never seen anything like it before.
It was quite a mystery until one day I decided to thoroughly clean out her enclosure, and after handling her PVC hides, I had little white flakes all over my hands. I started to put the pieces together.
Like most South American river fish, belly crawlers are most comfortable in a warm tank with heavy water flow and acidic water rich in tannins. I do my best to provide that with a driftwood pile. What I surmise is that, over time, the acidity of the water combined with the water movement, over a period of years, lead to the erosion of the PVC; hence the little white flakes on the surface of my tank.
Needless to say, I will not be putting PVC pipes in any of my aquariums from here on out.
I know this will sound far-fetched to some, and some people probably won't believe me. But the maintaining of animals in captivity is an ever-changing endeavor, and we learn new things every day. If you don't believe me, ask someone who was keeping fish in the seventies what it was like. There is always progression, and the hobby is always changing. I just thought I'd share my experience because I know a lot of people use PVC in their aquariums.
I'm interested to hear what you guys think about this.
Now, this came at a very interesting time in my life. One of the oldest animals I have, and by far the longest I have ever had a fish, is my pike cichlid. She's an adult female belly crawler, and she lives alone in a twenty long. If you've kept belly crawlers before, you're familiar with their moray eel-like behavior of staking out a hiding spot and lurking with only their heads protruding, always watching the surface (they are insect eaters, so their eyes are up-turned, keeping an eye out for any unfortunate fallers-in). So, PVC pipes seemed like the perfect furniture for her. For years, she had two long PVC pipes in her tank, and she used them all the time. Quite interesting to watch her slither around, winding in and out of them. I suspect she even moved them around at night. But over the last few months, I started noticing this weird white stuff starting to accumulate near the surface of the tank. It's light enough to float on the surface, and it seems to re-appear even after being skimmed off. It's quite different than the organic matter that forms in any bioactive aquarium. I've never seen anything like it before.
It was quite a mystery until one day I decided to thoroughly clean out her enclosure, and after handling her PVC hides, I had little white flakes all over my hands. I started to put the pieces together.
Like most South American river fish, belly crawlers are most comfortable in a warm tank with heavy water flow and acidic water rich in tannins. I do my best to provide that with a driftwood pile. What I surmise is that, over time, the acidity of the water combined with the water movement, over a period of years, lead to the erosion of the PVC; hence the little white flakes on the surface of my tank.
Needless to say, I will not be putting PVC pipes in any of my aquariums from here on out.
I know this will sound far-fetched to some, and some people probably won't believe me. But the maintaining of animals in captivity is an ever-changing endeavor, and we learn new things every day. If you don't believe me, ask someone who was keeping fish in the seventies what it was like. There is always progression, and the hobby is always changing. I just thought I'd share my experience because I know a lot of people use PVC in their aquariums.
I'm interested to hear what you guys think about this.
