Disposing of unwanted plants appropriately?

[iChris]

Just checking in, I plan on re-decorating my axie's tank, and that involves disposing of the plants that are currently in the aquarium.

what would be the best way to do this without dumping the plants in the garden or the wild, as I know most of the ones I have are considered weeds.

would putting them into my worm farm (which feeds my axolotl) be a safe way to destroy said unwanted plants?

thanks for the advice.

 

[twistedfisher]

I am not sure how it is on that side of the world with plants but over her we have lots of regulations and even more problems with invasive plants and animal problems.

I personally have put unwanted plants on a paper plate and allowed them to dry out and die before i disposed of them with the rubbish.

 

[carsona246]

using them for the worm farm should be just fine

 

[michael]

The way I do things worm food would be a violation of quarantine. Suppose their is some disease in your tank. If the disease or problem can be carried by the plants and worms you could infect your collection when feeding the worms to other animals.

 

[carsona246]

didn't even think about that, good point.

 

[blackdog]

I'd take them off you, but i know WA's laws are tough and you probably can't mail them to me ( I know i cant mail them to you )

I'd dry them, then stick 'em in the blender and feed 'em to the worms

Bren

 

[Jennewt]

I

I'd dry them, then stick 'em in the blender and feed 'em to the worms

Some pathogens could survive drying and blenderizing. They'd have to be boiled or baked to be safe from passing along germs. (But in reality, this is very unlikely to be a concern, unless iChris has separate tanks that are kept in containment from each other.)

 

[blackdog]

Some pathogens could survive drying and blenderizing.

Probably, but i think iChris' concern is less pathogens, and more releasing a weed into the local environment / eco system.

 

[iChris]

I'd take them off you, but i know WA's laws are tough and you probably can't mail them to me ( I know i cant mail them to you )
Bren

Thanks for the offer.

you're right, its illegal to take plants outside of the state and bring them in, but strangely enough, its fine to post them within Western Australia, go figure eh?

The decision has been made, the plants will be going into the worm farm.

thanks all of you for your input, Its really appreciated.

 

[MereB]

Thanks for the offer.

you're right, its illegal to take plants outside of the state and bring them in, but strangely enough, its fine to post them within Western Australia, go figure eh?

The decision has been made, the plants will be going into the worm farm.

thanks all of you for your input, Its really appreciated.

Actually it's perfectly legal to post them OUT of WA it's getting them in that's the problem. It's wa's quarantine coming into the state that stops things getting through but the care very little about what is going out
You can post them anywhere in Australia from here as our quarantine laws mean everything is disease free. We do it all the time. You can also post them internationally if you have the appropriate export permits.

Throw them in the worm farm. Assuming they are coming from the tank you are feeding the worms into then the drama of potential pathogens (which should have shown themselves if present) is null and void since anything on the plants is already in the tank.

Some pet/aquarium stores will also take plants off your hands and some will even give you a small store credit or just do an outright swap for them.